Researchers gather to learn about AI agents in life science
On Nov 3, researchers and industry participants gathered in Uppsala for the full-day “AI Agents in Life Science” workshop, jointly organised by SciLifeLab Data Centre and eSSENCE. A highlight of the event was the hand-on sessions , where participants had the opportunity to explore AI Agents for life sciences in action.
AI agents are emerging as autonomous systems that can orchestrate scientific processes by interacting directly with digital tools and data sources. To ensure that SciLifeLab and Sweden remains at the forefront of this technology development, it is essential that the researchers receive appropriate guidance and support for integrating agentic AI into life science and biomedical research.
“Agentic AI is highly relevant for life science, where reasoning combined with bioinformatics tools and data sources can empower scientists and accelerate research. At SciLifeLab we are working to establish the necessary infrastructure and pilot these technologies for the Swedish life science community.”, says Ola Spjuth, SciLifeLab AI lead.
Ola Spjuth, SciLifeLab AI lead and one of the organisers of the workshop.
Photo: Mahbub Ul Alam.
”It was really interesting to get a glimpse of the hands-on coding going on behind the curtains of AI agents and to get a first idea of how to create own agents” says Bengt Sennblad, one of the workshop participants.
During the workshop, participants explored how these AI technologies are rapidly transforming life sciences and supporting novel discovery within fields such as medicine, biology, and drug discovery. The programme combined introductory presentations on the role of AI agents in life science research with live demonstrations and hands-on activities showcasing real-world use cases such as Biomni and BioChatter. The workshop concluded with a discussion on opportunities, challenges, and future directions for AI-enabled research workflows.
“The growing use of artificial intelligence in scientific research holds great potential for improving everyday scientific work, particularly in areas that can be automated”, says Mahbub Ul Alam, AI engineer at SciLifeLab Data Centre. “In response to the enthusiasm and strong interest in this workshop, we want to keep building momentum in agentic AI. We are therefore organising another workshop in Stockholm, to be held on March 5 at SciLifeLab Solna, giving more people the opportunity to participate and explore this technology.”
Register here for the upcoming “AI Agents in Life Science” workshop on March 5 in Stockholm >>
