Yassine Himeur
Associate Professor & Director of the Master of Electrical Engineering Program College of Engineering & Information Technology
“I am deeply honored to contribute to the pioneering SYNERGY-PD project supported by the Dubai RDI Grant Program, which aligns perfectly with my long-standing research in artificial intelligence, smart health systems, and sustainable innovation. With extensive experience leading multidisciplinary R&D initiatives, I am enthusiastic about driving impactful outcomes that advance Dubai’s vision for a knowledge-based economy. This project represents an exciting opportunity to translate cutting-edge research into real-world societal and industrial benefits.”
SYNERGY-PD will deliver an integrated, clinically oriented ecosystem for ultra-early detection and personalized management of Parkinson’s disease (PD) by uniting three pillars: novel biomarker science, Agentic AI, and Digital Twin technology. The project pioneers minimally invasive assays that profile α-synuclein isoforms from neuron-derived extracellular vesicles (NDEVs) as early biomarkers of PD, addressing limitations of symptom-based diagnosis and costly imaging. These molecular insights will be fused with motor and behavioral data through autonomous, interpretable Agentic AI to enhance accuracy, scalability, and clinical trust, while patient-specific Digital Twins simulate disease trajectories to support proactive, individualized care.
The 36-month program will produce a compliant in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) prototype aligned with ISO 13485 and GDPR, a self-improving AI framework, and a clinically ready Digital Twin platform, culminating in a commercialization roadmap. Key objectives include scalable NDEV biomarker detection, autonomous data ingestion and adaptive learning, and seamless AI–Twin integration within clinical workflows. Milestones span from early assay standardization and AI beta releases to a final set of scientific publications and commercialization planning by Month 36.
Clinical translation is central: multi-phase validation with 1,200 participants will benchmark SYNERGY-PD against UPDRS and DaTscan gold standards, targeting validated diagnostic accuracy >90% in pilot testing. This evidence base will inform regulatory submissions and clinical integration protocols, de-risking adoption in real-world settings.
Beyond technology, the project invests in Dubai’s innovation capacity through structured training of Emirati graduate researchers and annual clinician workshops, while advancing knowledge via high-impact publications and IP generation. By shifting PD care from reactive diagnosis to predictive, preventive intervention, SYNERGY-PD aligns with Dubai’s RDI priorities in Health & Life Sciences and positions the emirate as a global hub for AI-enabled precision neurology.