Noor Shaker facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Noor Shaker نور شاكر
Noor Shaker
Nationality	Syrian British
Occupation	entrepreneur and computer scientist

Noor Shaker is a brilliant computer scientist and entrepreneur from Syria and Britain. She uses a special kind of computer science called artificial intelligence (AI) to help discover new medicines. She also works on improving how doctors find diseases like cancer. Noor has started several companies that use AI to solve big problems in health.

In 2018, she won a special award called the CogX UK Rising Star Award. The Prime Minister at the time, Theresa May, gave her this award for her amazing AI technology. This technology helps find new ways to treat long-term illnesses.

Noor Shaker's Journey

Her Education and Early Work

Noor Shaker first studied computer science at the University of Damascus in Syria. She quickly became interested in artificial intelligence. While there, she helped develop software that could turn written Arabic into spoken words.

Later, she moved to Belgium to get her master's degree at KU Leuven, focusing even more on AI. In 2009, she moved to Denmark to earn her PhD. She continued her research in machine learning at the IT University of Copenhagen.

Noor stayed in Copenhagen for several years. In 2016, she became an assistant professor at Aalborg University. Her research looked at how machine learning could be used in areas like understanding emotions (affective computing) and creating video games. She even helped organize competitions where AIs would play video games or create new levels for games like Super Mario. During her time as a professor, she co-wrote a textbook and published many academic papers.

Starting New Companies

In 2017, Noor Shaker helped start a company called GTN Ltd. This company aimed to combine quantum computing and AI to discover new medicines. Quantum computing uses the rules of quantum physics to solve complex problems. Noor was the CEO of GTN Ltd for over two years. The company wanted to use AI and quantum physics to predict better treatments for medical use.

In 2020, Noor started her third company, Glamorous AI, based in London. This company continued her goal of finding new ways to discover medicines. Glamorous AI aimed to combine expert chemistry knowledge with advanced machine learning. This would help them quickly find new chemical compounds with the right properties. Glamorous AI even worked with Cardiff University to look for possible COVID-19 drugs. In November 2021, a US company called X-Chem bought Glamorous AI. This helped X-Chem use AI in their early drug discovery work.

After working at X-Chem, Noor Shaker founded SpatialX in late 2023. This new company uses artificial intelligence to improve how doctors diagnose cancer. SpatialX wants to give doctors better AI tools to help them find and treat cancer more effectively.

Noor Shaker is also an advisor for AI and Informatics at the Rosalind Franklin Institute. She often speaks at AI events, especially those that encourage women to join the technology industry.

Awards and Honours

Noor Shaker has received many awards for her work:

• 2013: IEEE Transactions on Computational Intelligence and AI in Games Outstanding Paper Award.
• 2018: Named one of the Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review.
• 2018: Recognized as one of 50 Movers and Shakers in BioBusiness by BioBeat.
• 2018: Received the Rising Star award from CogX.
• 2019: Included in the BBC 100 Women list.
• 2021: Named one of the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech.

See also

In Spanish: Noor Shaker para niños