"Harnessing Explainable, Equitable, and Actionable Informatics and AI to Improve Health"

Abstract

Over the past two decades, data science and artificial intelligence (AI) have significantly transformed biomedical research and healthcare. The growing availability of large-scale data, such as electronic health records (EHRs), combined with advancements in computational power, has unlocked new opportunities to address complex challenges in medicine and health research. In healthcare, although deep learning models have demonstrated superior performance in predicting health outcomes from EHR data, their adoption remains limited. A key barrier is the lack of transparency and interpretability, which are critical for building trust among healthcare providers. Simultaneously, there is a growing need for patient-facing tools that empower individuals to engage more actively in managing their health data and care. In this talk, I will present our recent work on improving the interpretability of machine learning models for predicting cardiovascular disease mortality, highlighting strategies that enhance model trustworthiness for clinicians. Additionally, I will introduce LabGenie, an AI-powered application designed to help patients better understand and manage their lab results, promoting informed decision-making and engagement in their care.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Zhe He is Interim Director for Florida State University Institute for Successful Longevity and an Associate Professor in the School of Information (iSchool) at Florida State. He is also Director of Biostatistics, Informatics, and Research Design (BIRD) Program in the University of Florida-Florida State University Clinical and Translational Science Award Hub. His research expertise includes machine learning, natural language processing, and knowledge representation. The overarching goal of his research is to improve population health and advance biomedical research through the application of informatics and data science. He received his BS from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, his MS from Columbia University, and PhD from New Jersey Institute of Technology, all in Computer Science. He was previously a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center before joining FSU in 2015. He has published over 130 papers in leading biomedical informatics venues, including JAMIA, JBI, Nature Digital Medicine, JMIR, AMIA, and MEDINFO. As Principal Investigator, his research has been funded by National Institute on Aging, National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, including an NIA R01 on cognitive training adherence promotion with personalized technology and two recently funded R21/R33 grants on LabGenie for lab test result comprehension and HIV prevention. He is an elected fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association.