Nico Marquardt is one of the five winners of our “Art Meets Science” ideas competition. He won in the Global Health category—one of the greatest challenges of our time.
Nico Marquardt is conducting research at Charité Berlin on AI solutions for safe births worldwide.
Every day, more than 700 women worldwide die from preventable complications during pregnancy and childbirth, especially in low- and middle-income countries. That equates to more than 260,000 deaths per year. Many of these deaths could be prevented through early risk assessment, faster diagnosis, and more targeted care. In his doctoral project “From Pilot to Practice,” Nico Marquardt is investigating how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used in countries with limited resources to reduce maternal mortality.
The aim of the project is to enable early diagnosis and targeted interventions in order to save lives. Nicos' research is thus contributing to a global reduction in maternal mortality rates and ensuring that technological innovations have the maximum possible impact on society.
The project comprises three phases: First, a systematic survey of current AI applications for reducing maternal mortality will be conducted. In the second step, Nico will conduct qualitative interviews in Ghana with medical staff, patients, and other stakeholders to understand the acceptance and challenges of AI in the healthcare sector. Finally, a practice-oriented model will be developed that shows how AI can be sustainably integrated into national healthcare systems.
Nico is part of the interdisciplinary PhD program Global Health—a joint program of seven scientific institutions—and is supervised by Prof. Dr. Lothar Wieler (Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam), Prof. Dr. Tobias Kurth (Institute for Public Health, Charité), and Prof. Dr. Philipp Bouteiller (XU University).