Sarah Freire and her team developed a project to detect inflammation in the liver via the patient’s retina
Sarah Freire, a member of the first class to graduate from the Ilum School of Science at CNPEM (the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials, CNPEM), won two awards at the first edition of MIT Hacking Medicine held in Brazil. This health hackathon event has been held in various parts of the world since its creation in 2011 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The Brazilian version took place on October 18 and 19 at the Einstein Hospital Israelita and brought together students, researchers and professionals from various fields in order to propose innovative solutions to real challenges in the area of health, combining science, technology, design and entrepreneurship.
There were over 500 entries in this first Brazilian edition, with 200 participants selected for the two-day immersion. Sarah and her team developed a project called “Eyes on MASH,” a system that uses machine learning to analyze retinography images obtained from portable as well as conventional devices in order to detect early signs of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a disease where fat accumulates in the liver. This project earned the team third place in the “Best Use of GenAI in Healthcare Using Intersystems Iris Vector Search” challenge involving an artificial intelligence tool, and was the fifth best project in the MASH track.
“It was an intense and transformative experience. We had only 48 hours to devise and present a complete solution, with the support of mentors from MIT and the industry. I learned a lot about the process of innovation in health and the power of collaboration between different areas,” says Sarah.
Sarah is currently pursuing a master’s degree in health sciences at Albert Einstein and conducting research in a laboratory at the University of São Paulo (USP). She is working on a machine learning project focused on obesity that links data science and health.
In her opinion, the path she began at Ilum in 2022 was decisive in consolidating her vocation for science. “Ilum taught me to move between areas, to think critically and to communicate complex ideas clearly. This foundation was essential for me to be able to collaborate with people from different backgrounds and turn knowledge into practical solutions,” she says.
Sarah’s success demonstrates the impact of the program offered by Ilum, which works to train scientists who are prepared to address with today’s challenges via an interdisciplinary, innovative education that is connected to the real world.
“Whenever I talk about my undergraduate degree, I realize how much the concept of Ilum stirs curiosity and admiration. The experience of studying in an environment that values interdisciplinarity and learning by doing has been fundamental to my career,” she adds.
About the Ilum School of Science
Ilum offers a free undergraduate degree program that utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to train scientists and professionals in science and technology. With an innovative educational model, the three-year full-time bachelor program offers courses that connect life sciences, materials science, data science, artificial intelligence, and the humanities in order to prepare researchers to work in an ethical and collaborative manner in the search for solutions to the global challenges of the twenty-first century. The Ilum School of Science is funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) and is part of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas, São Paulo, a social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI). Ilum's educational mission offers early contact with experimental activities, in teaching labs at the school as well as at CNPEM, in projects carried out together with researchers.
About CNPEM
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment and works on different fronts within the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently constructing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive sector, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. CNPEM’s research and development activities are carried out through its four National Laboratories: Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), Biorenewables (LNBR), as well as its Technology Unit (DAT) and the Ilum School of Science — an undergraduate program in Science and Technology supported by the Ministry of Education (MEC).
