The Center for Computing and Data Science at Independent University of Bangladesh recently held a roundtable titled Applications of AI in Public Health and Pharmacy in Dhaka.
The session explored the use of artificial intelligence in public health and pharmaceutical research in Bangladesh through academic and government collaboration, according to a press release on Sunday.
The event was attended by CCDS research supervisors from various departments. 23 faculty members from IUB’s School of Pharmacy and Public Health. A five-member delegation from the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research led by Chief Scientific Officer Zakir Hossein Habib participated.
Mr. Ashraful Islam, Director of CCDS, provided an overview of AI-driven research applications in public health and pharmacy and reviewed ongoing and completed public health services research efforts being carried out by various divisions of CCDS.
Participants included SPPH Dean Kamran Ul Basset; Director General of Public Health Zenat Zebin Hossain; Mr. AKM Mahbubur Rahman, Dean of Computer Science and Engineering, Bangladesh Independent University and Mr. Nasrin Akhter, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy.
This discussion addressed national public health challenges and explored potential AI-based approaches in areas such as antimicrobial resistance, disease diagnosis, health awareness, road safety analysis, and medical image processing.
Mr. Habib emphasized the importance of linking academic research and field-level implementation and discussed the role of digital health tools, including mobile health applications and full-scale games, in enabling data-backed public health interventions and awareness efforts, particularly in tackling antimicrobial resistance.
The roundtable explored areas for collaboration between academic researchers and government agencies to support data-driven public health research and digital health strategies in Bangladesh.
