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Cornell University

BRC CoPAIR: Building Communities for AI-Enabled Research

Communities of Practice for AI-enabled Research (CoPAIR), co-sponsored by the Cornell AI Initiative and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR), brings researchers together to share best practices, develop disciplinary norms for appropriate use and non-use, and evaluate emerging AI tools for research.

Fall 2026 BRC CoPAIR Pilot – Launching Oct. 20

The Biotechnology Resource Center (BRC), a hub for Cornell's biotechnology and life sciences community, will launch the first Core-Center CoPAIR pilot on Oct. 20, 2026. The approximately eight-week pilot will focus activities around four areas of life sciences research:

  • Genomics, including transcriptomics, epigenomics and metagenomics
  • Proteomics and metabolomics
  • Imaging
  • Structural biology

The program will help researchers design and deploy AI-assisted workflows, configure and customize tools, build domain-specific AI skills and uses, and share best practices with peers through a curated shared repository of AI skills and custom use cases.  

Through presentations, weekly meetings, and hands-on exploration, the community will identify and develop best practices for AI-enabled research, while also considering research security, responsible use, reproducibility, and other emerging concerns.

Projects can span the full research workflow – from raw to processed data. Solutions may range from human-in-the-loop workflows, in which researchers guide and evaluate critical steps, to highly automated approaches.

The effort is coordinated by Marcus Smolka, AVP for Life Sciences, and Qi Sun, Bioinformatics Facility Co-Director.  

Register to join!

Interested researchers across Cornell are invited to register to participate in the Fall 2026 BRC CoPAIR community. Registration will help us understand your interests and connect you with the appropriate focus group.  

Register for the Fall 2026 BRC CoPAIR

*Depending on the level of interest, there may be the need to limit capacity of participants for this pilot. Plans are in place to continue programming in the spring with more opportunities to participate.

Additional CoPAIR programs and participation opportunities for researchers from other fields will be announced soon. Join the Cornell AI Initiative mailing list to receive program updates, announcements, and opportunities to get involved.