The number of likes you get on Facebook may not be the only thing your selfie could predict. It might also be able to predict internal biological health and aging. Buck Associate Professor David Furman, PhD, is aiming to make that concept a reality. He is developing a simple phone app that uses a photo of a person’s face plus a simple questionnaire to generate a snapshot of that person’s inflammation levels.
In his lab, Furman studies the many nuanced ways that inflammation leads to aging and disease. One of his biggest goals is to use the most advanced tools available, including machine learning and artificial intelligence, to process massive amounts of data and boil it down to the most predictive elements. He wants to develop tools that indicate how internal aging processes are progressing, and which ones warrant some extra attention. “I want to combine complex biology into something that can be used by anyone,” he says.
Full blog post: A “Healthy Selfie” May Be in Your Future