Special Issue on Artificial Intelligence (AI): Applications in Disease Pathogenesis and Precision Medicine

Introduction:

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into biomedical research has revolutionised our understanding of disease biology and accelerated progress in precision medicine. These computational methods excel at managing complex and heterogeneous datasets, effectively bridging systems-level analyses with targeted genetic investigations. From multi-omics data integration to unravelling individual gene functions and regulatory networks, AI-driven approaches significantly enhance our ability to identify causal mechanisms and predict biological outcomes with remarkable accuracy.

This special issue presents a curated collection of methodologically rigorous studies demonstrating clinically relevant applications of AI in disease research. It showcases how computational innovation integrates with biological insight, emphasising reproducible methodologies, interpretable results and meaningful translational impact. The featured contributions highlight cutting-edge advances in disease mechanism elucidation, biomarker development, target identification and therapeutic innovation, with particular emphasis on work incorporating mechanistic validation, clinical correlation and open-source resources.

Topics covered:

• AI and machine learning applications in disease classification, diagnosis, and patient stratification (diseases include, such as but not limited, cancer, metabolic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and infectious diseases).
• Disease mechanism elucidation through AI/ML-driven data integration and molecular pathway analysis
• Biomarker discovery and validation using computational approaches across diverse biological datasets
• Clinical translation, validation, and interpretability of AI models in biomedical research
• Therapeutic target identification and drug discovery using machine learning methodologies
• Single gene/multi-omics functional analysis and mechanistic studies using machine learning approaches
• AI applications in clinical pathologic diagnosis and disease prognosis
• AI Applications in medical imaging-based diagnosis and prognosis of diseases
• AI applications in clinical outcome assessment of monotherapy and/or combinatorial therapies
• AI applications in pre-op simulations and surgical planning
• All lowercase with exception of the first letter of each line

Submission Instructions:

Please read the Guide for Authors before submitting. All articles should be submitted online  , please select VSI: AI in Precision Medicine on submission.

Submission deadline: 30 June 2026

Guest Editors:

• Lead Guest Editor: Prof. Hongwei Wang, Fudan University School of Medicine, China. Email: whw7037@126.com

• Lead Guest Editor: Prof. Yunliang Wang, Zhengzhou University the Second Affiliated Hospital, China. Email: Wangyunliang81@163.com

• Co-Guest Editor: Dr. Shaoqiu Chen, John A. Burns School of Medicine, USA.Email: shaoqiu@hawaii.edu

• Co-Guest Editor: Dr. Changlong Wu, University of Arizona, USA. Email: clwu@arizona.edu