image: Marc Boom and Reginald DesRoches
Credit: Houston Methodist and Rice University
HOUSTON – (Dec. 16, 2024) – Rice University and Houston Methodist have joined forces to establish the Digital Health Institute aimed at transforming health care for millions through advanced technology and collaborative expertise.
This multiyear, joint initiative unites Houston Methodist’s academic medicine and research infrastructure with Rice’s world-renowned leadership in engineering, digital health and artificial intelligence (AI) to develop transformative solutions that will enhance patient and population health, operational efficiency and access to equitable care.
This collaboration will translate innovative ideas into scalable solutions with a focus on research and development in digital health and training the next generation of digital health leaders, ensuring a sustainable and forward-looking contribution to the field.
The initiative is led by Rice’s Ashutosh Sabharwal, the Ernest Dell Butcher Professor of Engineering and professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Houston Methodist’s Dr. Khurram Nasir, the William A. Zoghbi, MD Centennial Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine, and division chief of cardiovascular prevention and wellness.
“This partnership embodies Rice’s bold vision to lead at the forefront of innovation in health and
responsible AI,” said Rice President Reginald DesRoches. “By combining our strengths with Houston Methodist, we are creating a transformative platform to address critical challenges in health care with solutions that are ethical, accessible and impactful. This initiative exemplifies our commitment to driving interdisciplinary collaboration and advancing global health for the benefit of humanity.”
This initiative builds on a history of collaboration between Houston Methodist and Rice, including the Center for Neural Systems Restoration launched earlier this year and the Center for Human Performance established in 2022.
“This partnership between our institutions marks a bold new chapter in driving meaningful innovation at the intersection of health care and technology through solutions that are both visionary and practical,” said Dr. Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist. “Our long-standing relationship with Rice University has produced impactful collaborations, but this initiative is by far the most transformative endeavor in our shared commitment of leading medicine through innovation.”
The Digital Health Institute will allow both institutions to share data, resources and governance in order to focus on these key areas:
● Early detection through AI algorithms for early diagnosis of cancer, infections, cardiovascular diseases and other conditions.
● Predictive analytics using real-time monitoring to predict and prevent events such as strokes and heart failure.
● Development of novel sensors, wearables and ingestibles to develop new remote monitoring and care pathways.
● Personalized medicine leveraging machine learning models for creating individualized health profiles based on all available data, including social, environmental and genetic profiles.
● Development of novel imaging technologies that can see deeper and provide new diagnostic capabilities.
● Development of new assistive technologies to reduce inequities across a spectrum of needs.
● Telemedicine expansion delivering high quality, AI-supported medical consultations to patients in remote and underserved areas.
● Patient self-management with AI-driven applications providing personalized health advice and lifestyle recommendations for proactive care management.
The Houston Methodist-Rice Digital Health Institute aims to serve as a global model, showcasing the transformative potential of combining medicine and engineering to shape the future of health care.
“This institute represents an unparalleled opportunity to leverage new cutting-edge engineering research to increase access and reduce costs while improving outcomes,” Sabharwal said.
“This partnership highlights the power of collaboration creating AI-driven digital solutions from extensive health care data for breakthroughs that will shape the future of health care,” Nasir added.
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This news release can be found online at news.rice.edu.
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(Photos by Jeff Fitlow and Brandon Martin/Rice University)
About Houston Methodist:
Houston Methodist is one of the nation’s leading health systems and academic medical centers. The health system consists of eight hospitals: Houston Methodist Hospital, its flagship academic hospital in the Texas Medical Center, six community hospitals and one long-term acute care hospital throughout the greater Houston metropolitan area. Houston Methodist also includes a research institute; a comprehensive residency program; international patient services; freestanding comprehensive care, emergency care and imaging centers; and outpatient facilities. Houston Methodist employs more than 32,000 people and has had more than 2.1 million outpatient visits and more than 142,000 admissions in 2024.
About Rice:
Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of architecture, business, continuing studies, engineering and computing, humanities, music, natural sciences and social sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. Internationally, the university maintains the Rice Global Paris Center, a hub for innovative collaboration, research and inspired teaching located in the heart of Paris. With 4,776 undergraduates and 4,104 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 7 for best-run colleges by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by the Wall Street Journal and is included on Forbes’ exclusive list of “New Ivies.”