University’s innovative projects presented to Rais of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov

A meeting of the Association of Support of Digital Development (ASDD) was held at Kazan State Power Engineering University (KSPEU) on 14 February.

KFU was represented by Rector Lenar Safin, Vice-Rector for Digital Transformation and Innovation Dmitry Pashin, Director of the Yelabuga Institute Yelena Merzon, and several young scientists.

Marat Khaliulin, one of the winners of the Student Startup contest, spoke about his project in neural network processing of Pap smears for early detection of cervical cancer. The software can classify received images of cervical epithelium by the degree of severity of changes. The system stores all the data so that further screening can be made with previous results in mind. A database of Pap smears has been created, and a convolutional neural network-based algorithm has been programmed to evaluate the nuclear cytoplasmic cell index (the main indicator of tumor genesis in diagnostics). The network may also be re-taught for the diagnostics of colon cancer and throat cancer. The project is implemented by the Laboratory of Biomedical Technology (headed by Emil Bulatov) and consulted by Head of the Laboratory of Gene and Cell Technologies Albert Rizvanov.

One more initiative was put forth by PhD student Valeriya Ilyina, another recipient of the Student Startup grant. She works on new bacteriophages used to treat infections caused by antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria. Her research supervisor is Chair of the Department of Genetics Ayrat Kayumov.