Inaugural AI for Health seed funding program awards nearly $300,000

Program from AI for Health Institute, Here and Next supports interdisciplinary research in AI and health

Channing Suhl 05.07.2025

A new seed funding program, launched by the AI for Health Institute and Here and Next to support interdisciplinary research that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to address critical health challenges, has awarded nearly $300,000 in grants.

AI for Health seed funding projects bring together researchers from AI and health domains to find new ways to solve significant health problems using advanced AI technologies. Each grant provides funding up to $50,000 for one year.

Recipients include the following faculty collaborative teams:

Abhinav Jha, associate professor of biomedical engineering in McKelvey Engineering and of radiology at WashU Medicine Mallinckrodt institute of Radiology, in collaboration with Barry Siegel, MD, professor of radiology and of medicine, and Farhan Katchi, MD, assistant professor of medicine, both at WashU Medicine: $49,977 for a project titled, “Clinical Implementation of CTLESS for Accessible, Affordable, Accurate, and Safer Diagnosis of Coronary Artery Disease.”
Lan Yang, the Edwin H. & Florence G. Skinner Professor of Electrical & Systems Engineering, in collaboration with Joseph Gaut, MD, Ladenson Professor of Pathology & Immunology, and Jose Saenz, MD, assistant professor of medicine, both at WashU Medicine: $50,000 for a project titled, “AI-Enhanced Hyperspectral Imaging for Virtual Tissue Staining and Automated Pathology Analysis.”
Matthew Brier, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology at WashU Medicine, in collaboration with Ulugbek Kamilov, associate professor of electrical & systems engineering and of computer science & engineering: $50,000 for a project titled, “Lesion Expansion Screening via Artificial Intelligence (LESION-AI).”
Guy Genin, the Harold and Kathleen Faught Professor of Mechanical Engineering, in collaboration with Mohamed Zayed, MD, PhD, professor of surgery and of radiology, and Josh Osbun, MD, professor of neurosurgery, of radiology and of neurology, both at WashU Medicine: $50,000 for a project titled, “AI-NAVIGATE: Patient-Specific Tool Selection for Endovascular Procedures through Physics-Informed AI Research.”
Joshua Oltmanns, assistant professor of psychological & brain sciences in Arts & Sciences, in collaboration with Nathan Jacobs, professor of computer science & engineering: $50,000 for a project titled, “Advancing Psychological Assessment with Computer Vision AI.”
Fanwei Kong, assistant professor of mechanical engineering & materials science, in collaboration with Pirooz Eghtesady, MD, PhD, chief of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at WashU Medicine: $50,000 for a project titled, “AI and Computational Simulator for Pre-Operative Planning of Pediatric Mitral Valve Surgeries.”