ARC Innovation at Sheba Medical Center and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have announced a strategic three-year partnership with NVIDIA to decode the 98% of the human genome that remains largely unexplored, Globes reports. The collaboration aims to use artificial intelligence to analyze non-coding DNA, a vast portion of the genome once dismissed as “junk DNA” but now believed to play a critical role in disease development.
The initiative involves an investment of tens of millions of dollars, with each partner dedicating teams of five to seven full-time experts to the project. NVIDIA will provide the necessary computational infrastructure, AI algorithms, and development teams. Sheba Medical Center will contribute extensive clinical data, while Mount Sinai will supply genetic information from 11,000 genomes as part of its “Million Health Discoveries Program.”
The project’s primary goal is to develop a large language model (LLM) capable of deciphering the complex regulatory mechanisms within non-coding DNA. Researchers hope this will lead to new insights into conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and autism. Professor Gidi Rechavi of Sheba Medical Center noted that this unexplored genetic material likely acts as a “complex orchestra” controlling protein expression.
According to the agreement, all intellectual property generated from the collaboration will remain with Sheba and Mount Sinai. While the resulting AI model is intended to eventually be released into the public domain, the two hospitals will have exclusive initial access to it. Success for the project will be defined by the discovery of new disease pathways within the next two years.
