RI-AI4H Symposium
Building a healthier Rhode Island, together.
RI-AI4H Symposium
Building a healthier Rhode Island, together.
RI-AI4H Symposium, July 23, 2026
Gather with data scientists, healthcare professionals, students, and community members to explore real-world AI solutions for Rhode Island’s most pressing health challenges. This full-day event will feature local and regional experts, a health data showcase, and presentations from the top-performing teams from the RI-AI4H Data Challenge + Datathon.
The Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University
222 Richmond Street, Providence, RI
Registration: Ends July 13
Agenda
| 9:00a - 10:00a | Registration & Continental Breakfast Health Data Showcase & Networking | 1st Floor Atrium |
| 10:00a - 10:30a | Welcome Advancing AI for Health Research and Training in the Ocean State Liz Chen, PhD, FACMI Neil Sarkar, PhD, MLIS, ACHIP, FACMI, FAMIA | Room 170 |
| 10:30a - 11:00a | Opening Session AI for Health Across Brown, Brown University Health, and Care New England Michael Littman, PhD Adam Landman, MD, MS, MIS, MHS, FAMIA, FACMI Tomas Gregorio, MBA | Room 170 |
| 11:00a - 12:00p | Keynote Connector or Wedge? Reclaiming the Patient-Doctor Partnership in the AI Era Daniel Z. Sands, MD, MPH, FACP, FACMI In his keynote address, Connector or Wedge? Reclaiming the patient-doctor partnership in the AI era, Dr. Sands examines the impact of artificial intelligence on the patient-physician relationship. The session traces 25 years of digital health evolution, demonstrating how modern AI challenges stem from long-standing themes like trust, privacy, equity, and autonomy. Attendees will explore how both patients and physicians currently utilize AI, analyze core concerns around data bias and inaccuracy, and discuss how to ensure technology supports collaborative care. | Room 170 |
| 12:00p - 1:00p | Lunch Buffet Health Data Showcase & Networking | 1st Floor Atrium |
| 1:00p - 2:00p | Data Challenge & Datathon Presentations | Room 170 |
| 2:00p - 2:30p | Break & Networking | |
| 2:30p - 3:30p | Lightning Talks Researcher Reflections: Health Data Insights and Beyond Sarah Arias, PhD Justin Berk, MD, MPH, MBA, FASAM Stacey Bevan, PhD, MS, RN Megan Parker, PhD Jun Tao, PhD | Room 170 |
| 3:30p - 4:00p | Awards and Closing Session | Room 170 |
Keynote Speaker
Daniel Z. Sands, MD, MPH, FACP, FACMI
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Co-Founder and Co-Chair, Society for Participatory Medicine
Medical Director of AI and Digital Health Innovation, Lumeris
Danny Sands is passionate about healthcare transformation, non-visit-based care, collaboration in healthcare, and participatory medicine. For over twenty years, he has worked at the intersection of health care, technology, and business. His career began at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he trained in clinical informatics and developed and implemented numerous systems to improve clinical care delivery and patient engagement. He then became the chief medical officer for Zix Corporation and helped them become a leader in secure e-mail and e-prescribing. He then served as chief medical informatics officer at Cisco, providing both internal and external health IT leadership and helping key customers with business and clinical transformation using IT. Since then, he has worked as a consultant or chief medical officer at various innovative health technology companies. In 2009 he co-founded the Society for Participatory Medicine, where he serves as chief advocacy officer.
Dr. Sands is a popular speaker who blogs at DrDannySands.com, is active on social media as @DrDannySands, and continues to see patients part-time as a primary care physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Dr. Sands has earned degrees from Brown University, Ohio State University, Harvard School of Public Health, and trained at Boston City Hospital (now Boston Medical Center) and Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital (now Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center). Dr. Sands holds an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School.
Sands is the recipient of numerous health IT awards, has been elected to fellowship in both the American College of Physicians and the American College of Medical Informatics, and is a founder and co-chair of the board of the Society for Participatory Medicine. In 2009 he was recognized by HealthLeaders Magazine as one of “20 People Who Make Healthcare Better.” He is the co-author, with e-Patient Dave deBronkart, of Let Patients Help.
RI-AI4H Data Challenge + Datathon
Come learn more about this year's Data Challenge!
This event is organized by the Brown Center for Biomedical Informatics and Advance RI-CTR with funding from the National Institute for General Medical Science at the National Institutes of Health (U54GM115677).
Contact us at bcbi@brown.edu