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Our Team

Meet the people behind the scenes who make it all happen

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Aaron Cohen

Professor


Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology

Oregon Health & Science University

Portland, OR


I am leading the OMOP implementation of the Tools module.


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Aaron Lee

C. Dan and Irene Hunter Endowed Professorship

Professor in Ophthalmology


Department of Ophthalmology

University of Washington

Seattle, WA


Aaron Lee is the overall principal investigator for the AI-READI project and the co-lead for the Standards module.


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Adelle Engmann (she/her)

AI-READI Intern


Stanford Deep Data Research Center

Stanford University

Stanford, CA


I am a computational social scientist with a public health background, passionate about integrating social science and technology to develop a community-centric approach to digital health. I am collaborating with Dr. Amir Bahmani to create bioinformatics educational modules on diabetes management for the new Stanford Data Ocean certificate program.


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Adrienne Baer

PhD Candidate


Center for Work, Technology, and Organization

Stanford University

Stanford, CA


I am a scholar of organizations and social change. As a researcher on the team science milestone, I use qualitative and quantitative methods to explore how our larger AI-READI team coordinates and collaborates in pursuit of technological and societal advancement.


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Amir Bahmani

Director of Stanford Deep Data Research Center


Genetics

Stanford University

Stanford, CA


I serve as a Stanford PI, leading a team that focuses on wearable data, including smartwatches and CGM. Additionally, I teach Cloud Computing for Biology and Healthcare at Stanford. I'm deeply passionate about bridging the gap between engineering and medicine by building and maintaining large-scale platforms like MyPHD and Data Ocean.


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Anna Heinke

Research Fellow

AI-READI intern


Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology and Shiley Eye Institute

University of California, San Diego

San Diego, CA


I am an ophthalmologist currently working as a Research Fellow in Vitreoretinal Diseases at UC San Diego. As an AI-READI intern, I have a special interest in the clinical applications of AI and machine learning, particularly in the fields of ophthalmology and retinal imaging analysis.


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Apoorva Karsolia

Research Associate


Shiley Eye Institute

University of California, San Diego

San Diego, CA


I'm a Research Scientist with a background in human perception, eye movements, and visual neuroscience. As an AI-READI intern, I'm passionate about using AI and machine learning to enhance patient care and expand our understanding of human perception and learning.


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Arash Alavi

Software Engineering Director


Genetics

Stanford University

Stanford, CA


I am the Software Engineering Director at the Stanford Deep Data Research Center, where I focus on digital health solutions. As part of the AI-READI, I work on the standardization module, specifically processing wearable data, including physical activity monitoring and CGM.


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Aya Motoyoshi

Postdoctoral Scholar and AI-READI intern


Department of Ophthalmology

University of Washington

Seattle, WA


As an AI-READI intern and postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Washington, I am involved in data verification and analysis for the AI-READI project.


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Aydan Gasimova (she/her)

Web Developer


FAIR Data Innovations Hub

California Medical Innovations Institute

San Diego, CA


I'm Web Developer with practical experience developing dynamic front-end web applications. I am elated to build tools that will help researchers and clinicians better use data.


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Benjamin Cordier

Senior Computational Biologist


Knight Cancer Institute

Oregon Health & Science University

Portland, OR


I'm a computational scientist experienced in algorithm design, model development, and interactive data visualization. As part of AI-READI, I'll be building tools to enable the harmonization, comprehension, and reuse of data by researchers.


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Bhavesh Patel (he/him)

Associate Research Professor


FAIR Data Innovations Hub

California Medical Innovations Institute

San Diego, CA


I am an M-PI for the Tools module, leading the development of fairhub.io through my expertise in FAIR data practices and development of research software.


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Bradley Voytek

University of California, San Diego


Cognitive Science and Data Science

UC San Diego

San Diego, CA


I'm a Professor of Cognitive Science and the Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute at UC San Diego, where my lab takes a data science approach to cognitive neuroscience: leveraging many, large, heterogeneous neural datasets to understand the physiology of human cognition. For AI-READI, I develop and run education and training modules in data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.


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Brittany York

Project Manager


Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science

University of California, San Diego

San Diego, CA


Brittany York is a Project Manager for the ETAI module. She joined UC San Diego in 2011 working on federally funded research projects related to physical activity, sedentary behavior, and chronic disease prevention.

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    Camille Nebeker

    Professor


    School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science

    University of California, San Diego

    San Diego, CA


    I co-founded and direct UC San Diego ReCODE Health Center, which provides education and consultation services to guide consideration of the ethical, legal, and social implications of digital/AI health research. For AI-READI, our Ethical and Trustworthy AI team will foster awareness of ethical and responsible practices (e.g., risk assessment, informed consent, return of results) across all modules.


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    Cecilia Lee

    Klorfine Family Endowed Chair Director of Clinical Research

    Professor


    Department of Ophthalmology

    University of Washington

    Seattle, WA


    I serve as the Program Director of the overall AI-READI project and the Site PI of the University of Washington clinical site for the Data Module. My interests include 'Big Data' research involving electronic medical records and non-invasive imaging datasets in the retina. I am passionate about leveraging large datasets and next-generation computational approaches to better understand deep connections between the eyes and other critical systemic diseases.


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    Charles Enyaah Amankwa (he/him)

    Research Scientist

    AI-READI intern


    North Texas Eye Research Institute

    University of North Texas Health Science Center

    Fort worth, TX


    I am a glaucoma research scientist and an intern at the AI-READI program, focused on leveraging AI and machine learning to improve OCT image quality. My role involves employing deep learning techniques to evaluate image quality for the AI-READI Project.


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    Christopher Chute

    Professor and CRIO


    Johns Hopkins University

    Baltimore, MD


    Dr. Chute is the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Health Informatics, Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing at Johns Hopkins University, and Chief Research Information Officer for Johns Hopkins Medicine. His current research focuses on translating basic science information to clinical practice, how we classify dysfunctional phenotypes (disease), and the harmonization and rendering of real-world clinical data including electronic health records to support data inferencing.


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    Colleen Cuddy (she/her/hers)

    Director, Research and Academic Collaboration


    Lane Medical Library

    Stanford University School of Medicine

    Stanford, CA


    I am an organizational development and change scholar and team science specialist focused on creating effective interdisciplinary and interprofessional teams. Within AI-READI I work to apply and advance the science of team science.


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    Cynthia Owsley

    Nathan E. Miles Endowed Chair of Ophthalmology


    Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences

    University of Alabama at Birmingham

    Birmingham, AL


    I am MPI on the Data Acquisition Module since I have a great deal of experience in recruiting, enrolling, and supervising large sample studies of adults using detailed protocols, including variables such as vision, cognition and retinal imaging.


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    Dawn Matthies

    Project Manager


    Dept. of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

    University of Alabama at Birmingham

    Birmingham, AL


    I serve as the project manager for the Data Acquisition module, responsible for coordinating communication between our three data sites and supporting the development of the protocol, its implementation, and data collection.

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      Debra Mathews

      Associate Professor


      Berman Institute of Bioethics, Dept of Genetic Medicine

      Johns Hopkins University

      Baltimore, MD


      I'm a human geneticist by training, but all of my work is on ethical and policy issues raised by emerging technologies, including genetics, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, synthetic biology, and AI, including through work with the ETAI module of AI-READI.


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      Dorian Portillo (they/them)

      Web Developer


      FAIR Data Innovations Hub

      California Medical Innovations Institute

      San Bernardino, CA


      I am a web developer who adapts to the needs and pacing of a team to create efficient and performant web apps. I believe in technology as a means to help society so I am excited to be a part of the AI-READI project.


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      Erik Benton

      Research Engineer, Sr


      Oregon Clinical & Translational Research Institue

      Oregon Health & Science University

      Portland, OR


      A curious, thoughtful engineer and technical leader providing guidance and support for the fairhub.io and tools projects.


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      Fritz Gerald Kalaw

      Visiting Assistant Project Scientist


      Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology and Shiley Eye Institute

      University of California, San Diego

      San Diego, CA


      I am an ophthalmologist currently serving as a Research Fellow in Vitreoretinal Diseases and Ophthalmology Informatics and Data Science. I am interested in providing retinal imaging data and leveraging available data.

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        Gerald McGwin

        Professor


        Department of Epidemiology

        University of Alabama at Birmingham

        Birmingham, AL


        I am an epidemiologist and biostatistician at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and lead the data module in collaboration with Dr. Cynthia Owsley.


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        Hadi Khazaei

        Visiting Professor

        Research Scholar


        Orbit & Facial Reconstructive Surgery

        Oregon Health & Science University

        Portland, OR


        Active researcher and visiting professor in orbital inflammatory disorders department (OHSU). Integration imaging and analysis using DML including lacrimal tear proteomics and POCUS( point of care ultrasonic imaging).


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        Hanna Pittock (she/her/hers)

        Project Manager


        Stanford University

        San Francisco, CA


        I am the project manager for the Stanford Teaming group.

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          Jennifer Li-Pook-Than

          Senior Research Associate


          Genetics Department, School of Medicine

          Stanford University

          Palo Alto, CA


          Expertise in Big-Omics Precision Health Science and Advocacy for the Indigenous and Diverse Populations; AI-READI PEDP Lead.


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          Jessica Mitchell (she/her)

          Research Project Manager


          Biomedical Informatics & Data Science Group

          Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

          Winston-Salem, NC


          I am a Research Project Manager working with the Johns Hopkins University team on EHR extraction and mapping AI-READI data into the OMOP Common Data Model.

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            Jorge Contreras (He/him)

            Professor


            S.J. Quinney College of Law

            University of Utah

            Salt Lake City, UT


            I am a lawyer and law professor who conducts research on intellectual property transactions including data sharing and licensing.


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            Joseph Yracheta

            Executive Director


            Native Bio-Data Consortium

            Eagle Butte, SD


            I am a 56-year-old, well-rounded academic scientist specializing in Indigenous and Marginalized group concerns on the Big Data Era.


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            Julia Owen

            Program Manager


            Department of Opthalmology

            University of Washington

            Seattle, WA


            I am the overall Program Manager for the AI-READI project, as well as a Project Manager on the Standards module.

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              Kadija Ferryman

              Core Faculty


              Berman Institute of Bioethics

              Johns Hopkins University

              New York, NY


              I'm an anthropologist and faculty member at Johns Hopkins and I'm a module co-PI of the ETAI module.


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              Kate Watkins (She/Her)

              Social Science Research Professional


              School of Medicine

              Stanford University

              San Francisco, CA


              Project manager for the group working to advance team science.

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                Katie Crist

                Assistant Project Scientist


                Urban Studies & Planning Department

                University of California, San Diego

                San Diego, CA


                Dr. Crist's research is focused on how behavioral and built environment interventions impact physical activity and health. She brings her experience using wearable technologies to monitor behaviors and environmental exposures to the ETAI module.


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                Kyongmi Simpkins

                Research Associate

                AI-READI intern


                Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology

                University of California, San Diego

                San Diego, CA


                I am a molecular neuroscientist by training. My interests are in the application of data science, machine learning, and AI to expand knowledge associated with imaging analysis and genomic sequencing data analysis.

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                  Linda Zangwill

                  Richard K. Lansche and Tatiana A. Lansche Endowed Chair


                  Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology

                  University of California, San Diego

                  United States


                  I am a Professor at the Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology at UCSD conducting clinical and computational research focusing on glaucoma. I am co-PI with Dr. Sally Baxter on the Skills and Workforce Development Module and am also site PI (with Dr. Sally Baxter as co-PI) on the Data module.


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                  Lingling Huang (She/her)

                  Assistant Professor


                  Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology

                  University of California, San Diego

                  San Diego, CA


                  I am a uveitis specialist at UC San Diego. I am one of the interns in the AI-READI program, who is interested in using AI to advance medicine and improve patient care.


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                  Megan Collins

                  Associate Professor


                  Wilmer Eye Institute / Berman Institute

                  Johns Hopkins University

                  Baltimore, MD


                  I am a pediatric ophthalmologist and medical ethicist interested in health equity and access to care.


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                  Michael Snyder

                  Professor and Chair


                  Genetics

                  Stanford University

                  Stanford, CA


                  Our laboratory is an expert in big data (omics and wearables) and has invented omics technologies (E.g. RNA-Seq, ChIP-Chip (now Chip-Seq), NGS Paired-End sequencing). I participate in the teaming module.


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                  Missy Takahashi

                  Lab Manager


                  Ophthalmology

                  University of Washington

                  Bellevue, WA


                  I am the research lab manager at the University of Washington for Drs. Aaron and Cecilia Lee, who were awarded the AI-READI grant. I am working with the data module on study start-up as well as providing other administrative and logistical support.


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                  Nada Haboudal

                  Data Scientist


                  Houston, TX


                  Data Scientist intern, guided by the M-PI for the Tools module. Actively involved in the development of fairhub.io.


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                  Nicholas Evans (he/him)

                  Associate Professor


                  Philosophy

                  University of Massachusetts Lowell

                  Lowell, MA


                  Working in the Ethics group at AI-READI, I'm interested in how we decide who gets access to science, how, and when.


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                  Nicole Ehrhardt

                  Assistant Professor of Medicine


                  Dept. of Medicine/ Division Endocrinology

                  Diabetes Institute University of Washington

                  Seattle, WA


                  Dr Ehrhardt is an adult Endocrinologist at the University of Washington Diabetes Institute. Her research is focused on the use of real-time continuous glucose monitoring

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                    Prachee Jain (she/her)

                    Post Doctoral Researcher


                    Internal Medicine

                    Stanford School of Medicine

                    Palo Alto, CA


                    I am user experience researcher. In AI READI, I am responsible for applying and advancing team science to enable collaboration between interdisciplinary teams to achieve their goals.


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                    Qilu Yu

                    Biostatistician


                    Office of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs

                    National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

                    Bethesda, MD


                    I am the lead biostatistician at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH, working as a project scientist for the AI-READI project.


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                    Sally Baxter

                    Assistant Professor


                    Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology and Shiley Eye Institute

                    University of California, San Diego

                    San Diego, CA


                    I'm an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Biomedical Informatics at UCSD, and for this project, I lead the yearlong internship program and co-lead data collection efforts at UCSD.


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                    Samm Hurst (she/her/hers)

                    Clinical Professor


                    Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health

                    University of California, San Diego

                    San Diego, CA


                    I am a medical anthropologist and public health scientist at UC San Diego. For this project, I serve as an MPI on the ETAI module. I am also a member of the Skills and Workforce and PEDP modules. In addition, I lead and coordinate the AI-READI Advisory Council for the project as a whole.


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                    Sanjay Soundarajan (he/him)

                    Front End Developer


                    FAIR Data Innovations Hub

                    California Medical Innovations Institute

                    San Diego, CA


                    I am a front-end developer with experience in building web applications and data visualization tools. I am excited to be a part of the Tools module and help build tools that will help researchers and clinicians better understand and use data.


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                    Sara Singer

                    Professor


                    Health Policy, Medicine, and Organizational Behavior

                    Stanford University School of Medicine and Graduate School of Business

                    Stanford, CA


                    Principal Investigator for the AI-READI Teaming Milestone, more generally I study teams and organizations to understand how leaders and policymakers can improve the safety, quality, equity of health and health care delivery through changes in institutional culture, leadership, organization design, and team dynamics.


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                    Shahin Hallaj

                    Ophthalmology Informatics and Data Sciences Fellow


                    Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology

                    University of California, San Diego

                    San Diego, CA


                    I am a pre-residency intern with a special interest in the clinical applications of AI, data sciences, and novel computational approaches.


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                    Shannon McWeeney

                    Professor and Chief Data Officer


                    Knight Cancer Institute

                    Oregon Health & Science University

                    Portland, OR


                    M-PI of the Tools Module focused on data equity, accessibility, and patient engagement.


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                    Stephanie Hong (she/her)

                    Senior Healthcare Informatics Analyst


                    General Internal Medicine/ Bioinformatics and Data Science

                    Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

                    Baltimore, MD


                    I participate in standards module. My work focuses on data harmonization and rendering of real-world clinical data to support data validation and data inferencing.


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                    T. Y. Alvin Liu

                    Director of the Wilmer Precision Ophthalmology Center of Excellence


                    Wilmer Eye Institute

                    Johns Hopkins University

                    Baltimore, MD


                    Contact PI for the ETAI Module

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                      Taiki Nishihara (he/him)

                      Medical Student Researcher


                      Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology

                      University of California, San Diego

                      San Diego, CA


                      I am a medical student at UC San Diego School of Medicine pursuing a career in ophthalmology. As an AI-READI intern this year, my focus is on applying deep learning techniques to analyze retinal images and investigate AI applications in ophthalmology.

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                        Victoria Patronilo

                        Program Coordinator


                        Ophthalmology

                        University of California, San Diego

                        San Diego, CA


                        I am helping coordinate the AI-READI internship program with the skills and workforce development module.

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                          Virginia de Sa

                          Professor


                          Cognitive Science and Halicioglu Data Science Institute

                          University of California, San Diego

                          San Diego, CA


                          I'm a Professor in Cognitive Science, and Associate Director of the Halicioglu Data Science Institute at UC San Diego studying vision and learning in humans and machines as well as brain-computer interfaces. For this project, I am developing machine learning training.


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                          Wei-Chun Lin

                          Informatician 3


                          Casey Eye Institute

                          Oregon Health & Science University

                          Portland, OR


                          I am a data scientist experienced in ML model development and application. I will be working on creating tools for image quality assessment based on image quality index and CNN models.


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                          Zainab Garba-Sani

                          Harkness Fellow in Health Policy and Practice


                          Medicine

                          Stanford University

                          Stanford, CA


                          I'm a Commonwealth Fund UK Harkness Fellow in Health Policy and Practice working at the intersection between public perception, AI, and racio-ethnic health equity. As such, there are areas of overlap with the AI-READI PEDP module.