Weill Cornell Medicine Launches AI to Advance Medicine Initiative

Weill Cornell Medicine has announced the launch of its new AI to Advance Medicine initiative, an enterprise-wide project designed to help manage and optimize a fast-expanding set of artificial intelligence efforts. The program, based around an ongoing lecture series and some targeted grants for tools and technologies, is designed to help build the knowledge base and put in place infrastructure and services to support the safe and effective use of artificial intelligence among Weill Cornell faculty, staff and students.

The initiative encompasses a Dean's Lecture Series and Dean's Grant Program, aiming to provide the institutional infrastructure and services needed to support AI use safely and effectively. Additionally, a new website will spotlight the latest AI initiatives improving patient care, advancing biomedical discovery and educating future physicians—ensuring innovation remains ethical, equitable and human-centered.

The chief information officer noted that many people are still skeptical about AI's potential because they're unsure how to use it effectively. The new project is meant to "teach people when they can trust AI and when they should be appropriately skeptical," according to the statement. Part of the skepticism around AI stems from people not understanding how to use it effectively. "We want to deploy AI into the Weill Cornell community in a safe and secure way — not control it centrally."

The effort will highlight new Weill Cornell AI initiatives that are helping improve care for patients, educate medical students and advance biomedical research. A bimonthly Dean's Lecture Series will offer faculty and trainees the chance to learn and share ideas about the technology and align their efforts as they gain AI literacy. While many AI-focused seminars already take place across Weill Cornell, this lecture series is not intended to replace or consolidate those efforts. Rather, it provides a shared forum that convenes faculty, trainees and staff from across disciplines in a regular, bimonthly gathering—fostering collaboration, community and sustained momentum around AI in medicine at Weill Cornell.

The inaugural lecture, "Creating an AI-Enabled Learning Health System: Now It's Personal," will be delivered by Dr. Peter J. Embi, professor of biomedical informatics and medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, at 12 p.m. Feb. 23 in Uris Auditorium. Dr. Embi is an internationally recognized thought leader on the intersection of medicine and biomedical informatics.

The initiative's grant program offers funding for researchers who might want to pursue AI-driven research but are in need of seed funding or technical support. The AI to Advance Medicine Dean's Grant Program is intended to lower barriers for investigators—especially junior researchers—who are eager to pursue AI-driven research but may lack seed funding or technical support. "AI has a cost — servers, cloud resources, expertise — and that's what the grant can help provide," according to the chief information officer.

The program is designed around Weill Cornell's recent CARE strategic plan—clinical, AI, research and education—which informs its approach to data science across the enterprise. The program is fueled by the institution's CARE strategic plan to drive AI and data science across Weill Cornell's three core missions of research, education and clinical care, as well as administration. It also builds on Cornell University's broader effort to advance AI leadership and education while it expands and assesses its use and application across the university.

The associate dean for AI and data science stated: "We are thinking about AI in medicine in a holistic way. This is not about a single department or a single group, but about collective institutional effort and momentum." The program's launch distinguishes Weill Cornell Medicine from many other institutions, which often lack the necessary technical depth or strategic partnerships to smooth the path forward. "Few of our peers approaching AI in such a comprehensive way," the associate dean added. "That breadth is what makes our effort distinctive."

"AI can be overhyped, but its capabilities are increasing at an exponential pace," the chief information officer noted. "We need a unified strategy that will collectively align and drive the AI efforts emerging across the institution."