A conversation with policy and global health researcher Salma Abdalla
Abdalla’s work explores how social, economic, and political systems shape health, and why public health must learn to embrace complexity
May 30, 2026
Convening to ask the question, 'Can we harness AI to promote healthier lives?'
Washington University School of Public Health, together with McKelvey School of Engineering, will host a symposium focused on artificial intelligence and its evolving role in health-care delivery and population health. The symposium — “Can We Harness AI to Promote Healthier Lives?” — will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, October 22, at WashU and online.
See here to register for the event, which will be in Whitaker 100, in Whitaker Hall on WashU’s Danforth Campus. The event also will be available via livestream.
AI’s rapid transformation has prompted fundamental questions regarding how to ensure equitable access, maintain ethical standards, and translate cutting-edge algorithms into meaningful real-world impact. This symposium brings together leading experts to explore how we can harness the potential of Al while safeguarding against bias and ensuring its benefits reach all communities.
The keynote speaker is Roy Perlis, MD, MSc, director of the Center for Quantitative Health and the Ronald I. Dozoretz, MD, Endowed Chair at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. The physician-scientist, the inaugural editor-in-chief of JAMA+ AI, has made significant contributions to the field of psychiatry, as well as to the application of artificial intelligence in health care.
The symposium also will include two panel discussions: “Equitable & Ethical AI in Health” and “Algorithm to Impact.”
See here for the full list of presenters and panelists.
Abdalla’s work explores how social, economic, and political systems shape health, and why public health must learn to embrace complexity
May 30, 2026
With rent eating up increasing shares of household income, right-to-counsel programs provide tenants free legal representation to help them stay in their homes
May 30, 2026
Greatest benefit seen in Black and Hispanic men, people from marginalized families
May 30, 2026