Introduced by: Iddo Friedberg, Conference Co-chair; Iowa State University, United States
Time: Sunday July 10, 2022 at 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM CDT
Room: Madison Ballroom ABCD (Level Four, Monona Terrace)

Presentation Title: Imageomics: Images as the Source of Information about Life

Abstract

Introducing the new field of imageomics: from images to biological traits using biology-structured computational approaches.

Images are the most abundant, readily available source for documenting life on the planet. Coming from natural history collections, laboratory scans, field studies, camera traps, wildlife surveys, autonomous vehicles on the land, water, and in the air, as well as tourists’ cameras, citizen scientists’ platforms, and posts on social media, there are millions of images of living organisms. But their power is yet to be harnessed for science and conservation. Even the traits of organisms cannot be readily extracted from images. The analysis of traits, the integrated products of genes and environment, is critical for biologists to predict effects of environmental change or genetic manipulation and to understand the significance of patterns in the four billion year evolutionary history of life.

I will show how data science and machine learning can turn massive collections of images into high resolution information database about wildlife, enabling scientific inquiry, conservation, and policy decisions. I will share our vision of the new scientific field of imageomics. 

Biography

Dr. Tanya Berger-Wolf is a Professor of Computer Science Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at the Ohio State University, where she is also the Director of the Translational Data Analytics Institute.  As a computational ecologist, her research is at the unique intersection of computer science, wildlife biology, and social sciences. Berger-Wolf is also a director and co-founder of the AI for wildlife conservation non-profit Wild Me, home of the Wildbook project. It has been recently chosen by UNSECO as one of the top AI 100 projects worldwide supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Berger-Wolf has given hundreds of talks about her work, including at TED/TEDx and UN/UNESCO AI for the Planet. She has received numerous awards for her research, innovation, and mentoring.