Boston – Guyanese Scientist Pioneers AI Drug Development

2026-02-17 - 12:08

For Dr. Niven Narain, the journey toward transforming modern medicine began not in a laboratory, but in a hospital room more than three decades ago. At just 13 years old, he watched helplessly as cancer claimed the life of his grandmother, Rukhminia Latchman, a moment that reshaped both his ambitions and his understanding of science. He vividly recalls studying her X-ray images after the disease had already spread. “When she was diagnosed, it had metastasized to her lungs; it was in her lymph nodes... I remember looking at the x-ray images in the hospital and just looking at her lungs and all these white spots... Those are images that will be entrenched in my mind forever,” he said in a recent interview. Although originally drawn to computer science during the early rise of the internet era, the experience redirected his focus toward biology and medicine. Encouraged by his Guyanese biology teacher, Hector Telford, Narain began exploring the scientific questions behind disease, a curiosity that would eventually place him at the forefront of artificial intelligence–driven drug discovery. Today, Narain serves as President and CEO of BPGbio Inc, a Boston-based biotechnology firm using advanced artificial intelligence to decode human biology and accelerate the development of new treatments. Widely regarded as a pioneer at the intersection of AI and medicine, he led the creation of the company’s NAi Interrogative Biology® platform, designed to analyze patient data to uncover disease patterns and identify targeted therapies. Rather than beginning drug development with chemical hypotheses, the traditional pharmaceutical model, Narain reversed the process. “My work is using math and AI to firstly understand the make-up of a disease process... Instead of using hypotheses to create data, I thought it would be better to use patient data or patient biology to create hypotheses,” he explained. The approach has supported the development of several experimental therapies targeting cancer, neurological disorders, and rare inflammatory diseases, while advancing the growing field of precision medicine, tailoring treatments to individual biological profiles rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model. Born in Guyana to educators from Berbice, Narain spent his early childhood on Thomas Street in Georgetown before relocating abroad. Despite leaving at a young age, memories of visits to the seawall and time spent with his grandmother remain deeply influential. Her later breast cancer diagnosis in New York profoundly affected him. “The cancer doesn’t end when the patient dies; it lasts; it permeates the family,” he reflected. Over time, his research also revealed disparities affecting Caribbean populations. He observed that aggressive cancers frequently impact Afro- and Indo-Caribbean communities, yet treatments are often developed without accounting for biological differences among populations. “I was the first person in the world to use AI in medicine to develop drugs, and this dates back to 2010,” he noted. Narain’s contributions recently earned him the Science and Technology Laureate title at the Anthony N. Sabga Awards for Caribbean Excellence. The recognition, he said, immediately brought his thoughts back to the women who shaped his life, his grandmother, mother, wife, and daughter, while reinforcing a deeper responsibility to give back to the region. “It was humbling... but I really felt this massive social responsibility,” he said, pointing to ongoing challenges such as limited breast cancer screening across Guyana and parts of the Caribbean. That responsibility is now guiding efforts to expand biotechnology and scientific research in Guyana. Narain has begun collaborating with Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony and U.S. Ambassador Nicole Theriot to explore building a local biotech ecosystem, including drug manufacturing, biobanking facilities, and data-driven health research. Early initiatives already include a community biology project focused on diabetes in partnership with the Ministry of Health. Beyond industry development, education remains central to his vision. Working alongside academic partners, including Professor David Dabydeen of Cambridge University, he hopes to strengthen science education and eventually establish PhD programmes in biology, physics, and chemistry within Guyana. After more than two decades in global drug development, including leadership roles, hundreds of patents, and collaborations with institutions such as NASA’s Gene Lab and the U.S. Department of Defense, Narain remains guided by humility and curiosity. Despite humanity’s technological achievements, he notes that biology still holds profound mysteries. More than 35 years after first confronting cancer through his grandmother’s illness, his mission remains unchanged: to understand disease earlier, treat it more precisely, and spare other families the kind of loss that shaped his own path. For Narain, the Sabga Award represents not a culmination, but a reminder that the most important scientific work still lies ahead.