UCLA's first dean for health AI strategy and innovation takes office
The University of California, Los Angeles has officially selected its first associate dean for Health Artificial Intelligence Strategy and Innovation.
Katherine P. Andriole, PhD, a professor of radiological sciences, is taking on the inaugural role at the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM), in addition to serving as the director for the UCLA Center for AI and SMART Health. Andriole will partner with the Chief AI Officer for UCLA Health to help drive the university’s AI research with the goal of translating those efforts into clinical utility.
“The creation of an associate dean in AI speaks to the fact that AI has become central to research, education and clinical operations in the health care system,” Jonathan Goldin, MD, PhD, professor of radiology, medicine, and physics and biology in medicine, and chair of the UCLA Health Department of Radiological Sciences, said in a statement. “This is an important moment for UCLA to lead the way in the implementation of AI across all health care disciplines, but starting with a focus on radiology.”
Andriole has worked in imaging informatics and biomedical data science for over three decades. She earned her PhD at Yale University, where she majored in Electrical Engineering and Medicine and conducted research on classical machine learning. She also completed fellowships in the Departments of Radiology at the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of California at San Francisco, where she was involved in the development and implementation of picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) before they became a staple in radiology workflows.
Her background in the radiology field makes her well suited for the role, as the majority of AI-enabled applications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are centered on imaging in some capacity. What’s more, she has been appointed to numerous leadership roles for radiology-centric organizations, including the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), the American College of Radiology (ACR), the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) and more.
Andriole officially took on the inaugural role at the university in late February.
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In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.