Ehsan Hoque

I am deeply humbled to have been awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) by President Biden. This is the highest recognition by the U.S. government to scientists and engineers. There's an interesting paradox in academia where students put in tremendous effort, yet professors get all the credit. This honor truly belongs to my students and research collaborators, who have been both teachers and learners alongside me throughout our journey together. My late mother, who passed away at 48, taught me the straightforward formula for success - maintain your presence and never surrender. This moment would have meant so much to her. @UofR @UofRDataSci whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-upd…

In his new book @Bob_Wachter asks -- "Can AI scale bedside coaching?" With the SOPHIE work, we demonstrated -- supported by a randomized clinical trial -- that it is, indeed, possible. roc-hci.com/current-projects…

Grateful for the shout-out by @SPECNews1ROC on our new paper in Nature Parkinson’s Disease. What mattered most was the partnership with In-Motion Clinic in Cleveland and, above all, working hand in hand with people living with Parkinson’s throughout development and validation. Special thanks to -- Karen Jaffe -- diagnosed at 48, whose advocacy and lived experience have been central to this work. Link to the paper: lnkd.in/dQqPhann @UofR @ur_engineering

.@UofR is celebrating 175 years by recognizing 175 innovations that shaped science, medicine, and society. Honored that our decade-long work on AI-based Parkinson’s screening made the list. We began this work in 2016 with no roadmap and many early rejections. But we stayed committed because the problem mattered. Millions live far from specialists or wait months for a diagnosis. Making screening accessible from anywhere in the world is a real step toward health equity. Great work takes time, persistence, and belief in a mission. Grateful for everyone who contributed. The work continues. Read more at rochester.edu/news/review-pd…

Go @RaiyanAB and team!

🧾 NEW in @NEJM_AI: “Facial Analysis Using AI to Screen for Parkinson’s Disease” 🔗 Paper spotlight: lnkd.in/dkMqGyRJ 👉 Our study (n=1,452) finds AI can detect Parkinson’s from a simple smile with: • 87.9% accuracy • AUROC of 89.3 [WHY THIS MATTERS] Smiling is universal. AI spots hypomimia—subtle facial muscle changes—before clinicians can, enabling early detection. [REAL-WORLD VALIDATION] • 🌍 Locations: North America → Bangladesh via global collaboration with @buetacbd • Home & clinic settings • High- and low-resource regions • Naturally recorded–no special hardware needed [WHAT MAKES THIS POWERFUL] With consent, we could screen existing selfie/videos—low-cost AI triage to fast-track at-risk individuals where neurologists are scarce. [COLLABORATIVE EFFORT] • @UofR School of Medicine & Dentistry • @buetacbd • National Institute of Neurosciences & Hospital, Dhaka • General Directorate for Health Services, Saudi Arabia [STUDENT TEAM] Joint first authors: Tariq Adnan & Md. Saiful Islam With Sangwu Lee, @Wasifur_Rahman_, Sutapa Dey Tithi, Kazi Noshin, Rayhanul Islam & more. [COLLABORATORS] Imran Sarker, M Saifur Rahman, Ruth Schneider, Jamie Adams, @RayDorseyMD [INTEGRITY NOTE] We retracted an earlier npj Digital Medicine version after finding a flaw—painful, but necessary. Our students dug deeper, corrected it, and achieved publication in @NEJM_AI. Proud of their resilience & rigor. THANKS TO: @UofR, @ur_engineering, @UofRCHeT, @NEJM_AI, @NEJM Funded by @NIH & @MooreFound #AI #Parkinsons #DigitalHealth #NEJMAI #HealthEquity #ML #globalhealth

So happy to graduate my 9th PhD student — Dr. Kurtis Haut! Kurt's technical brilliance and genuine people skills led to SOPHIE, an AI system helping doctors practice difficult conversations with terminal cancer patients. In a tech world focused on replacing humans, he found a way to strengthen essential human connections. The US Army's DEVCOM is gaining not just a brilliant computer scientist, but someone who truly understands people. Proud mentor since 2017!

Flew across the Atlantic to attend an in-person meeting of the @theNASEM Health Sciences Policy board—and it was worth every mile. We met in the historic Board Room, where President Lincoln signed the charter establishing the National Academy of Sciences in 1863. A powerful reminder of how science and policy have always been intertwined. Our discussions focused on navigating today’s shifting funding landscape and identifying bold opportunities to drive biomedical innovation. Grateful to contribute to this important work and continue a legacy that began over 160 years ago. @NASEM_Health

Disappointed @NSF isn't funding REU programs this year due to budget uncertainty. I (and many others) relied on these programs to mentor talented US undergrads into CS research and PhD paths. Cutting this pipeline of future scientists harms innovation.

Sporting my @aaas T-shirt at the #RamadanRun 5K race organized by @RaceArabia in Riyadh. During Ramadan, work hours reduce to 6 hours in Saudi Arabia, creating time to prioritize health, family, and spiritual reflection—widely considered the region's most cherished season, followed by ~9-days of holidays.

Wonderful to cheer on my PhD students, Md. Saiful Islam and Tariq Adnan at #AAAI in Philadelphia today. The work demonstrates the real-world impact of multimodal AI via Parkinson’s disease. FYI: the yearly economic burden for Parkinson’s disease in the US is $50B (and projected to be $80B by 2030). Some individuals may display signs of Parkinson's through speech patterns, while showing no symptoms in motor skills or facial expressions, or vice versa. We present a model that cleverly leverages these interdependencies and combines them appropriately. The results presented in the paper surpasses the current state of the art, achieving 87.3% accuracy in detecting Parkinson's disease through a simple 3-minute web task that can be conducted from anywhere in the world.

Ran the Riyadh marathon for 2nd year in a row, cherishing the memories of Abie, our spin instructor who left us too soon. #RiyadhMarathon2025

2-day workshop at the @theNASEM in DC with UK Academy of Medical Sciences (@acmedsci) & @theNAMedicine—drafting policy on climate, sustainability, & health (AI, naturally, in the mix). Bonus: a 1924-themed cocktail night celebrating the @theNASciences building’s 100th.

Happy holidays from part of the @rochci research group at @UofR Being surrounded by people who share the passion for using science to improve human lives and willing to work hard for it— is a privilege.

Attending a conference in Saudi Arabia be like ... @saudi_neurology, @saudimovdis, @asfgovsa, @KFSHRC, @rochci

8 years ago, we started using AI to combat Parkinson’s at @UofR with @UofRCHeT & @URochester_SMD Starting from a blank slate, I could have never imagined that one day there would be an entire conference dedicated to this work. What an honor to be invited as one of the keynote speakers among some of the world’s leading neurologists! A big shoutout to my students & collaborators for our collective and relentless pursuit. Onward to making Parkinson’s as manageable as diabetes! @URNeuroscience @saudi_neurology @saudimovdis @asfgovsa @KFSHRC @rochci

So happy to reconnect with my former mentee Anis Zaman. He graduated with a PhD during the pandemic and moved out for a job—I had no idea he was in Atlanta until he saw my Facebook story and reached out. It was great catching up and seeing him doing so well in life and career. Moments like this remind me why mentorship matters—seeing others succeed is the greatest reward.

The Bidirectional Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience –Proceedings from the National Academies. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (@theNASEM) recently held a 1.5-day in the Spring of 2024 and followed up by releasing the proceeding, highlighting the interplay between artificial intelligence (AI) and neuroscience. It was a privilege, along with many esteemed researchers, to contribute to this event as part of the planning committee and to review the proceedings, helping shape discussions that spanned the latest AI neuroscience advancements. The report touches on many topics, including the following: 1) The foundational influence of neuroscience on AI development and how AI, in turn, is transforming neuroscience research and clinical care. 2) Potential uses and limitations of AI in translating neuroscience discoveries to benefit health, particularly in clinical settings. 3) The role of neuroscience in informing policy and regulatory approaches for AI, highlighting the need for adaptive frameworks that prioritize ethics, transparency, and public trust. The insights gathered here will be invaluable as we continue to deepen understanding of the mind, advance healthcare, and navigate the evolving impacts of AI in society. Proceedings: lnkd.in/dFMg3CKX Workshop: lnkd.in/dNRBK2kG

If you know a child struggling in school, don’t lose hope. Understand their learning style & nurture it. Our 13 yo son faced challenges, needed extra support, & missed playtime—but after 8 years of hard work, he’s in top 2% of his grade. He shared this story @ #TEDxYouthAISR

Imagine AI diagnosing health conditions—exciting or scary? We spoke with the FDA about safeguards for AI screening for Parkinson’s. At #ACMUbiComp, we showed how a chatbot powered by LLMs can replace a 1-800 support line—and it works! dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3…