Advancing Health Through Knowledge

Webinar

Preparing Today’s Clinical and Informatics Workforce for Tomorrow’s Biomedical AI

Monday, August 10, 2026 | 1.00pm Eastern Time

Registrants will receive an email with a link to access the webinar after completion of registration.

Preparing Today’s Clinical and Informatics Workforce for Tomorrow’s Biomedical AI

$50.00

Bring this webinar to your team
We now offer institutional webinar licenses, making it easy to host a team viewing session for your staff, students, or colleagues. Reach out to operations@fnlm.org for details.

Overview

How do we train our current clinical and informatics professionals in biomedical data science, informatics, and AI to advance health system innovation. Speakers will: (1) synthesize lessons from workforce-serving informatics programs; (2) profile successful working and entrepreneurial PhD learners; (2) assess practice-based doctorates for upskilling needs; and (4) outline undergraduate-to-doctoral trajectories. This session targets educational program leaders, educators, and partners seeking actionable templates to modernize advanced training in biomedical AI.

Thanks to our Sponsor:

  • Speakers
  • Agenda

How Biomedical Informatics Programs Can Serve the Workforce: Strategies, Structures, Outcomes (Hersh) A synthesis of national experience with online/hybrid programs, competency frameworks, and certificate-to-degree pipelines that align with workforce needs.

Profiles of Working and Entrepreneurial PhD Learners: Who They Are and What They Need (Alekseyenko) A case-driven characterization of students completing research-based PhDs while employed or founding companies, highlighting admissions patterns, funding approaches, and dissertation models leveraging workplace data.

Longitudinal Pathways from Undergraduate: Designing Trajectories into Informatics & AI Careers (Unertl) How early mentoring, experiential learning, and undergraduate research experiences seed long-arc pathways into advanced training while working; equity and access considerations.

Can Practice-Based Doctorates Address Workforce Upskilling Needs? (Zhang) The role of applied doctorates (e.g., DHI) in organizational innovation, systems improvement, and leadership development, and where these models complement research PhDs.

Moderator:

Matthew Scotch, PhD, MPH, FACMI (Arizona State University) is Associate Dean of Research and Professor of Biomedical Informatics at ASU, bringing program leadership and deep engagement in biomedical AI education.

Panellists:

William Hersh, MD – Oregon Health & Science University has decades of experience designing, implementing, and evaluating curriculum models that serve professionals in healthcare, public health, and data-driven research roles. He has pioneered online and hybrid informatics programs adopted across the country and has helped define core competencies that shape workforce‑responsive graduate education.

Alexander V. Alekseyenko, PhD – Medical University of South Carolina & Clemson University is an established leader in computational biology, biomedical data science education, and the development of innovative training pathways for health AI talent. His experience spans multi-institutional program leadership, mentoring working professionals, and designing research environments that integrate clinical, public health, and computational perspectives. He brings deep insight into the needs of mid-career learners and the structural challenges in creating rigorous, flexible doctoral pathways.

Kim M. Unertl, PhD – Vanderbilt University Medical Center is a nationally respected educator and researcher whose work focuses on learning experiences across the academic pipeline, workforce development, and equity in access to biomedical informatics training. She leads undergraduate and early-career informatics programs that prepare learners for long-term research and applied careers, directs a research-based MS/PhD program, and teaches in a practice-based MS program for working professionals. Her expertise strengthens the panel’s examination of how early pathways connect to later terminal-degree trajectories for working professionals.

Jiajie Zhang, PhD – UTHealth Houston, McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics is a senior academic leader with extensive expertise in cognitive science, human-technology interaction, and the design of practice-oriented informatics programs. As Dean of one of the nation’s largest informatics schools, he has led efforts to expand applied doctoral training, create flexible educational pathways, and align doctoral programs with health system innovation needs. His perspective provides critical insight into practice-based doctorates and their role in the broader doctoral ecosystem.