Dr. Rebecca Allen, Chair of the Department of Computer Science & Mathematics and Assistant Professor, Recently had her AI Research Published as a Medical Editorial in Lippincott Journals.
Dr. Rebecca Allen, Chair of the Department of Computer Science & Mathematics and Assistant Professor, recently had her AI research published as a medical editorial in Lippincott Journals. “Lippincott® is a leading global publisher of current and influential medical, nursing, and allied health research.”
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform healthcare, medical researchers are increasingly expected to understand its tools and implications. One key branch of AI is natural language processing (NLP), which enables computers to analyze human language—an especially valuable capability when working with the text in electronic health records (EHRs). In her editorial Enhancing Nephrology Research with Natural Language Processing and Artificial Intelligence, Dr. Rebecca Allen with her co-author Dr. Alferso Abrahams use a nephrology study to illustrate how NLP can reveal underdocumented patient symptoms in dialysis care. By comparing provider notes with patient-reported surveys, the study uncovered a troubling gap: many symptoms kidney dialysis patients experience—like fatigue, itching, and depression—often go unnoticed or unrecorded. This lack of documentation can lead to inadequate care and unnecessary suffering. The article not only explains NLP’s methods but also makes the case for integrating AI tools into clinical research to improve both documentation and patient outcomes.