Published: 13 November 2017 

The BenevolentAI Award is a new award to help charities accelerate their medical research and potentially develop new treatments and therapies using artificial intelligence. The Award is given to a single applicant once a year. 

BenevolentAI, the world leader in the development and application of artificial intelligence for scientific innovation, in partnership with the AMRC, will offer the winning applicant access to the Company’s unique technology platform in order to solve specific research challenges the selected charity is facing. For example, to carry out deep investigation in a specific disease, create a better understanding of the disease, identify new areas and approaches in R&D and accelerate research towards new treatments and cures.  

BenevolentAI applies artificial intelligence to interrogate data and generate new answers quickly and efficiently. This can allow organisations to better understand disease areas in a way that was previously impossible. 

For charities that win the award, this means the technology could be used to:

• Identify new potential disease targets and treatment opportunities
• Shape an organisation’s research strategy so that it focuses on highly specific areas of interest that have the best chance of leading to an impact
• Examine a charity’s current research portfolio for untapped potential, identifying projects that might have particular intellectual property interest
• Analyse grant applications for their technological potential to lead to new developments, thereby informing an organisation’s decision-making activity.

In a nutshell, the award has the potential to drive forward a charity’s scientific mission to create better understanding of disease and the relevant research landscape and develop new treatments and therapies. 

Process and timing

Timing

• 13 November 2017: Submissions open
• 31 January 2018: Charity deadline for BenevolentAI Award submissions
• 28 March 2018: Award announced

Judging

An Award judging panel including Jackie Hunter, CEO of BenevolentBio, and Aisling Burnand, CEO of the AMRC will access applications and choose a winner.

Eligibility for the award

• Applications should focus on solving a specific problem and/or advancing a specific initiative; and (not to assist with direct fundraising)
• Open to all AMRC member medical charities big and small, in any disease area
• Charities can apply individually or jointly (e.g. consortium bids/combined applications) within reason. Charities collaborating with each other are particularly welcomed.
• Charities can apply with academic partners as long as the charity is the lead applicant.
• Charities are not able to apply with industry partners.

About BenevolentAI

BenevolentAI technology has made significant progress in accelerating drug development. Earlier this year the Company announced that its technology may have found a cure for ALS.  As well as entering license agreements with some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, BenevolentAI works with charities and NGOs including non-for profits such as Life Arc (formerly MRC Technology), Queen Mary University and SITraN, the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience.

You can find out more about BenevolentAI and its technology in this new blog post.

Contact information

If you require any help during the application process, please contact Carol Bewick or Andy Clempson at AMRC: [email protected]; [email protected].

Please do not approach members of the awards panel directly. In doing so, you are risking their impartiality on your application, and it may be withdrawn.