Kim Branson on Building Groundbreaking AI/ML Models in Drug Discovery

May 24, 2022

Dr. Kim Branson’s intense interest in drug discovery and structural biology quickly led to an interest in machine learning. After receiving multiple degrees from esteemed universities in Australia, Branson trained at Stanford and now works as the Senior Vice President and Global Head of AI/ML at GSK. With host, Stan Gloss, Branson shares his work in creating “biological twins.” These 3-D tumor culture models replicate cancer and their respective immune environments. Branson and his team monitor tumor and immune responses to cancer drugs in real-time. The clinical implications of anticipating a tumor’s every move within a patient’s body are astounding. He also explains why thoughtfulness is paramount in experiment design and how a project’s impact should be the primary consideration before proceeding. Learn how GSK recruits talent and the importance of creating a multidisciplinary environment. Hear Branson talk about eliminating AI analysis bias, navigating ethical issues, and the new generation of leaders on his team.

Dr. Kim Branson, Senior Vice President and Global Head of AI/ML, GSK
Dr Kim Branson is SVP, Global Head, AI/ML at GSK, based in San Francisco.  Kim leads the GSK.ai team, a global organization of nearly 100 machine learning researchers and engineers who are pioneering the application of AI to drug discovery and development.

Kim brings a deep expertise in modeling and machine learning to drug and vaccine discovery, combining perspectives spanning academia to technology start-up. Under his leadership, GSK has built one of the industry’s few completely in-house AI efforts to unlock the potential of complex genetic data and leverage GSK’s industry-leading collaborations.

Kim joined GSK in 2019 from Genentech where he was Head of AI, Early Clinical Development. Kim has been involved in large-scale machine learning and medical informatics initiatives for more than 20 years over a range of ventures from computational drug design to disease risk prediction. Previously Kim helped found several Silicon Valley start-ups, including Discovery Engine (acquired by Twitter in 2009), Gliimpse as Chief Scientist (acquired by Apple in 2017), and Lumiata, a predictive health analytics company.

Kim received degrees from the University of Adelaide and a Ph.D. from the University of Melbourne. He was a Peter Doherty fellow and received postdoctoral training at Stanford University.

Host Bio

Stan Gloss

As co-founder and Evangelist of BioTeam, Stan Gloss has been working to tell the stories of the intersection of science, data and technology since 2002. Gloss joined with fellow founding partners Bill Van Etten and Chris Dagdigian to form BioTeam in 2002 following his tenure in business development with AVAKI Corporation, a pioneer in global grid software solutions, and Blackstone Computing, a computing and IT consulting company for scientists, Gloss led the sales initiative that launched the company in the life sciences market. Gloss earned his MS at the University of Buffalo and was a department chairman and faculty member at Quinnipiac University.

A life science IT consulting firm at the intersection of science, data, and technology, BioTeam builds innovative scientific data ecosystems that close the gap between what scientists want to do with data—and what they can do. Learn more at www.bioteam.net.