As a third grader with a love for technology, Bennett Landman decided he wanted to upgrade the operating system on his father鈥檚 old MS-DOS computer. In the process, he accidentally wiped the hard drive. Instead of scolding him, his father, a physician with a passion for research, simply said, 鈥淕reat, now let鈥檚 figure out how to fix it.鈥� That moment鈥攅qual parts curiosity and problem-solving鈥攕et the tone for Landman鈥檚 career.
Now a professor at Vanderbilt University and director of the Vanderbilt Lab for Immersive AI Translation, Landman, who holds a Stevenson Chair, is still doing what he loves: figuring things out. But instead of tinkering with MS-DOS, he鈥檚 revolutionizing the way artificial intelligence interacts with medical imaging. His work is helping to refine how we diagnose disease, understand the human body and even reshape what鈥檚 possible in health care.
CRACKING THE CODE OF MEDICAL IMAGES
By Landman鈥檚 count, he has more than 2,000 collaborations globally that look at all sorts of different diseases, from the head down to the shins. But the heart of his work remains medicine and the promise of a world where AI-driven imaging leads to earlier diagnoses and better patient outcomes.
Medical imaging鈥擬RI scans, CT scans, ultrasounds鈥攊s one of the most powerful tools in modern medicine. But Landman sees a fundamental problem: 鈥淲hen you go in for an MRI, that scan is not a test on its own. It鈥檚 only useful because a radiologist interprets it,鈥� he explains. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a standard, quantitative way of saying 鈥榶es, this is disease鈥� the same way we do with a blood test.鈥�
Landman鈥檚 research aims to bridge that gap. By training AI models to 鈥渞ead鈥� medical images with the same (or better) accuracy as human experts, he鈥檚 working toward a future where AI can provide a second opinion, reduce human error and even uncover hidden patterns in disease progression. 鈥淲e want to take imaging beyond the one-time diagnosis,鈥� he says. 鈥淓very scan should contribute to a broader, more complete understanding of a patient鈥檚 health over time.鈥�
鈥淩ight now, we鈥檙e wasting so much information,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou get a scan, it鈥檚 read for one thing, and then it鈥檚 done. But what if that scan could be used to track everything about your health? Your lung function, heart function, muscle quality鈥攖hings you might not even know to look for yet.鈥�
In talking about what鈥檚 possible, Landman compares it to the evolution of medical records from stacks of physical paperwork, to digital records, to now as those disparate pieces of digital data are combined in new, even unimaginable, ways.
By creating models that analyze imaging data alongside other medical records, Landman and his team are working toward a future where every piece of medical data contributes to a deeper understanding of a patient鈥檚 health. 鈥淚f we can start making sense of all this information, we can make medicine proactive instead of reactive,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about catching disease鈥攊t鈥檚 about optimizing health.鈥�
The research world is taking note. Recently, Landman was elected as a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the world鈥檚 largest and most prestigious society for electrical and computer engineering. With more than 460,000 members in more than 190 countries, IEEE is the leading authority on a wide variety of areas in electrical and computer sciences, engineering and related disciplines.
A CULTURE OF CURIOSITY
Landman credits Vanderbilt鈥檚 culture of collaboration for making this work possible. 鈥淭he hardest thing about being here is that it鈥檚 really difficult to get someone to tell you an idea is bad,鈥� he says with a laugh. 鈥淔rom the moment I arrived, the answer was always, 鈥榊es, let鈥檚 try it.鈥� That spirit of curiosity fuels everything we do.鈥�
It鈥檚 that same spirit that has kept Landman in academia instead of industry, despite offers. 鈥淚 love working with students,鈥� he says. 鈥淓very day, someone walks in and says, 鈥業 wonder if we could鈥︹�� and I get to say, 鈥楲et鈥檚 find out.鈥� That鈥檚 why I do this.鈥�
鈥淏ennett is one of those super-energy researchers who make you scratch your head and wonder, 鈥榟ow does he do it all?鈥欌�� said Krish Roy, the Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of the School of Engineering and University Distinguished Professor. 鈥淲ith a total of seven academic appointments at Vanderbilt, ranging from computer engineering and computer science to neurology and radiology, Bennett represents the very definition of an interdisciplinary scholar and radical collaboration. In addition to his wide-ranging research brilliance, he has an enviable track record of leadership with real-world impact and achievement.鈥�
Whether it鈥檚 training AI to diagnose disease, helping students crash and rebuild their own systems, or applying medical imaging techniques to ancient history, one thing is clear: Bennett Landman still resonates with that third grader who just wants to figure things out. And in doing so, he鈥檚 helping to reshape the future of medicine鈥攁nd beyond.
鈥淲e鈥檝e always opened new ideas, and we鈥檝e created new discoveries,鈥� Landman said. 鈥淓ach thing we find just makes me more curious.鈥�
