AIM-AHEAD Research Fellowship Program
Program Directors
Paul Avillach, MD, PhD; Wyatt Bensken, PhD; Nawar Shara, PhD; Chunmei Liu, PhD
Purpose
The AIM-AHEAD Research Fellowship Program was developed to engage groups of early-career researchers to actively participate in biomedical research that involves the use of AI/ML methodologies on biomedical research data, clinical and genomic cohorts to address health disparities and inequities, including bias in AI/ML algorithms or data.
The program has successfully completed two cohorts and will continue in Cohort 3 to support individuals conducting research at the intersection of healthcare practice and delivery, AI/ML methods, and the advancement of health equity, with fellows representing institutions and their investigators from a variety of fields of study, institutions, and geographies.
About AIM-AHEAD
Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity And Researcher Diversity (AIM-AHEAD) is an initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health that is dedicated to enhancing diversity in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), with emphasis on reducing health disparities and promoting health equity. Led by the AIM-AHEAD Coordinating Center, this initiative has cultivated a diverse nationwide consortium that embraces equity and transparency, aimed at leveraging AI/ML to enhance health outcomes across diverse and under-resourced communities. Through the establishment of strategic partnerships, targeted research programs, and engagement with key stakeholders, AIM-AHEAD continues to bolster participation and foster meaningful involvement within the AI/ML and health equity field.
Participants
This Fellowship supports early-career researchers (graduate students, postdocs, junior faculty, and others conducting research outside of an academic institution within 10 years of completing their highest degree) in implementations of novel and innovative data science and data-focused research problems. The Research Fellowship Program launched Cohort 1 in September 2022, Cohort 2 in September 2023, and Cohort 3 in October 2024.
Submitted Applications
| Cohort 1 | Cohort 2 | Cohort 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | 46 | 59 |
Awarded Research Fellows
| Fellows | Institutional Mentors | AIM-AHEAD Mentors | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cohort 1 | 22 | 12 | 22 |
| Cohort 2 | 25 | 18 | 25 |
| Cohort 3 | 25 | 13 | 25 |
Cohort 3 Fellows
- Pegah Ahadian: Kent State University
- Sadia Akter: Marshall University
- Alaina Beauchamp: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- Yu-Lun Chen: Kessler Foundation
- Daniil Filienko: University of Washington Tacoma
- Nathaniel Hendrix: American Board of Family Medicine
- Alexandra Kakadiaris: Rice University
- Kiyoung Kim Texas A&M University
- Vijay Kunwar: Albany State University
- Natalia Maldonado: University of Puerto Rico - Centro Comprensivo de Cancer
- Monique McCallister: Tennessee State University
- Adetoun Musa: Texas Kidney Foundation
- Andrew Nguyen: University of Maryland
- Yue Ning: Stevens Institute of Technology
- Howard Prioleau: Howard University
- Zahra Rahemi: Clemson University
- Korin Reid: Ellison Laboratories
- Jaime Sesgundo: University of Nevada Reno
- Kehlin Swain: Greens Health
- Xuan Wang: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
- Lucretia Williams: Howard University
- Elaine Yu: Vitalant Research Institute
- Anna Zamora-Kapoor: Washington State University
- Ling Zhang: Northern Arizona University
- Liang Zhao: Kennesaw State University
Regional Distribution of Fellows - Cohort 3
Cohort 2 Fellows
Regional Distribution of Fellows - Cohort 2
Cohort 1 Fellows
Regional Distribution of Fellows - Cohort 1
Impact
The Research Fellowship Program provides both funding support and additional AIM-AHEAD resources for researchers who leverage AIM-AHEAD to gain access to training, data, and infrastructure needed to rapidly develop research skills required in the AI/ML field. Research projects focus on AIM-AHEAD North Star (III): Use AI/ML to address disparities and minority health in behavioral health, cardiometabolic health, and cancer.
Research Fellowship Datasets
From 1 dataset in Cohort 1 to 6 datasets in Cohort 3
Research Fellow's Primary Datasets
| OCHIN | MedStar | AWS | All of Us | BioData Catalyst | ScHARe | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohort 1 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cohort 2 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Cohort 3 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Testimonial Video - Cohort 2 Fellows
Publications
- Jonathan Hernández-Agosto - Cohort 1
Substance use disorders and disparities in hispanic and non-hispanic older adults https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.111357
- Oliver Bear Don't Walk IV - Cohort 1
Auditing Learned Associations in Deep Learning Approaches to Extract Race and Ethnicity from Clinical Text https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10785932/
- Oliver Bear Don't Walk IV - Cohort 1
Opportunities for incorporating intersectionality into biomedical informatics https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1532046424000716?via=ihub
- Mario Flores - Cohort 1
Molecular and immune signatures, and pathological trajectories of fatal COVID-19 lungs defined by in situ spatial single-cell transcriptome analysis. Journal of Medical Virology. https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10454146
- Mario Flores - Cohort 1
Multimodal Identification of Molecular Factors Linked to Severe Diabetic Foot Ulcers Using Artificial Intelligence https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/19/10686
- Bryan Mildort - Cohort 1
The Management of Diabetes Mellitus Using Medicinal Plants and Vitamins https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37240430/
Program Inquiries
All questions and inquiries regarding this program can be directed to the Research Fellowship HelpDesk. Please create a help ticket here: HelpDesk - Submit a Ticket