AIM-AHEAD Consortium Development Program (CDP) Year 3

Lead Organization: OCHIN (led by Taona Haderlein, PhD)

Overview:
The AIM-AHEAD CDP Year 3 program awarded approximately $500,000 each to six research projects aimed at advancing multidisciplinary efforts to improve health outcomes in lower-resource communities. The program focuses on developing and piloting artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms and tools to address cancer, cardiometabolic conditions, and mental and behavioral health.

Geographic Scope

• Lower-resource areas and communities served by federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) or community health centers
• Designated by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)

Focus Areas

• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Development: Creating and piloting AI/ML algorithms and tools
• Disease Focus Areas:
  • Cancer
  • Cardiometabolic conditions
  • Mental and behavioral health
• Health Equity: Bridging gaps in AI representation from lower-resource communities

Key Requirements

• Co-design and Pilot: Awardees must co-design and pilot their AI and machine learning tools in collaboration with health care organizations serving patients in FQHCs or community health centers in lower-resource areas
• Multidisciplinary Approach: Support development of multidisciplinary research pilot projects
• Data Representation: Focus on ensuring AI models are informed by data, needs, and perspectives of communities facing barriers to high-quality care

Program Goals

• Support development of AI to improve health care access, quality, value, and outcomes for patients in lower-resource settings
• Prevent AI advancements from negatively affecting health care quality, delivery, and outcomes in underserved areas
• Expand representation of health care data in AI and machine learning research

2024 Awardees (Year 3)

1. LifeLong Medical Care (California) - Led by Yui Nishiike, Chief Medical Information Officer and Family Nurse Practitioner
   • Focus: Improving AI risk stratification for primary care measures using non-clinical drivers of health outcomes data
2. Debi Alexander, JD - SPARC (Washington, DC)
3. John (Jack) LeBien, M.Sc. - Abartys Health (Puerto Rico)
4. Winston Liaw, MD, MPH - University of Houston (Texas)
5. Timothy Thomas, MD - Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (Alaska)
6. Yi Zhu, PhD - Hawaii Pacific University (Hawaii)

Related OCHIN AIM-AHEAD Programs

• AI research training program
• AI research readiness program for under-resourced institutions
• Fellowship program to empower clinicians in AI

Background

• NIH-funded initiative launched in 2021
• OCHIN is a leading partner in the AIM-AHEAD consortium
• Works to expand representation of health care data in AI and machine learning research
• OCHIN network patients' electronic health data available to researchers
• Ensures AI-driven questions and solutions are relevant to community-based health care organizations

Contact

For more information, contact OCHIN at (503) 943-2500 or visit ochin.org