Artit Jirapatnakul, Ph.D.

Research Overview

While we understand many of the risk factors that put people at higher risk for developing lung cancer, such as smoking history, there are still unanswered questions about the development and progression of lung cancer. Regardless of smoking history, anyone can develop lung cancer. Among those who develop lung cancer, their progression and outcomes differ. We suspect that inflammation of fat within and near the heart may be related to the development of lung cancer.

Our project aims to develop a reliable, non-invasive, and cost-effective tool to measure lung cancer risk and its adverse outcomes based on measuring fat tissue within and around the heart.

My “Why”

As a computer engineer early in my career, I was becoming jaded with simply improving technology for technology’s sake—I wanted to have a meaningful, positive impact on people’s lives. I saw an opportunity presented by advancements in imaging, computer vision and artificial intelligence to help prevent cancer by detecting it early and was able to pivot to working in cancer research.

Why Funding Matters

This project is made possible through support for not only myself, but also the many others who are essential to conducting critical scientific work, including statisticians and clinicians. This particular project, given its early stage, has exciting potential but would likely be difficult to fund through other public sources, which is why I am thankful for the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s support.