Year 5. June 15. We Are in the Throes of Graduation Season
Our department plays a major role in developing, nurturing and mentoring the next generation of leaders in medicine. This time of year is especially meaningful as we witness the many transitions as our students and trainees advance to the next phase of their professional careers. We will feature these accomplishments in a series of posts in the ensuring week, exemplifying how we train and mentor our colleagues to Lead in Innovation, Transform Care and Advance Health for All.
DGSOM Mints New MDs and Celebrates Scholarship and Educational Excellence
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the graduation ceremony for the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) at UCLA Class of 2026, the 72nd class to graduate from DGSOM. These new physicians are truly the best and brightest in our field, and on behalf of the UCLA Department of Medicine (DoM), I extend them a warm congratulations and wish them well as they embark on the next step in their careers. I would like to shine the spotlight on two outstanding award winners who made our department proud.
From left to right: Dr. Deborah Lehman of the UCLA Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Rashmi Mullur, Dr. Holly Middlekauff, Dr. Tara Vijayan, Dr. Carol Mangione, Dr. Rachel Brooke, Dr. Edward Ha, me, Dr. Satya Patel, Dr. Ka-Kit Hui, Dr. Allison Diamant, Dr. Nupur Agrawal, Dr. Alexandra M. Glaeser.
Apeksha Singh, MD, PhD Honored for Outstanding Internal Medicine Scholarship
Every year DGSOM honors several graduating students for exhibiting outstanding scholarship, leadership, clinical competency or community service in a particular discipline. One of those awards is the William N. Valentine Award for Excellence in Internal Medicine, which is given to the student who has achieved the highest distinction as a scholar in internal medicine. This year’s winner was Apeksha Singh, MD, PhD.
“I was very surprised to receive the award,” Dr. Singh said. “My medical classmates are all so talented, so it is particularly meaningful to be selected amongst such an exceptional group of peers.”
Dr. Singh earned her PhD in biomathematics in 2024 through the UCLA-Caltech Medical Scientist Training Program under the mentorship of Alexander Hoffman, PhD. As a graduate student, she developed mathematical models and data analysis tools which she then applied to study how aging and inflammation alters the generation of new blood cells from stem cells in the bone marrow. She will matriculate in the Translational Investigator Program at Stanford this month for internal medicine residency, after which she plans to pursue a fellowship in hematology-oncology and hopes to continue research in computational biology. Dr. Singh is especially interested in clinical and research efforts in hematology and hematological malignancies.
“I hope to leverage my medical and scientific training to develop translational research programs in these areas,” she said.
For Dr. Singh, receiving the William V. Valentine Award is a welcome affirmation that the field to which she has committed her life is the right fit.
“It means a lot to me to be recognized by the medical school in this way,” she said. “Medical school has come with many moments of self-doubt, so this recognition of my abilities is incredibly validating.”
Ka-Kit Hui, MD Honored with Sherman M. Mellinkoff Faculty Award
Every year, DGSOM recognizes an exceptional physician and medical educator with the Sherman M. Mellinkoff Faculty Award, the highest honor for faculty bestowed by DGSOM. To chants of “Hui, Hui, Hui!” from the crowd, Wallis Annenberg Professor in Integrative East-West Medicine and Director of the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine Ka-Kit P. Hui, MD, FACP was named the award recipient at this year’s DGSOM graduation.
This award was particularly meaningful for Dr. Hui because Dr. Sherman Mellinkoff was one of his mentors. Dr. Mellinkoff, who passed away in 2016, served as dean of the medical school at UCLA for 24 years and is highly regarded for elevating its reputation for producing exceptional physicians. He was also a beloved physician and educator.
“Dr. Mellinkoff’s wisdom, guidance and example have influenced my professional journey for more than four decades,” Dr. Hui said. “Receiving an award associated with someone who played such an important role in shaping my career is both humbling and profoundly gratifying.”
Dr. Hui added that he feels fortunate to work alongside extraordinary colleagues, students, staff and patients who inspire him every day.
“I view this recognition not as an individual achievement, but as a reflection of the collective efforts of countless people who have shared a commitment to advancing patient care, education and innovation in medicine,” he said. “What touched me most was being recognized by peers and learners within the David Geffen School of Medicine community. Their trust and support have been among the greatest privileges of my professional life.”
As the founder of the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine, Dr. Hui has dedicated much of his career to integrating evidence-based traditional healing approaches with conventional medicine — a model that was considered unorthodox when the Center was established 32 years ago.
“Today, we are witnessing growing recognition that healthcare must move beyond disease management toward prevention, resilience and whole-person health,” he said. “This award encourages me to continue advancing that vision and to help shape the future of healthcare for generations to come.”
When he reflects on his career, Dr. Hui is most proud of his role in developing a model of care that places the patient — not a disease — at its center.
“Over the years, our team has worked to demonstrate that East-West medicine can be rigorous, evidence-based and impactful,” he said. “Through clinical care, education, research and community partnerships, we have shown that a whole-person approach can improve outcomes while addressing many of the challenges facing modern healthcare systems.”
He added that he is also very proud of those he has mentored throughout five-decade-long career.
“Any lasting impact I have made will ultimately be measured not by my own accomplishments, but by the achievements of the students, trainees, researchers and clinicians who continue this work and expand its reach far beyond UCLA,” Dr. Hui said.
Congratulations, Dr. Singh, Dr. Hui and to all of the graduates in the DGSOM Class of 2026!
75th Anniversary Commencement Ceremony - Class of 2026
Students and Faculty Shine at STAR Graduation
The UCLA Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) Program at DGSOM serves as the training ground for physician-scientists who will go on to transform their fields. Last Wednesday was graduation day for 11 DoM STAR trainees and four residents in the STAR Physician-Scientist Training Program (PSTP), all of whom have had a great impact on our department during their time here.
“I am feeling really grateful to be part of this community of scientists,” STAR health services research scholar Nikita Baclig, MD, PhD, MPH said. “I think it’s really challenging to find success as a physician-scientist, and I think one of the real benefits of STAR is that it brought that to me through mentors and peers who helped facilitate my growth.”
We are fortunate that Dr. Baclig will remain here at UCLA as a clinical instructor in the UCLA Division of Hematology and Oncology, along with nine of our outstanding STAR graduates. One of her fellow health services research scholars, Jessica Channick, MD, PhD, will become an assistant clinical professor in the UCLA Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine. Aleksander Gorin, MD, PhD will become an assistant clinical professor in the UCLA Division of Infectious Diseases, while Minori Ohashi, MD, PhD will become an assistant clinical professor in the UCLA Division of Geriatrics; both of them were part of the post-doctoral program in STAR.
“The STAR program offers a really unique opportunity that we’re really lucky to have here at UCLA,” Dr. Channick said. “It really prioritizes the physician-scientist route.”
There are also several STAR scholars who will remain at UCLA for fellowship training. Warren Tai, MD, PhD, who was part of the STAR basic research track, will join the UCLA Division of Cardiology as an interventional cardiology fellow.
Meanwhile, other DoM STAR fellows are off to excel at other institutions. Post-doctoral STAR program graduate Shannon Wongvibulsin, MD, PhD will launch an independent research program at the University of California – Irvine Department of Dermatology. Ashkan F. Ara, MD, PhD, MPH will also head to UC Irvine, where he will join the rheumatology division as an assistant clinical instructor.
“The STAR program has been an incredible source of support as part of my journey towards becoming a physician-scientist,” Dr. Wongvibulsin shared. “It not only provides you with mentorship within your specialty, but across numerous other disciplines, which gives you different perspectives outside of your specialty. I believe that has been a very valuable part of my training as a physician-scientist.”
Four residents who completed the STAR Physician-Scientist Training Program (PSTP) — Mandy Collar, MD, PhD; Michael Nash, MD, PhD; and Mai Nguyen, MD, PhD, MS — will go on to become fellows in infectious diseases, digestive diseases and geriatrics, respectively. Errol Philip, MD, MA, PhD will become a hematology-oncology fellow at City of Hope.
Arleen F. Brown, MD, PhD Awarded Alan M. Fogelman, MD Mentorship Award
Arleen F. Brown, MD, PhD, a STAR alumna and professor of medicine who now serves as co-director of the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute, also shined during the ceremony. She received the STAR program’s annual Alan M. Fogelman Mentorship Award — a particularly special year to do so, as it is the program’s 30th anniversary.
“It’s so surprising to me that it’s actually been 30 years. I was in an early cohort of the STAR program, and it was pivotal to my career and life,” Dr. Brown said. “I am really honored to be here today and to be participating in this event.”
Dr. Brown added that she has continued to work with the individuals she met as a STAR fellow back in 1996 — people she describes as some of the brightest at the institution.
“Through STAR, I was able to work with colleagues and peers who challenged me, but also made it fun to learn,” she recalled. Now, as a STAR mentor herself, she finds that these kinds of invigorating relationships continue to motivate her.
“Truly the most fun part of my job is to work with junior faculty, staff and peers to really think about ways that we can collaborate to do better science and achieve greater impact,” she said.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Brown and the DoM STAR graduating class of 2026!
LIFT-UP Scientific Meeting Proves Uplifting for All
Last month I had the great pleasure to give the introductory address at the LIFT-UP Scientific Meeting, an annual conference that brings together the researchers, mentors and staff involved with the UCLA LIFT-UP Scholars Program. LIFT-UP stands for “Leveraging Institutional Support for Talented, Upcoming Physicians and/or Scientists,” and the excellence of this program was on full display at the event.
“The meeting was an opportunity to come together and celebrate the up-and-coming scientists in the program,” O. Kenrik Duru, MD, MS, who co-leads LIFT-UP alongside Carol M. Mangione, MD, MSPH, said. “The opportunity to learn from and support each other made it a success.”
Twenty-seven scientists attended the event, including current LIFT-UP scholars as well as LIFT-UP faculty and staff. Mina S. Sedrak, MD, MS and Alejandra Casillas, MD, MSHS gave the day’s keynote speeches. Dr. Sedrak spoke about his fascinating work on cellular senescence as a critical determinant of cancer survivorship, including new therapies on the horizon that have the potential to decrease frailty and improve the quality of life among cancer survivors — work that he conducts in collaboration with Anthony J. Covarrubias, PhD, a LIFT-UP program alumni who is now faculty in the department of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics. Dr. Casillas shared her experiences conducting research alongside the community, with an emphasis on finding ways to integrate one’s passions and personal priorities into a research career. In addition to Dr. Sedrak’s and Dr. Casillas’ talks, the current and incoming cohorts of LIFT-UP scholars gave presentations on their projects.
“LIFT-UP is an important program because it provides junior scientists with all aspects of the translational research spectrum with financial support in the form of pilot awards, but also research and career mentorship,” Dr. Mangione said. It is part of a four-site National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases consortium called BRIDGES, which was launched four years ago. UCLA LIFT-UP alumni have already gone on to receive three R01-equivalent awards since completing the program, and several of them are now leading their own labs.
“They are well on their way to research independence,” Dr. Mangione added.
As I shared at the event, LIFT-UP at its core is about mentoring the next generation of physician-scientists and ensuring that they have the support they need to succeed. In the current landscape for scientific funding, it is more important than ever that those who choose to travel the long road to become a physician-scientist have a community they can lean on. This is what LIFT-UP provides, and I am proud that the DoM is part of this essential work. Congratulations to our current and incoming LIFT-UP scholars and thank you to the many faculty and staff who have made this program a success!
Collaboration Shines at Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Symposium
The UCLA DoM is fortunate to be home to premier research institutes and centers, including one known for high-impact scholarship in one of the most dynamic and collaborative fields in biomedicine: the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center (GLMC). The center’s annual symposium, held every spring, showcases the work made possible through the cross-discipline partnerships that are encouraged at UCLA. This year’s event, held April 23, reinforced the progress that is possible when we connect dots across fields, and demonstrated the outsized role our institution plays in creating new knowledge in microbiome science — especially here in the DoM.
“The success of this year’s symposium reflects the incredible commitment of our faculty, trainees, staff collaborators, donors and supporters,” GLMC Co-Director Arpana Church, PhD, who serves as the chair of the symposium organizing committee, said. She noted that as someone who studies the brain-gut-microbiome axis, she was excited to see how rapidly the field is evolving from basic discovery science towards real-world applications.
“It is incredibly rewarding to see findings that begin in the laboratory, whether related to diet, stress, the microbiome or brain health, and that are moving closer to interventions, diagnostics and products that have the potential to improve patient care and enhance health in everyday life,” she added.
410 attendees from academia, healthcare, industry, philanthropy and the broader community came out for this year’s symposium, a reflection of the ever-expanding interest in microbiome science and the GLMC’s role as a hub for collaboration and innovation. LEADERS in the UCLA Division of Digestive Diseases were at the symposium’s helm. Division Chief Eric Esrailian, MD, MPH gave the opening address, and GLMC Director and Endowed Microbiome Chair Elaine Hsiao, PhD shared updates about the center.
Dr. Hsiao gave one of the day’s many outstanding oral presentations. Her talk focused on research from her lab that illuminates potential target pathways between the brain and the gut that could someday be leveraged to treat neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Dr. Church gave a presentation on the groundbreaking work going on in her lab, where researchers are illuminating the complex interactions between the brain, gut and microbiome that underlie cravings and metabolism to design precision medicine microbiome-related treatments, such as probiotics for metabolic disease.
Other speakers from the DoM included GLMC Co-Director Jonathan Jacobs, MD, PhD; Walter and Shirley Wang Center for Integrative Digestive Health Director of Education Andrew Shin, MD; Aldons “Jake” Lusis, PhD, faculty in the UCLA Division of Cardiology; Gregory P. Donaldson, PhD, faculty digestive diseases division; and UCLA Division of Infectious Diseases faculty Jennifer Fulcher, MD, PhD and Courtney DeCan, MD, MPH.
This year’s symposium featured a record number of abstract poster presentations, with 48 accepted compared to the 33 on display last year. DoM faculty and trainees were well-represented among them. One presenter, Gabriel A. Vignolle, PhD— a post-doctoral scholar in the Church Lab — shared the results of a study called “From Maps to Mechanisms: Geospatial Burden Shapes the Human Brain-Gut-Microbiome,” which analyzed the connection between one’s lived environment and their biological health. The project included researchers from the Church lab and collaborators from the digestive diseases division, the UCLA Department of Community Health Sciences, the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, the UCLA Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology — exemplifying the caliber of translational research that makes the GLMC so successful.
Dr. Vignolle analyzed existing data from the Church lab’s studies to conduct his analysis. Their team had screened 350 Angelenos about the diet quality, pollution levels, socioeconomic demographics and other characteristics of their surrounding neighborhoods, then stratified them into “low burden” and “high burden” areas accordingly. They correlated this with their immune tone, or the readiness of their immune systems to respond to disease; their brain volume and connectivity; and the composition of their microbiomes.
Dr. Vignolle’s analyses revealed that one’s environment not only impacts the quality of their life, but also their health. Immune tone, brain connectivity and brain volume were all reduced in people living in high burden areas, and their microbiomes were less healthy than those living in low burden areas.
“What we hope to do next is inform, if possible, the general public, but definitely also inform MDs and population health experts who are able to influence how policy is made and created,” Dr. Vignolle said. His study impressed the poster session judges, who awarded him third place in the poster presentation. The second-place winner was Michael Wasney, a graduate student in the UCLA Department of Human Genetics; first place was awarded to Bryan Ramirez Reyes, a graduate student in the laboratory of Devesha Kulkarni, PhD, for his research on the role of a molecule called complement factor B in gut homeostasis, microbe-colonization and innate immunity. The award certificates were presented by Renee and Meyer Luskin, who alongside Andrea and Donald Goodman donated $20 million to create the GLMC.
“The GLMC is a great place to do the research that I’m doing because of how interconnected UCLA is,” Dr. Vignolle said. “UCLA is at the intersection of cutting-edge basic research and world-class patient care, so we are able to translate research findings that may actually get to patients and help them.”
Here are a few more DoM spotlights from the poster session:
Lewis W. Yu
Hsaio Lab
“Microbial Induction of Gut Serotonin Promotes Regulatory Dendritic Cells and Colonic Tumorigenesis”
Dr. Yu is a recent PhD graduate whose research focuses on how the gut microbiome shapes immune function, and the role of these processes in cancer. For the study he presented at the GLMC Symposium, he collaborated with researchers from the UCLA Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology; the UCLA Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics; the California NanoSystems Institute; and Louisiana State University School of Nutrition and Food Sciences to demonstrate that while serotonin (5-HT)-producing bacteria in the gut are integral to healthy immune function, the processes they are involved in can also be co-opted during colon cancer to promote tumor growth in mouse models.
“The implications of our findings are that if we can target these pathways in humans — whether it be serotonin or serotonin-inducing microbiota — we can treat or prevent colon cancer through unconventional pathways,” Lewis explained. “We believe that targeting the microbiota can help boost immune responses that are important in treating cancer.”
Beverly Lauring
Lin Chang Lab
“Reduced Microbial Richness and Transit-Specific Signatures Characterize Chronic Constipation Compared to IBS-C"
Beverly just graduated from UCLA. During her time as an undergraduate in the laboratory of Elaine Hsiao, her research focused on identifying and characterizing the longevity of enteroendocrine cells for gut-brain signaling. For a separate study she presented at the GLMC Symposium, she partnered with researchers from the laboratory of Lin Chang, MD and Emeran Mayer, MD in the UCLA Oppenheimer Center for the Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience and Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, Division of Digestive Diseases as part of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) center grant to recruit 83 premenopausal women with IBS-C or chronic constipation and healthy women. When they analyzed the participants’ stool samples, the team found that the microbial diversity of those with chronic constipation was much lower than in healthy controls or in those with IBS-C. Additionally, microbial species differed between those with the slow transit subtype of chronic constipation versus those with the normal subtype.
“We need to do more research on the functional implications of these species, but overall, our interpretations are that the microbiome has unique features in chronic constipation and IBS-C and that gut transit time is a modifier of the gut microbiome,” Beverly said. “These findings also highlight the need to incorporate transit-based subtyping into future constipation studies.”
Erica N. Grodin, PhD
“Markers of Intestinal Permeability and Inflammation are Elevated in Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder”
Dr. Grodin is a clinical neuroscientist in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. She collaborated with Dr. Fulcher in the infectious diseases division and colleagues in the UCLA Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program and UCLA Department of Psychology to learn if individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) exhibited markers of increased gut permeability and inflammation compared to those without AUD — an effect of prolonged alcohol use that is believed to perpetuate alcohol-seeking behavior in people with AUD. They recruited 65 people with moderate or severe AUD — individuals who drank more than 115 drinks per month — compared to light drinkers who consumed about 13 drinks per month. For both cohorts, Dr. Grodin and her team also collected data on participants’ alcohol cravings and compulsive behaviors related to alcohol use, as well as blood and fecal samples and brain images. They controlled for variables known to influence intestinal inflammation, including cannabis and cigarette use, age, sex and body mass index. Their findings showed that two blood-based biomarkers of gut inflammation, SCD-14 and IL-8 were both positively correlated with alcohol use and with each other. More specifically, for alcohol cravings and compulsive behaviors, greater levels of SCD-14 were associated only with the number of drinks in the past month, while greater IL-8 levels were associated with every alcohol-related behavior the team studied — from the amount of alcohol consumed over the past month and the number of drinks consumed on each occasion to the frequency of alcohol cravings. Dr. Grodin and her team will next analyze the participants’ stool samples to see if there are key gut microbes that differ between people with and without AUD, as well as whether these are linked to differences in brain function.
“The implications of this work for patients are that we do see indications that chronic and heavy alcohol use is associated with more intestinal permeability and more inflammation in people with AUD,” Dr. Grodin said.
Peter Laurin
“Complex Adaptive Architectures Constrain the Pace of Adaptations Sweeping Across Human Gut Microbiomes”
Peter is a graduate student in the laboratory of Nandita Garud, PhD in the UCLA Department of Human Genetics and the UCLA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. At the GLMC Symposium, he shared his work on the speed at which the species-level genetics of the human microbiome respond to environmental pressures — for instance, antibiotic use. His methods centered on the hunt for what are known as “selective sweeps”, or genetic adaptions that spread across the human population through person-to-person contact, in this case altering bacteria in the gut. Previously, it was believed that, in the context of the microbiome, these mutations have multiple origins that give rise to rapid mutations as they move across the population; however, computational models that Peter and his team developed showed that many adaptations have only one or a few origins, and that rather than being the result of multiple mutations taking place quickly as they move from one individual to the next, they stem from less-frequent but more complex mutations that make it possible for them to spread easily. Their work was conducted with samples from healthy individuals, raising the question as to why these changes take place at all. That will be the topic of focus for Peter’s future work. A preprint of his study was recently published on bioRxiv.
“There’s no obvious reason why the microbiomes of healthy human hosts should be adapting, and yet they are, so we’d really like to dissect what exactly is driving these changes,” he said. “Is it a change in diet? Is it the antibiotics we’re using? That would be a really cool insight that we hope to find.”
Dr. Church shared that the feedback for this year’s symposium was overwhelmingly positive. Attendees especially enjoyed the TED-style presentations; the high-quality, diverse science on display; and opportunities to interact with researchers, trainees, industry leaders and philanthropists in a collaborative environment. They also loved the industry-focused roundtable session that capped off the day, during which a panel of scientists-turned-entrepreneurs and venture capital leaders took questions about turning microbiome-focused discoveries in the lab into high-impact businesses. The session generated lively discussion about collaborations between academia and industry.
“Many attendees highlighted this as one of the most valuable aspects of the symposium because it showcased the growing pathways for moving microbiome innovations from the laboratory to patients and consumers,” Dr. Church said.
GLMC leaders are already looking forward to next year’s symposium. Dr. Church and her team are especially eager to create additional opportunities for trainees and early-career investigators while strengthening collaborations with industry, healthcare and community partners.
“The growing engagement of industry and entrepreneurs makes me optimistic that the discoveries we are making could soon benefit people not only in clinical settings but also through consumer health and wellness solutions,” she said. “That ability to translate science into tangible improvements in people’s lives is what inspires me most and is a major reason why gatherings like this are so important. We are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to making this symposium such a success and look forward to continuing to advance this exciting field together.”
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Vignolle on his award! I would also like to express my gratitude to the event’s organizing committee, which was composed of Dr. Church, who served as chair; co-chairs Dr. Donaldson and Swapna Joshi, PhD; Cathy Liu; and Alex Orozco. A special thanks to the DoM faculty who served as poster judges, including Hooman Allayee, PhD; Dr. Fulcher; Berkeley Limketkai, MD, PhD; Dr. Jacobs; Lisa Kilpatrick, PhD; Dr. Kulkarni; Jennifer Labus, PhD; Muriel Larauche, PhD; Catia Sternini, MD; Dr. Lusis; David Meriwether, PhD; Million Mulugeta, DVM, PhD; and Elizabeth Videlock, MD, PhD. Watch the video below to relive highlights from the event and be inspired by the incredible research underway in the GLMC!
2026 Goodman Luskin Microbiome Center Symposium
DoM LEADERS Launch INOVAi Center to Build New AI Evaluation Science
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools in healthcare are no longer in demo mode. They are ubiquitous in the clinical workflow, from AI scribes that draft notes during patient visits to AI radiology tools that help physicians interpret X-rays and MRIs. The Food and Drug Administration has authorized more than 1,000 AI products for health care applications, with many, many more in the pipeline. Yet some of these tools lack robust evidence to back their validity, and the current regulatory process for medical devices is designed to evaluate static products — not dynamic AI systems. Thus, tools are often deployed without a full understanding of how they will perform in real-world settings, where information is often incomplete and where clinical workflows are staffed by humans with many competing demands.
To meet an urgent need to study and validate AI tools in healthcare, I am pleased to announce the launch of the Innovations and Outcomes Validation of AI (INOVAi) Center. INOVAi will collaborate with industry partners to bridge the gap between early engineering development and large-scale implementation trials and will develop purpose-built evaluation methodologies that account for the unique characteristics and conditions of clinical contexts. This exciting news was shared with the public last week by UCLA Health; I am thrilled that this crucial effort is being spearheaded by our LEADERS here in the DoM.
“AI has real potential to improve care, but only if these tools are independently evaluated to be sure they work for the full range of patients and settings where care is delivered,” John N. Mafi, MD, MPH, INOVAi co-director and associate professor of medicine in the UCLA Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, said. “By bringing the rigor of health services research to AI, INOVAi can help ensure these tools are safe and effective before they are widely adopted.”
The new center was borne in part from the findings of a clinical trial led by Dr. Mafi and Paul Lukac, MD, MBA, MS, chief artificial intelligence officer at UCLA Health and co-director of INOVAi. Their study found that two popular AI scribe products offered modest benefits for physicians in terms of reducing their workload and improving their work experience — but that the scribes’ notes also included inaccuracies. The results had an impact on other health systems ultimately adopting one of the tools, Nabla, over the other tool evaluated, Microsoft DAX.
The trial attracted widespread media attention and led several AI vendors to request similar trials of their own products from Dr. Mafi, Dr. Lukac and their team. Given their interest, Dr. Mafi suggested to Dr. Lukac that they expand their research into a center of excellence focused on the study of AI in healthcare.
The resulting institution, INOVAi, is managed through the UCLA Department of Medicine in concert with the broader UCLA Center for AI and SMART Health. It will both independently appraise AI tools developed by industry partners through clinical and pragmatic trials and establish a new AI evaluation science that merges the iterative, infrastructure-driven evaluation of AI, the methodological rigor and ethical standards of clinical research, and the real-world, workflow-attentive lens of implementation science.
“None of these alone is enough for AI in healthcare,” Thomas C. Kingsley, MD, director of applied artificial intelligence at UCLA Health and co-director of INOVAi, said. “Together they describe the discipline the field needs, building a shared language for what counts as evidence.”
Congratulations Paul, John, Tom and the rest of the INOVAi team! Your work will be transformative for the future of medicine, and I look forward to watching it unfold.
Dale,
P.S.
In this graduation season, I want to give a shout out to one of the graduates from the STAR program, Dr. Warren Tai, who conducted his PhD research work in my lab. Here is an example of his major contribution. Only one of these images is AI generated!
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