Finalist of the category:
Outstanding Academic in Slovakia

Ivan Cimrák

Applied informatics

I am really excited about the interest of postgraduate students in my research group in applied informatics. They prioritise further studies above profitable employment in IT.

Prof. Mgr. Ivan Cimrák, Dr., is a researcher and a teacher at the Faculty of Management Science and Informatics at the University of Žilina. He deals with applied mathematics and informatics within circulating cancer cell separation modelling. He has recently also focused on the great potential of artificial intelligence in medicine.

Ivan Cimrák has liked numbers, formulas and diagrams ever since his times in primary school in Dolný Kubín, where he comes from. Later on, he excelled in mathematical Olympiads and correspondence seminars. The Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics at Comenius University Bratislava, with a focus on numerical mathematics, was a natural destination for him.„Professor Jozef Kačur's inspiring lectures and his devoted enthusiasm for science later convinced me to study applied mathematics, which is more practical. This was my turning point, the first shift from theoretical mathematics towards practice,“ Ivan Cimrák recalls. Since then, he has been eager to make his scientific research beneficial to people. Scientific collaborations in medicine and artificial intelligence opened doors for him. He sees enormous potential in their connection. Neural networks, like the human brain, can learn and connect information.

Professor Cimrák works closely with oncologists on researching the use of artificial neural networks in mammography and developing an AI model that would be capable of assessing the risk of developing aggressive breast cancer on the basis of screening examinations.„You can imagine neural networks like artificial computer brains that have a learning algorithm and are capable of learning from a large number of examples. We literally feed them huge amounts of data – mammography images with different findings, which they learn to classify and evaluate correctly. This is gradually creating a model that will help oncologists in clinical practice in the early diagnosis of breast cancer,“ Ivan Cimrák explains.

He systematically tests innovative uses of AI with pathologists when testing pathological samples for the presence of cancer cells. He also uses applied informatics to model the separation of circulating cancer cells. This is something he has long collaborated on with researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the most prestigious research universities in the world.

Ivan Cimrák thinks that the easy scalability of science is fascinating. „If a scientist finds a new way to filter circulating cells in the blood, his discovery can be applied in diagnostics by doctors around the world and has a huge impact. That's what science is all about,“ says the expert in applied computer science.

„Systematicity in science is the key to new discoveries, but it is also a way to rule out wrong solutions. Scientists work through thousands of different options before they find the right answer. This gives the scientific result more authority, unlike the reckless claims that are always presented on social media.“

Professor Cimrák completed his doctoral studies at Ghent University in Belgium. There he continued in postdoctoral positions, culminating in an internship at St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences in Austria. After his return to Slovakia, he was the recipient of an individual Marie Curie EU grant, as well as a successful applicant for several national grants. In twelve years, he has advised 13 PhD students.„I am excited about the continuous interest of postgraduate students in my research group in applied informatics. I try to guide my students to be better than me in their fields. Feedback and different perspectives help me grow. I also think it’s important to be able to recognize when my judgement is wrong and to admit when I don't know something.“

Ivan Cimrák likes to spend his free time with his wife and children, mainly hiking, ski mountaineering and living everyday life in their house and garden. He clears his head while running and playing volleyball. He is also an engaged and active citizen. „I consider saving even a single human life to be the meaning of my research.“

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