CTSI leaders help lead new NIH consortium aimed at advancing health equity and researcher diversity

UCLA CTSI and UCLA leaders are among those named to help develop the NIH's new consortium, the Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity (AIM-AHEAD), a program which will strive to advance health equity and researcher diversity.

The program has received a $50 million award and will be led by University of North Texas Health Science Center, which will coordinate multiple institutions to bring together experts in community engagement, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), health equity research, data science training, and data infrastructure to close the gaps in the AI/ML field, which currently lacks diversity in its researchers and in data, including electronic health records (EHRs).

Dr. Keith Norris, vice dean for equity, diversity and inclusion at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and senior associate director of equity, diversity and inclusion for UCLA CTSI, is a multi-PI and has been named the West Hub leader of the AIM-AHEAD Coordinating Center. Additional UCLA general internal medicine and health services researchers and CTSI leaders include Drs. Arleen Brown, Alex Bui, Douglas Bell, Alejandra Casillas and Susanne Nicholas.

The center aims to build partnerships with stakeholders and identify priority research aims in health equity and AI/ML, as well as the training and infrastructure needed to support these. By increasing the participation and engagement of the researchers and communities that are currently underrepresented, the center strives to aid underrepresented communities in contributing new expertise, data, recruitment strategies, and cutting-edge science to the AI/ML field.

See the NIH announcement and leadership. 

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Image source: AIM-AHEAD/UCLA/UCLA CTSI