The Discovery Accelerator center was founded by IBM and Cleveland Clinic two years ago as a part of a ten-year joint research agreement. Using IBM’s high-performance computing, hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing capabilities, the center is dedicated to boosting research in healthcare and the life sciences.
An IBM Quantum System One computer, one of the partnership’s technological pillars, was unveiled today by the IBM-Cleveland Clinic Discovery Accelerator.
Justin Bibb, the mayor of Cleveland, Jon Husted, the lieutenant governor of Ohio, and Shontel Brown, the congresswoman for Ohio’s 11th district, all attended the introduction of IBM’s quantum computer on the Cleveland Clinic site.
Modern tools for creative medical research
IBM wants to use cutting-edge technologies to assist Cleveland Clinic in advancing its biological research. The convergence of high-performance technologies, such as IBM’s hybrid cloud, next-generation AI, high-performance computing, and quantum computing, is anticipated to improve partnership research over the coming years.
The event, which concentrated on cutting-edge technology, also marked several firsts for both quantum computing and the relationship with the Discovery Accelerator:
The Discovery Accelerator is the first quantum computer in the world devoted to medical research, and the Cleveland Clinic IBM Quantum System One is the first on-site, private IBM quantum computer deployed in the United States.
Scientists from the Discovery Accelerator’s research will bring scientific acclaim to Cleveland and support the Global Center for Pathogen & Human Health Research at Cleveland Clinic with innovative technology. The launch of this center was also mentioned in the initial 2021 announcement of the Discovery Accelerator.
Both initiatives are supported by the Cleveland Innovation District, which consists of the Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth System, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University, and Cleveland State University. Through this collaboration, more jobs are being created in the Cleveland region and research is being conducted across all of these institutions. The Innovation District also seeks to make Cleveland known as a center of the medical sciences.
The State of Ohio, Jobs Ohio, and Cleveland Clinic have each contributed $500 million to the endeavour. The Innovation District predicts that Cleveland Clinic will add 1,000 new employment by 2029 and another 7,500 jobs in the state by 2034, making it seem like a wise use of tax dollars.
Rapid-fire research using innovative tools
Discovery Accelerator is assembling a group of top immunology, oncology, and infectious disease specialists to conduct research on new pathogens and virus-related disorders, enhancing Cleveland Clinic’s current programs and capabilities. Large datasets will be generated and analyzed by these experts using cutting-edge computational approaches, which will promote their work in the fields of population health, clinical applications, and drug discovery, as well as genetics.
The IBM-Cleveland Clinic Discovery Accelerator team has already started working together on a number of biomedical research projects using hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. This is an example of active research:
- creation of quantum computing pipelines for drug screening and optimizations directed at certain proteins.
- developing a more accurate quantum-enhanced model to predict cardiovascular risk after non-cardiac surgery; and
- artificial intelligence is used to explore massive drug-target databases using genome sequencing to see whether any current medications could benefit people with Alzheimer’s or other disorders.
IBM technology offered to conjunction with Discovery Accelerator
IBM quantum
IBM has more than 20 quantum systems operating globally that are based on System One. More than 450,000 IBM customers have used quantum technology to run more than 2 trillion quantum circuits.
Three processors are supported by the IBM Quantum System One: the 127-qubit Eagle, the 65-qubit Hummingbird, and the 27-qubit Falcon. The Cleveland Clinic facility is home to the 127-qubit model. When the IBM System Two is ready, it will be installed in the future.
Co-located classical systems and Qiskit Runtime are features of IBM’s quantum architecture that enable the fastest possible operation of quantum circuits. IBM uses dynamic circuits to increase fidelity while reducing circuit depth. To control noise until error repair becomes a reality, error mitigation will soon be accessible.
IBM AI
IBM can contribute a wealth of AI expertise to the cooperation. The Discovery Accelerator team is particularly interested in IBM’s use of AI to expedite drug and antibacterial design. IBM has shortened medication development timelines from years to less than two months using artificial intelligence. Cleveland Clinic claims that it normally takes 17 years for a scientific discovery made in a lab to be approved as a diagnostic or treatment for people. Cleveland Clinic’s successful research and acceleration in this field will be to everyone’s advantage.
IBM is also utilizing generative AI to create novel pharmacological molecules that enhance distinctive traits and improve the efficacy of already-available medications. MolFormer and MolGPT are useful tools developed by IBM researchers using AI to forecast the characteristics of chemical compounds. The instrument is critical for a number of disciplines, including drug discovery and material design. Future Discovery Accelerator research will greatly benefit from IBM’s expertise in these fields.
IBM supercomputer with AI
According to a recent report, IBM will launch its own cloud-based AI supercomputer in May 2022. Due to its extensive experience with generative AI and foundation model construction, IBM decided to accomplish this. It is being used for some customer applications even though its main purpose was to run and train models for internal business processes. It might be utilized with research projects funded by the Discovery Accelerator because of the special partner connection.
IBM Hybrid Cloud
The IBM Hybrid Cloud combines on-premises infrastructure with public and private cloud services. For all three services, it offers orchestration, management, and application portability. In order to run and expand conventional or cloud-native workloads using the most suitable computing model, Discovery Accelerator researchers will have access to a single, unified, and flexible distributed computing environment.
A conclusion
A leading provider of healthcare, Cleveland Clinic has more than 72,000 staff members worldwide. The 6,500-bed Cleveland Clinic health facility is located on the 173-acre Cleveland Clinic complex, which also houses the IBM Quantum System One.
With a global technology leader like IBM and a leader in healthcare research like Cleveland Clinic, the Discovery Accelerator is almost likely to yield priceless research that could have a positive impact on patients all over the world.
