AI Research

This Blue Valley teen uses AI to research cancer. Trump’s budget cuts could halt his work

Published

2 days ago

July 9, 2025

KCUR

Matthew Chen, a senior at Blue Valley North High School, knows the importance of cancer research firsthand — he’s been working with the University of Kansas Cancer Center for two years to look into the disease.

He also joined cancer survivors and medical experts with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network last month in Washington, D.C., to advocate for cancer research funding following the threat of federal budget cuts.

The Trump administration has proposed slashing billions of dollars from the National Institutes of Health budget for 2026 and cutting nearly 40% of the National Cancer Institute’s funding.

At a time when more than 2 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed this year and more than 600,000 people will die from the disease, Chen said lawmakers should be putting more into the agency’s budget and not cutting back.

“These numbers are extremely high, and now, more than ever, we need increased efforts on cancer research for better treatments in cancer prevention,” Chen said. “Because cancer can affect anybody.”

Chen, 16, got his start with the KU Cancer Center by volunteering at cancer screening events, eventually moving into cancer research.

At first, Chen spent time experimenting with artificial intelligence and coding in different programming languages. That would later become his focus to help predict patient outcomes, side effects and quality of life from cancer treatment.

After studying existing research, he began writing code, training computer models and spending hours collecting data on patient outcomes. One of his projects looked at where people live and how that impacts their ability to afford cancer treatment.

Another AI model he built tracks lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, in patients across their treatment.

“It helps doctors to sort of tailor the treatment that patients receive based on what side effects, or the severity of the reaction that they’re predicted to have,” Chen said.

In Washington, D.C.

Chen attended a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing last month during which lawmakers reviewed Trump’s budget request to shrink NIH funding. He said he was relieved to hear bipartisan support from legislators, including from U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, to whom he spoke after the event.

“It was great to feel like I personally am making a difference, and to let Senator Moran know that his constituents care a lot about this issue,” Chen said.

Matthew Chen, a senior at Blue Valley North High School, spoke with U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas after a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing in June to review Trump’s budget request to shrink NIH funding. Photo courtesy Matthew Chen.

National cuts to cancer research could directly impact Kansans, Chen said. The KU Cancer Center is the state’s only NCI-designated cancer center, and it provides residents with access to clinical trials and education on cancer prevention and detection, he said.

Megan Word, the government relations director for ACS CAN in Kansas and Nebraska, said the cancer center also gives patients access to newer treatments and more specialists who treat specific cancers.

The American Cancer Society also has a Hope Lodge in Kansas City, where Word said people who travel more than 50 miles for treatment can stay free of charge.

Word said Kansans are lucky to have those resources, and the group is working to ensure the whole state can access them.

“We can’t do that without research funding. We can’t do that without early detection, prevention screening programs,” Word said. “To look and try to estimate how we’re going to keep that support system in place if we’re looking at a reduction as large as the president has proposed, it’s really unbelievable.”

Funding cuts

Additional federal cuts could impact other cancer prevention efforts across the state.

Trump proposed cutting $4 billion from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which funds the Kansas registry that tracks how often residents are diagnosed with cancer, what type they have and their survival outcomes.

Word said some of the state’s cancer prevention programs have already been impacted by earlier cuts and layoffs.

The Department of Health and Human Services closed the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, which Word said shutters funding that went toward states’ work on tobacco cessation and prevention education.

Word said more cuts to the CDC under Trump’s budget proposal could threaten the state’s program to detect breast and cervical cancer.

“The current actions that have frozen funding, slash staffing and talk of future funding cuts for lifesaving cancer research is unacceptable. These cuts will have life-threatening consequences,” Word said. “That means fewer people will have access to clinical trials. Researchers on the cusp of new discoveries will be forced to shut off the lights.”

For now, Chen said he’s grateful for the opportunity to get hands-on experience in the biomedical field and to learn firsthand the importance of that work.

Chen said he’s been so inspired by his work that he hopes cancer research will be part of whatever job he pursues in the future.

“If there are these severe cuts, that might not be an option for future generations, and I want to ensure that it is because it’s such a great opportunity, and it helps not only high schoolers, but it helps cancer patients as well,” Chen said.

As KCUR’s education reporter, I cover how the economy, housing and school funding shape kids’ education. I’ll meet teachers, students and their families where they are — late night board meetings, in the classroom or in their homes — to break down the big decisions and cover what matters most to you. You can reach me at jodifortino@kcur.org.

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AI Research

Clarivate Unveils Enhanced 2025 G20 Research, Innovation Scorecard with Expanded Data, AI Insights

Published

29 minutes ago

July 11, 2025

Maham Fatima

Clarivate (NYSE:CLVT) is one of the cheap IT stocks hedge funds are buying. On July 9, Clarivate released its annual 2025 G20 Research and Innovation Scorecard. This scorecard was developed by experts at the Institute for Scientific Information/ISI at Clarivate and provides a data-driven overview of the research and innovation capabilities of G20 member nations.

The 2025 scorecard now incorporates data from the Emerging Sources Citation Index/ESCI, which is a part of the Web of Science Core Collection, to provide a more comprehensive view of global research. The scorecard has been refined to better emphasize collaboration and impact, reflecting South Africa’s Ubuntu philosophy, the G20 host for 2025.

Clarivate Unveils Enhanced 2025 G20 Research, Innovation Scorecard with Expanded Data, AI Insights

A state-of-the-art computer lab filled with engineers working on new analytics technologies.

Dynamic visualizations are included to showcase each member’s research performance within their economic context and academic priorities. New additions also include OECD field-level breakdowns, insights into open access, and research aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting how G20 nations are collaborating to address global challenges.

Clarivate (NYSE:CLVT) is an information services provider in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Asia Pacific.

While we acknowledge the potential of CLVT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

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AI Research

Louis Vuitton says UK customer data stolen in cyber-attack | Cybercrime

Published

1 hour ago

July 11, 2025

Mark Sweney

Louis Vuitton has said the data of some UK customers has been stolen, as it became the latest retailer targeted by cyber hackers.

The retailer, the leading brand of the French luxury group LVMH, said an unauthorised third party had accessed its UK operation’s systems and obtained information such as names, contact details and purchase history.

The brand, which last week said its Korean operation had suffered a similar cyber-attack, told customers that no financial data such as bank details had been compromised.

“While we have no evidence that your data has been misused to date, phishing attempts, fraud attempts, or unauthorised use of your information may occur,” the email said.

The company said it had notified the relevant authorities, including the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The hack took place on 2 July, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the breach. It is the third breach of LVMH’s systems in the last three months.

As well as the two attacks on Louis Vuitton, LVMH’s second-largest fashion label, Christian Dior Couture, said in May that hackers had accessed some customer data.

On Thursday, four people were arrested as part of an investigation into cyber-attacks on Marks & Spencer, the Co-op and Harrods.

Those arrested were a 17-year-old British boy from the West Midlands, a 19-year-old Latvian man from the West Midlands, a 19-year-old British man from London and a 20-year-old British woman from Staffordshire.

M&S was the first retailer to be attacked, in April, in an incident that forced the closure of its online store for nearly seven weeks. The Co-op was attacked in the same month and forced to shut down parts of its IT system.

Harrods said on 1 May it had been targeted, and restricted internet access across its websites after attempts to gain unauthorised access to its systems.

The arrests came days after the M&S chair, Archie Norman, told MPs that two other large British companies had been affected by unreported cyber-attacks in recent months, as he gave details of the “traumatic” attack on the retailer.

Louis Vuitton has been approached for comment.

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AI Research

This Underrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Is Crushing the Market, and It Could Skyrocket Higher

Published

2 hours ago

July 11, 2025

Harsh Chauhan

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index has been in turnaround mode for the past three months — up an impressive 31% over that span after a rocky start to the year. That’s not surprising, as strong quarterly results from major technology companies seem to have boosted investor confidence in the sector.

Lumentum Holdings (LITE 1.07%) has been one of the beneficiaries of the tech stock rally. Shares of the company, which sells optical and photonic products that go into data centers and telecom networks to enable fast data transmission, have shot up by an impressive 75% in the past three months, putting them back within 10% of the peak they reached in January.

The good part is that Lumentum’s rebound wasn’t just a function of the broader market’s rally, but also because of the company’s healthy growth, which is being powered by its customers’ increasing investments in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Better still, this stock is likely to deliver more upside to investors.

Image Source: Getty Images

Lumentum’s products are playing a key role in AI data centers

Lumentum is witnessing terrific demand for its externally modulated lasers (EMLs), which are widely deployed in high-speed optical communications applications such as data centers and telecom networks. Their ability to transmit data over long distances at high speeds makes them ideal for deployment in AI data centers.

On Lumentum’s May earnings call, CEO Michael Hurlston noted: “We set another record for EML chip set shipments this quarter and remain on track to more than double this business by the end of calendar 2025.” At the same time, the company is going to further expand its production capacity of EMLs in an effort to meet the end-market demand.

That’s the smart thing to do, considering that according to market research firm LightCounting, the optical transceiver market is expected to generate $10 billion in revenue in 2026 — as compared to $5 billion in 2024 — before rising to $20 billion in 2030.

LITE Revenue (Quarterly) data by YCharts

The company’s revenue in its fiscal 2025 third quarter increased by 16% year over year to $425.2 million. Its adjusted earnings per share jumped by more than 500% — from $0.09 to $0.57 — on the back of an improvement in manufacturing utilization rates as well as the higher margins of its laser components deployed in AI servers.

Analysts’ consensus estimates are for a 20% increase in Lumentum’s revenue this year to $1.6 billion. Importantly, its top-line growth is expected to remain solid next year as well, thanks to the improving demand for AI-focused optical components.

LITE Revenue Estimates for Current Fiscal Year data by YCharts.

Even better, that top-line growth is expected to filter down to the bottom line as well. The analysts are forecasting a 94% increase in earnings in the current fiscal year to $1.96 per share.

LITE EPS Estimates for Current Fiscal Year data by YCharts.

That won’t be surprising when we take into account the margin gains that its laser components deployed in AI data centers are delivering.

Why this AI stock is set up for more upside

What’s worth noting is that Lumentum is trading at an incredibly attractive valuation despite the impressive growth that it has been clocking. It has a forward earnings multiple of 24, which is lower than the tech-laden Nasdaq-100 index’s average forward price-to-earnings ratio of 29.

Even assuming Lumentum continues to trade at a discount to the broader index after a couple of years, if it delivers the healthy earnings growth that analysts are anticipating, its stock could fly higher. Based on a P/E ratio of 24, its projected earnings of $5.21 per share in its fiscal 2027 point toward a stock price of $125. That would be 37% above the current level.

However, don’t be surprised to see this AI stock jumping higher than that, as the market could reward it with a premium multiple thanks to its strong earnings growth. That’s why even after its impressive rebound over the past three months, investors should consider buying Lumentum before it possibly flies even higher.

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