Advancing AI Fairness for Trustworthy Liver Organ Allocation
Official title: SCH: Advancing AI Fairness for Trustworthy Liver Organ Allocation
Funded at Florida International University · NIH-11579061 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A funded NIH project will use AI to help fairly allocate donated livers to patients with liver disease, aiming to reduce bias and improve access for those in need.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Florida International University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Miami, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $300,000 |
| NIH project number | 1R01EB041351-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11579061 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with end-stage liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer, who are potential transplant candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not on the transplant waiting list or those unlikely to be organ recipients under the current system may not see direct benefits.
What this research studies
This project focuses on improving how AI helps decide who gets a liver transplant, considering not only medical urgency but also fairness and real-world data limitations. It tackles the challenge of censored information since many transplant outcomes are not fully observed yet. The team will develop AI fairness methods that balance equal treatment with practical usefulness for clinicians. The work is designed to be understandable to clinicians and patients, so decisions can be explained and trusted. The effort is anchored at Florida International University in Miami, led by Wenbin Zhang and colleagues, with a focus on liver disease patients including cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients with liver disease could experience more equitable access to transplant organs and clearer, more trustworthy allocation decisions.
How similar studies have gone: Prior AI fairness work has shown promise in improving equity, but this project addresses unique censoring and interaction challenges specific to liver allocation.
Where this research is happening
-
Florida International University
Miami, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zhang, Wenbin — Florida International University
- Study coordinator: Zhang, Wenbin
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.