Marnix E Heersink Institute of Biomedical Innovation

The UAB Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health, in conjunction with the UAB Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation, proudly announces the fifth cohort of pilot grant awardees.Four innovative projects have received pilot funding to encourage collaboration between UAB investigators and international partners, tackling critical global health challenges. Award recipients were notified on March 31, 2026. Congratulations to the 2026 selected teams!

Building on a partnership rooted in shared vision and philanthropy, UAB and McMaster University (McM) continued to deepen their collaboration during a recent all-day, in-person strategic meeting held on Friday, March 20, 2026, in Birmingham, Ala. The visit created an opportunity for a significant step forward in advancing the institutions’ joint commitment to innovation, global health, education, and research. Over the years, this partnership has evolved into a dynamic, action-oriented collaboration with growing momentum and tangible outcomes.

  Innovation Pitch Competition Showcases Transformative Ideas at the 2025 AI and Technology in Global Health Symposium The spirit of innovation was on full display at the 2025 AI and Technology in Global Health Symposium during the Innovation Pitch Competition. This year’s event brought together trainees, researchers, and global partners to share bold, AI-driven solutions to some of the world’s most urgent health challenges.

At this year’s AIMed25 conference in San Diego, one of the most anticipated moments came when, Rubin Pillay, M.D., Ph.D., executive director of the UAB Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation was honored with the 2025 AI Educator of the Year Award.

A global pharmaceutical company based in India has committed to a major investment in a UAB startup working to pioneer breakthrough FDA-approved therapeutics for lung diseases.

The UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine is proud to announce its spring 2025 cohort of REINVENT Grant awardees.

A new era in kidney disease care management has begun with the launch of Dialytix, a pioneering start-up founded by UAB faculty.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation hosted a Grand Rounds presentation titled "Using NLP Approaches in Medical Informatics – A Path Towards Developing Gen AI Applications," featuring Ashish Gupta, Ph.D., Globe Life Professor of Business Analytics and Ph.D. Program Coordinator in the Department of Business Analytics & Information Systems at Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025.

Sandeep Bodduluri, Ph.D., is working to use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve health care processes and the patient experience. Through courses offered by the Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation, he is sharing his knowledge with clinicians at UAB and abroad, emphasizing the importance of interaction between clinicians and engineers in AI research and development.

Rubin Pillay, M.D., Ph.D., is a leader in the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and health care, using his expertise to drive innovation and educate future generations. As the chief innovation officer for UAB Medicine and an esteemed author, he has dedicated his career to exploring the transformative power of AI in medicine. His passion for educating others extends beyond his institutional roles, manifesting in his books, lectures, and leadership initiatives.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping medicine, and one of the many ways the Heersink School of Medicine has responded is by developing new training programs, including an AI in Medicine Graduate Certificate and an AI in Medicine Master of Science (M.S.) degree, that prepare trainees for new opportunities in health care technology and innovation. Both programs are established collaboratively with the Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation.

The UAB campus is rapidly being reimagined through numerous new construction and building renovation projects. These include projects that directly support the goals of UAB’s Forging Ahead strategic plan and Research Strategic Initiative: Growth with Purpose, which set a goal of increasing research expenditures to $1 billion, from $774.5 million in fiscal year 2023. Several projects also advance the Heersink School of Medicine’s strategic goals across its mission pillars in clinical care, medical education, and biomedical research. 

The AI in Medicine and Nursing Symposium, hosted by the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, UAB Medicine, UAB School of Health Professions, UAB School of Nursing, and Maastricht University Faculty of Science and Engineering, concluded successfully, bringing together leading experts, researchers, and industry representatives to explore the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care.

Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation (Innovation Institute) leadership regularly takes part in various events regarding artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine and health care, offering their expertise and professional insight. This fall, three of the institute’s leaders participated in a one-day program titled “A Primer for AI in Healthcare,” co-offered by the UAB School of Health Profession’s Department of Health Services Administration Center for Healthcare Management & Leadership.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation hosted a Grand Rounds presentation titled "How an Innovation System Uncovered Breakthrough Solutions for CAUTI and AKI" with speaker Todd Dunn, an experienced transformation and innovation executive, on Tuesday, Oct 3.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation hosted a Grand Rounds presentation titled "Innovating the Future of Healthcare Design" with speakers Tushar Gupta, Mark Vaughan, and Chris Ressler, renowned leaders in healthcare architecture and design, on Tuesday, July 16.

University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) faculty members recently participated in the AI in Medicine and Healthcare Symposium at Maastricht University, which brought together experts and stakeholders to discuss the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in transforming health care.

Udbhav Ram, an international scholar from McMaster University, recently joined Carlos E. Cardenas, Ph.D., in his lab to study and research and serve as an undergraduate ambassador.

UAB recently hosted a VR/AR Association meeting that brought together innovators and experts from across the country to explore the application of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in solving real-world challenges.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation offers an AI in Medicine Graduate Certificate to meet the growing impact of artificial intelligence in academic medicine. Stevan Fairburn, a UAB MS2 student currently enrolled in the program, met with the Heersink communications team to shed some light on the certificate program and its curriculum. 

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation held a Grand Rounds presentation with speaker Christy Harris Lemak, PhD., Professor in the Department of Health Services Administration in the School of Health Professions at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, on Tuesday, April 2. 

The United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) recently held its annual conference in Birmingham, Alabama, from Jan. 9-14, 2024. Hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Entrepreneurship Program, the event, titled USASBE 2024: Forging the Future Together, brought together educators, innovators, and entrepreneurs from across the country and featured many team members from the UAB Heersink School of Medicine and UAB Medicine.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation held a Grand Rounds presentation with speaker Byron W. Lai, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UAB Department of Pediatrics, on Thursday, March 14.

The American College of Physicians Alabama Chapter recently held its annual Winter Meeting at UAB’s new Active Learning Center in Volker Hall. The meeting, hosted by the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, focused on “Medicine in the Machine Age: The Integration and Influence of AI in Medicine,” and featured presentations and expert involvement from the Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation team and other Heersink School of Medicine leaders.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation is devoted to driving the transformation of health and health care by future-proofing the health care workforce and fostering and facilitating high-value innovation that will improve health outcomes and economic development. One way the institute has done this is through the Dothan Community Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, which was held at the Health Center South Medical Tower.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation held a symposium titled "Generative AI for Healthcare: Progress or Peril" with multiple speakers, all innovators in the field of health care, on Tuesday, Sept. 12.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation held a Grand Rounds presentation with speaker Thomas Maddox, M.D., M.Sc., vice president of Digital Products and Innovation at BJC HealthCare and Washington University School of Medicine, on Wednesday, Jan. 17.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation held a Grand Rounds presentation with speaker Nataliya Kosmyna, Ph.D., research scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), on Thursday, August 31.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation, along with other UAB entities, recently attended a virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in Huntsville, Alabama hosted by the VR/AR Association, an international organization designed to foster collaboration between spatial computing solution providers and end-users. The event, Making the Connection: VR and AR in Alabama, highlighted the extended reality (XR) industry in Alabama.

Ryan Godwin, Ph.D., instructor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and the Department of Radiology, and Sandeep Bodduluri, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Medicine and Instructor & Advisor for AI Programming for the Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation, have partnered to instruct the institute’s new graduate certificate course, Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine.

Molly Wasko, Ph.D., MBA, UAB University Professor and associate dean for Research, Innovation and Faculty Success in the Collat School of Business., has partnered with the Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation to instruct its new graduate certificate course, Leadership & Ethics of AI in Medicine.

Andrew Smith, M.D., Ph.D., vice chair of innovation in the Department of Radiology and clinical director of AI in the Marnix E. Heersink Institute of Biomedical Innovation, recently published a study on the use of ChatGPT in Radiology with Asser Abou Elkassem, M.D., a Department of Radiology resident.  

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation hosted a symposium focusing on digital health care with a panel of innovators in the field on Thursday, May 18.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation held a Grand Rounds presentation with speaker Vitaly Herasevich, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc., professor of Anesthesiology and Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Division of Critical Care, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, on May 15, 2023.

Anthony Chang, M.D., MBA, MPH, M.S., founder of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, has partnered with the Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation to instruct its new graduate certificate course, Foundations of AI in Medicine.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation held a Grand Rounds presentation with speaker George J. Netto, M.D., Robert and Ruth Anderson Endowed Chair, UAB Department of Pathology, on April 13, 2023.

Rubin Pillay, M.D., Ph.D., executive director of the UAB Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation, spoke on the concept of Healthcare 3.0 at a lunch and learn held by the institute on Feb. 9, 2023.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation has launched a program for health care professionals who want to optimize their group's quality, access, and solutions through creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. To achieve this goal, the institute has partnered with UAB Medicine to offer the Healthcare Innovation Academy.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation recently elected its 2022-2023 cohort for the Heersink Innovation Fellows Program. Nine applicants from various disciplines at UAB were accepted into the program to apply the entrepreneurial mindset to their discipline and academic area.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation held an AI in Medicine Symposium to begin building a team and pipeline for clinical AI solutions in medicine on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation held a Lunch and Learn with Dharitri Rath, Ph.D. on Friday, July 15.

The Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation, established by the Heersink gift, aims to foster and facilitate health care improvement and socio-economic transformation through creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship.