Event Details
Event Title AI in Research: Journey, Insights, and Practical Workshop with Professor Jose Pendes, FRS
Location Onsite
Sponsor Office of Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development
Date/Time 03/25/2026
For more information, contact the event administrator: Makayla King msking@unc.edu
Session Status Session Session Date Start Time End Time Cutoff
Registering Lecture and workshop (onsite) 03/25/2026 9:00 AM 10:30 AM none
Registering Lecture and workshop (Zoom) 03/25/2026 9:00 AM 10:30 AM none
Registering Poster Session (Attendee) 03/25/2026 11:00 AM 12:00 PM none
Registering Poster Session (Participant) 03/25/2026 11:00 AM 12:00 PM 02/23/2026
 
Join us for a school-wide event featuring Professor Jose R. Penadès, Chair in Microbiology at Imperial College London and an internationally recognized expert in bacterial evolution and antimicrobial resistance. Professor Penadès will share his journey integrating artificial intelligence into his research, including a groundbreaking collaboration with Google’s AI “co-scientist,” which replicated nearly a decade of his team’s research on superbug resistance in just two days, confirming findings and generating new hypotheses.
 
This session will be followed by an interactive, hands-on workshop in which participants will provide a scenario, shared dataset, or research problem to actively explore and apply AI-driven approaches. Dr. Penadès will provide guidance on effective prompting strategies and experiment with AI tools in real time that can be translated to their own research and professional workflows.

The event will conclude with a school-wide poster session with refreshments, showcasing how AI is being used across disciplines and roles throughout the school, and providing opportunities for networking and cross-disciplinary learning.

Who Should Attend:
This session is ideal for researchers, faculty, graduate students, and professionals interested in harnessing AI.
 
Objectives:
-Describe real-world applications of AI in research and scientific discovery
-Identify practical strategies for prompting and integrating AI tools into workflows
-Explore diverse examples of AI use across disciplines and professional roles within the School of Medicine
-Foster cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration around AI-enabled innovation

Agenda
-9:00 am:  Lecture and workshop
-11:00 am: Poster Session 

Call for Posters
Share how you are discovering, using, or experimenting with AI in your research, education, clinical, or professional work. Faculty, trainees, and staff from all disciplines are encouraged to participate—no prior AI expertise required.

-Poster session details and submission information: Discovering AI in Our Work Poster Session
-Submission Deadline: February 23
-Notification of Acceptance: March 2

This event is co-sponsored by the Office of Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development, the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, the Office of Research, UNC - SOM, and The Dean's Office. A grant was provided by North Carolina Biotechnology Center to support this event.


Note:
Kindly reach out to Makayla S. King (msking@unc.edu) for any special accommodations (ADA, lactation room, etc.).

Please also be aware of our Streaming Media Guidelines.
Anyone being recorded who is not affiliated with the UNC School of Medicine must complete the confirmation question regarding the Recording Release Form.