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U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., toured a University of Pennsylvania research laboratory Friday to highlight how artificial intelligence can supercharge advances in biomedical and drug development.

“Every time I come here for a visit, I leave just inspired by all the wonderful, incredible discoveries and progress,” McCorkmick told researchers.

AIRFoundry, an AI-driven research lab funded by the National Science Foundation, is located at One uCity Square near Penn’s campus. The lab uses AI, robotics and automation to speed the development of RNA-based medicines, drug delivery systems and other biotechnology applications.

Years become weeks

Researchers at the incubator said AI is changing biomedical research by helping scientists process large datasets, predict successful drug formulations and automate parts of the discovery process.

That has meant a highly accelerated development process, bringing ideas to production in a much shorter time.

“Years of work become weeks of work, and that’s sort of the compression that you see when you use AI to do these things,” Jake Gardner, an assistant professor of computer science who works at the lab, told McCormick.

The technology has the potential to reduce the drug discovery timeline and associated costs, and may benefit fields beyond medicine, such as agriculture and veterinary science.

Right now, “a company has to search for 10 years and spend hundreds of millions to billions of dollars just looking for a potential candidate that they’ll then take through the clinical pipeline,” said Andrew Hanna, a bioengineering doctoral student working at the lab. “The goal is to turn that from like a 10-year process to like a six-month process.”

The visit also highlighted the commercialization efforts tied to Penn’s research ecosystem. Several researchers described how startup companies have emerged from university labs.

One of those, InfiniFluidics, created a prototype system that uses robotics and AI-processing to speed up the creation of RNA-based drug treatments. Co-founder Daeyeon Lee said hospitals, research labs and pharmaceutical companies could eventually use the technology.

“This is a unique project even for Penn, which is known for interdisciplinarity,” said Lee, who is also a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Penn. “We have computer scientists that are building AI platforms so that we can design experiments for people, but then we have people working in molecular biology. We have people like me or engineers that come together to build these facilities and help researchers.”

The AI talent pipeline

Penn boasts of being the first Ivy League university to offer an undergraduate degree in AI, from which the first six students graduated this weekend.

The curriculum includes fundamental courses, as well as “AI for health” and “AI for robotics.”

George Pappas, Penn’s AI program director, told McCormick they expect the program to grow to 250 students next year.

“It’s not just advancing AI, but how to impact other disciplines and other sectors of the economy through AI,” Pappas said.

Breakfast dishes can be a fun departure from traditional dinner foods when dining out. While plenty of diners serve breakfast all day, many of those spots close at 2 or 3 p.m.

“It’s one of those things that everybody wants — we sell a lot of breakfast at night,” said Back To The 80’s Diner co-owner Shane Hissem. “After 4 p.m., we sell about 30% breakfast. I think sometimes people just get hungry for it.”

Hissem, his wife Kari Hissem and Aimee Bell co-own the Greensburg diner decked out in ’80s memorabilia, including a mounted E.T. in a bicycle basket, servers decked out in ’80s leg warmers and fanny packs, Pac-Man wall art and a MTV-themed wall.

The cheesy hash browns ($3.49) and fruit-filled stuffed pancakes ($8.98) are a hit, along with eggs Benedict ($9.99).

“People love the vibe and the breakfast at night,” Hissem said.

Server Bria Boyle said her customers really dig the pancakes for supper.

“French toast, pancakes and a lot of omelets are ordered at night. Customers come in at 7:30 p.m. and get their coffee and breakfast — we even serve Spam,” Boyle said.

Breakfast, er, dinner sandwiches

Cameron Wycich of Shaler likes to get creative when he orders build-your-own breakfast sandwiches at Oakmont Bakery in Oakmont.

The cafe there serves 10 different breakfast sandwiches all day, until 7 p.m.

“Today I ordered a blueberry bagel with bacon, egg and cheese. I occasionally order one for dinner,” Wycich said.

Oakmont Bakery co-owner Tony Serrao said offering breakfast options all day has proved popular with customers.

“People come in and order them all day long, especially kids coming over from the high school after school. They love to get hash browns, breakfast sandwiches and they even like to put the hash brown on the sandwich,” Serrao said.

Sandwich prices range from $6 to $10.

Breakfast for dinner is a concept that just “caught on” for Oakmont Bakery.

“We just revamped our cafe and offer fresh-squeezed orange juice all day now, too. We are a bakery, but our cafe has just evolved over the years,” Serrao said.

The Giant Cinnamon Roll Pancake at Youngstown Grill in Youngstown near Latrobe. (Courtesy of Youngstown Grill)

Extra large pancakes

Craving a mega-sized pancake for supper?

You’ll find them at Youngstown Grill near Latrobe. The best seller is the giant cinnamon roll pancake ($6.95), which covers the plate.

A homemade cinnamon sauce is made in-house and you can add chocolate chips or blueberries for $1.50.

Breakfast here is served until 8 p.m. Another popular breakfast choice is the Youngstown scramble ($9.95) served with eggs, onions, green peppers, home fries and a choice of bacon or sausage, all mixed together.

Hash it out

The Corned Beef Hash Breakfast served at Tap It Brewery and Grill in Mt. Pleasant. (Courtesy of Tap It Brewery and Grill)

Tap It Brewery & Grill in Mt. Pleasant is another spot for hearty breakfast-for-dinner options. They serve breakfast until closing between 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., depending on the day.

The house-brewed beers pair well with breakfast.

The most popular breakfast meal is corned beef hash ($10.95), which is made with braised beef in a brine and served with breakfast potatoes, two eggs and toast.

Menu highlights include The Mammoth Special ($10.95) featuring two eggs, choice of sausage, ham or bacon, choice of two regular pancakes or two waffles or two French toast and one side. Three stuffed pancakes ($8.95) are served folded like a taco and stuffed with a homemade cheesecake filling (apple, strawberry, cherry or blueberry) and served with a side.

Frederic Rongier, owner of Paris 66, folds a breakfast crepe inside his East Liberty restaurant on May 6. (Kristina Serafini | TribLive)

Savory crepes

Authentic French crepes are served for dinner at Paris 66 Bistro in East Liberty.

Proprietor Frederic Rongier studied at a crepe-making French institution in 1999.

One of the two dinner options is made with buckwheat and is gluten-free. Both can be made with Swiss cheese, egg and a choice of ham or bacon.

Crepes are $25 each and adding smoked salmon is $12 more.

Rongier is keen on buckwheat crepes.

“It’s 100% French and the taste is not comparable with anything else,” he said, also recommending pairing a crepe with French cider Cidre Brut ($42), a dry, crisp alcoholic French drink.

Crepes are commonly eaten for supper in France, particularly in the Brittany region, said Rongier, a native of France.

“Guests feel like they are in France when they eat one,” he said.