{"id":186853,"date":"2023-11-09T16:03:06","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T02:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=186853"},"modified":"2025-03-17T08:32:49","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T18:32:49","slug":"grant-ai-advance-health-equity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/11\/09\/grant-ai-advance-health-equity\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> to use AI<\/abbr> to advance health equity with $500K<\/abbr> grant"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

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A $500,000 grant will help the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> provide Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s healthcare community with facilitated access to open-source artificial intelligence (AI<\/abbr>) and machine learning (ML<\/abbr>) tools. This initiative stands at the forefront of addressing the health disparities affecting minority and marginalized communities in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>.<\/p>\n

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Alex Stokes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UH<\/abbr> was selected for the competitive subaward from the NIH—AIM<\/abbr> AHEAD<\/abbr> program (The National Institutes of Health\u2019s—Artificial Intelligence\/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity), which seeks to advance health equity and research diversity through AI<\/abbr>\/ML<\/abbr>. The NIH—AIM<\/abbr> AHEAD<\/abbr> program was acknowledged by President Joe Biden in the recent Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, with a call to accelerate AIM—AHEAD<\/abbr> grants and highlight activities in underserved communities.<\/p>\n

The university’s “ARCH<\/abbr> Collaborative: Establishing an AI<\/abbr> Resource Concierge for Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>” project, led by Alex Stokes at the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa John A. Burns School of Medicine<\/a> (JABSOM<\/abbr>), with co-principal investigators Sean Cleveland, UH<\/abbr> Information Technology Services cyberinfrastructure scientist, and UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Information and Computer Sciences Department<\/a> Assistant Professor Peter Washington, is at the forefront of this commitment to ethical AI<\/abbr> in healthcare.<\/p>\n

“AI<\/abbr>\/ML<\/abbr> and data science will play an increasingly significant role in enhancing healthcare, accelerating solutions for complex health issues, and enabling healthcare providers to work more efficiently and smarter,” said JABSOM<\/abbr> Interim Dean Lee E. Buenconsejo-Lum. “This award underscores our strong commitment to innovation and inclusivity in addressing our community’s healthcare needs. The ARCH<\/abbr> Collaborative is poised to ensure equitable access to AI<\/abbr> advancements in healthcare for diverse communities across Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>.”<\/p>\n

UH<\/abbr> President David Lassner said, “Obtaining the NIH<\/abbr>-funded AIM AHEAD<\/abbr> subaward demonstrates UH<\/abbr>\u2019s creativity and capacity to apply emerging technologies to advance our distinctive healthcare imperatives. We are steadfast in our commitment to improve health outcomes for Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s diverse population, with a focus on those who face the greatest health disparities.”<\/p>\n

The initiative’s impact is broadened through a partnership with Chaminade University, under the guidance of Helen Turner, focusing on educational pathways and upskilling community organizations in AI<\/abbr> capabilities while enhancing engagement and outreach to underrepresented communities.<\/p>\n

Stokes, following closely on the heels of two previous NIH<\/abbr> awards—one for AI<\/abbr>\/ML<\/abbr> education and another for research on health outcomes and AI<\/abbr>\/ML<\/abbr> use to alleviate patient underdiagnosis—said, “Leading the ARCH<\/abbr> Collaborative allows us to harness advanced AI<\/abbr> technologies, which is pivotal for transforming healthcare in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and the Pacific. It’s a privilege to collaborate with such a dedicated team and partner with community-focused organizations deeply invested in our mission.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UH<\/abbr> was selected for the competitive subaward from the National Institutes of Health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[1602,308,165,484,31,1467,1363,568,1600,9],"class_list":["post-186853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-ai","tag-college-of-natural-sciences","tag-health","tag-information-and-computer-science","tag-john-a-burns-school-of-medicine","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-natural-science","tag-public-impact-research","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t