Board Spotlight: Dr. Olivier Elemento on AI, Personalized Medicine, and the Future of Rare Cancer Treatment

In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Dr. Olivier Elemento, Director of the Englander Institute for Precision Medicine and Associate Director of the Institute for Computational Biomedicine. A pioneering researcher and member of Advancium Health Network's Board of Directors, Dr. Elemento shares his groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence, precision medicine, and the transformative potential of treating every cancer as a rare disease.

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"Every cancer patient should be reclassified as a rare disease patient."

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Dr. Olivier Elemento stands at the intersection of cutting-edge science and compassionate care. As a recognized leader in computational biology and AI-driven drug discovery, his work is reshaping how we understand and treat cancer, particularly the rare and hard-to-treat cancers that affect adults and children worldwide. His decision to join Advancium Health Network's mission reflects both his scientific expertise and his deep commitment to patients who have historically been underserved by traditional approaches.

Q: As a recognized leader in the use of cutting-edge scientific approaches, what inspired you to bring your expertise to Advancium to support our mission?

Dr. Elemento: I am truly delighted that an entity like Advancium exists. There is a very real, and often overlooked, need for its mission. While individual cancers may be classified as rare, if you add them all up, you end up with a large number of individuals who typically have very hard-to-treat diseases. It is obviously devastating to see this in pediatric patients who have their whole lives ahead of them.

As part of a major hospital, I see how difficult it is to dedicate the necessary resources for these unique cases. Advancium provides the concerted approach that is desperately needed, creating a powerful engine that combines philanthropy and industry partnerships to focus squarely on these patients. It's a model built to deliver hope.

Q: You've said that every cancer is different, almost like its own rare disease. How does that idea help us find better therapies for children with rare and hard-to-treat cancers?

Dr. Elemento: We've spent significant time and resources profiling patients' tumors—analyzing their DNA and RNA—and the evidence is undeniable: Every single patient has a unique molecular profile and a unique set of mutations. Because of this, I firmly believe that every cancer patient should, in fact, be reclassified as a rare disease patient.

This isn't just a theoretical concept; it has profound practical implications. It means every patient should be treated based on the specific molecular drivers of their unique disease, not based on the "average" disease. For children with rare cancers, this personalized, n-of-1 approach is the only way forward.

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The AI Revolution in Drug Discovery

The conversation turns to one of Dr. Elemento's most exciting areas of research: the use of artificial intelligence to identify promising drug combinations that could revolutionize treatment timelines and outcomes.

Q: You've built tools that use artificial intelligence to find promising drug combinations. How could this kind of technology help speed up discoveries for rare childhood diseases?

Dr. Elemento: In a complex disease like cancer, the idea that you can target just one protein and get a durable, long-term response is often unrealistic. Cancers are typically driven by multiple molecular mechanisms at once, so to induce more profound and lasting responses, we need to use drug combinations that can target different proteins and pathways simultaneously. The problem is that it's practically impossible to identify the best combinations from the millions of possibilities.

That is precisely where AI can play a key role. While the AI technology we've developed at the institute wasn't designed exclusively for children's cancers, it is directly applicable because it operates on a fundamental principle: the molecular makeup of a patient's tumor. Our predictive models can take the unique molecular profile of any tumor—from an adult or a child—and assess the extent to which two potential drugs are likely to work well together against that tumor. This allows us to computationally screen countless options and identify the most promising candidates, ultimately getting new, more effective therapies to patients much faster.

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Building Awareness and Support Through CobiCure

CobiCure, Advancium's non-profit company, represents a unique approach to rare disease advocacy and research. Dr. Elemento's perspective on its potential impact extends far beyond its immediate mission.

Q: What can organizations like CobiCure do to help raise awareness and build support for children with rare cancers?

Dr. Elemento: This is where I believe there is an opportunity to communicate a truly profound shift in medicine. CobiCure isn't just helping a small group of patients; it's pioneering the future of how all medicine will be practiced. With rare diseases, you have no choice—you are forced to develop a truly individualized approach.

Imagine a future where that approach is applied to every disease. The process would look like this: first, analyze the deep biology of an individual patient's disease; then use AI to identify specific molecular targets from that deep biological analysis; use AI again to rapidly design or discover therapies—whether it's generating novel antibodies using tools like AlphaFold to understand protein structures, or running large-scale virtual screens for small molecules; assess the safety and efficacy of these therapies virtually using tools like AI and organoids; and, finally, rapidly synthesize the chosen drug for administration.

In this model, the cycle from disease assessment to treatment discovery could be incredibly short—perhaps just a few months. Focusing on rare cancers allows us to build and perfect that future right now. By supporting this work, people aren't just funding rare disease research; they are accelerating a paradigm shift that will eventually benefit everyone.

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The Power of Collaboration

Dr. Elemento's final thoughts center on a principle that drives much of his work: the transformative power of collaboration across traditionally separate sectors.

Q: You've been involved in collaborations across academia, industry, and technology. How might similar partnerships support CobiCure's work, and what considerations are important to ensure these efforts reach communities that have been historically overlooked?

Dr. Elemento: I like to say that "collaboration is the human species' superpower"—I think I got this from a book by Scott Galloway I read a while ago, and it stuck with me. Partnerships like those you mentioned are the engine of progress, as each partner brings something unique to the table. Academia provides the deep biological research. Industry excels at conducting and funding rigorous clinical trials. And technology, especially AI, is the critical new piece that is fundamentally changing the game; ultimately, it will dramatically shorten the time from target identification to a viable drug.

CobiCure's vital role is to be the mission-driven connector—the entity that can bring these components together and orchestrate them for a common purpose. To ensure these efforts are equitable, this mission must include proactive outreach to historically overlooked patient communities. This means building diverse datasets for AI models and designing clinical trials that are accessible to all, ensuring that the incredible future this work is building is a future for everyone.

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Dr. Olivier Elemento's vision extends far beyond the laboratory. Through his work with Advancium Health Network and CobiCure, he is not only advancing the science of rare cancer treatment but also pioneering a future where every patient receives truly personalized care. It is a future built on the foundation that every cancer is, indeed, a rare disease deserving of individualized attention, cutting-edge technology, and unwavering hope.

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