CS+Advertising student pitches software platform to improve recruitment for clinical trials

In Fall 2021, computer science + advertising sophomore Carter Smith practiced presenting his business concept at SocialFuse, a campus pitching and networking event. He's working on a platform to give pharmaceutical companies a way to identify and recruit participants for clinical trials using deep learning. 

Smith was inspired by family members who work in clinical trial administration.

"Our conversations [about the patient recruitment process] led me to think about how much more efficient the process could be if pharmaceutical companies and physicians were brought together in one place, which was the beginning of Locus," he said.

"SocialFuse was a great place to share what started as an idea, receive feedback on the way it was conceptualized, and shape my goals for the project," Smith said. "It was a really exciting atmosphere and gave me a chance to connect with many entrepreneurial students on campus, as well as leaders of University incubator programs."

After the experience of pitching his idea, Smith is now focusing on research and implementation of state-of-the-art natural language processing and data analysis methods. 

Smith chose CS + advertising because he wanted to learn from two prestigious programs at Illinois that will prepare him for many intriguing career opportunities.

"Learning technical and creative skills as part of two fantastic communities is really a one-of-a-kind experience," he said. "A lot of my comfort with creating new ideas is because of the CS+Advertising curriculum."