What is the AI Accelerator research project? FAQs
Professor James Brenton is leading the UK arm of the first global AI Accelerator research project. But what is the AI Accelerator research project and why is this research important?
What is the AI Accelerator research project?
The AI Accelerator project is a global ovarian cancer research programme that has been awarded money to find new ways of using artificial intelligence (AI) to help improve care for women with ovarian cancer.
The $1 million grant is awarded by the Global Ovarian Cancer Research Consortium, a partnership of four ovarian cancer charities from the UK, USA, Canada and Australia, including Ovarian Cancer Action. Together, they fund research that no single country could support alone.
A grant is money given to researchers so they can carry out specialised research. This particular grant supports teams around the world to learn from patient data and help doctors make better treatment decisions in the future for women with ovarian cancer.
In short, the AI Accelerator project brings together patients, charities, researchers and technology from around the world to help turn data into better care — faster and more fairly.
Who was awarded the AI accelerator grant?
The AI Accelerator Grant was awarded to an international team of researchers from the UK, USA, Canada and Australia.
The team is made up of a group of experts, representing epidemiology, molecular oncology, artificial intelligence, and clinical medicine:
- Dr. (Celeste) Leigh Pearce, Associate Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, United States
- Professor James Brenton, Professor of Ovarian Cancer Medicine, Senior Group Leader and Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
- Professor Susan Ramus, Professor in the School of Clinical Medicine and Lead, Molecular Oncology Group, University of New South Wales, Australia
- Dr. Ali Bashashati, Director of Artificial Intelligence Research, Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OVCARE), University of British Columbia, Canada
In the UK, the grant supports three researchers based at the University of Cambridge:
- Professor James Brenton, who is leading the UK research and focuses on understanding the biology of ovarian cancer
- Dr Mireia Crispin, who uses AI to bring together scans, clinical records and molecular data
- Dr Gabriel Funingana, a doctor and researcher developing AI tools to help personalise treatment choices
Together, the UK team brings clinical experience, data science and patient‑focused research to the project. They work closely with international colleagues and with patients to help turn complex data into better care for women with ovarian cancer.
Why is this research important to ovarian cancer?
This project is hoping to find patterns and information which will help doctors make better choices for women with ovarian cancer.
When someone has ovarian cancer, doctors have to make big decisions:
- Which treatment is most likely to help?
- Which one might cause side effects without working?
- And what should happen next if the cancer comes back?
Right now, those decisions are often made using limited information, a bit like trying to finish a jigsaw puzzle with only a few pieces.
This project is about finding more pieces to help doctors see how they fit together.
What kind of information are researchers using?
Over many years, thousands of women with ovarian cancer have generously shared their medical information for research. This includes things like:
- Pictures of tumours (scans and microscope images)
- Information from blood and tissue samples
- Genetic “instruction codes” inside cancer cells
- Details about treatments and how patients responded
On their own, each of these is helpful. But together, they tell a much richer story, which can help doctors and patients make better, more informed decisions around what treatment options will work best for them.
Where does AI come in?
AI is a type of computer technology that is very good at spotting patterns. You can think of AI like a super‑fast detective:
- It can read through huge piles of information
- It notices links that humans might miss
- It learns from past cases to help predict what might happen next
In this project, AI is used to:
- Compare thousands of cancer cases at once
- Look for patterns that explain why some treatments work better than others
- Help predict how a cancer might behave in the future
It doesn’t replace doctors, it supports them with better information.
Why is working together globally so important?
Ovarian cancer is not very common, which means no single country has all the answers. By working with researchers in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia, this project:
- Brings together one of the largest ovarian cancer datasets ever created
- Makes sure research reflects women from different backgrounds
- Helps results be more reliable and fair
It’s like comparing notes across the world instead of working alone.
What could this mean for patients in the future?
If successful, this research could help:
- Match treatments more closely to each person’s cancer
- Avoid treatments that are unlikely to work
- Design smarter clinical trials
- Help doctors make decisions with more confidence
- Improve both survival and quality of life
Most importantly, it aims to make care feel more personal, not one‑size‑fits‑all.
