Given the rapid growth in and importance of harnessing health data as a tool, Mary Klotman, MD, Dean, Duke University School of Medicine, recently announced the key leadership appointment of Michael Pencina, PhD, Vice Dean for Data Science for the School of Medicine, as the Director of Duke AI Health effective October 13, 2021. Designed as a multidisciplinary initiative, AI Health intends to unlock the enormous opportunity to spur collaborations that will leverage knowledge and expertise from across campus.

The concept of AI Health at Duke was originated by Robert Califf, MD, former director of Duke Forge, working with former Duke Vice President for Research Lawrence Carin, PhD. It was formally launched in spring 2020 under the leadership of Dr. Carin, along with former Vice Dean for Clinical Research Adrian Hernandez, MD, MHS. Dr. Hernandez now serves as Vice Dean and Executive Director of Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI).

In Dr. Pencina’s role as vice dean and new role as AI Health director, he will partner with Richard Shannon, MD, Chief Quality Officer for Duke Health; Ebony Boulware, MD, MPH, Director of Duke’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI); and R. Sanders Williams, MD, interim Vice President of Research and Innovation for Duke University, to develop and implement a health data science strategy for Duke.

“This restructure will enable us to better align talent and resources across Duke University and Duke Health and improve access to data and state-of-the-art technology for all Duke researchers. Together, these innovative leaders will work to solidify Duke as a national leader in the evolving and groundbreaking fields of ethical and equitable data science, informatics, and IT,” wrote Dean Klotman in her email to Duke faculty and staff.