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This is an add-on workshop for no additional charge, but registration is still required. Register here.​

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Note: Parking will be free for this workshop at the BRC Garage. Upon entry, please scan your credit card at the parking gate. You will then receive a parking validation during check-in to use when you exit the gate. 

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Workshop 4: The Future of AI and Behavioral Health

Thursday, September 25, 2025 | Exhibit Hall 

12:30 pm – 4:30 pm

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The Future of AI and Behavioral Health is a collaborative research and networking event hosted by the UTHealth Houston School of Behavioral Health Sciences and Rice University's Office for Educational Research Initiatives for Collaborative Health (ENRICH). This gathering aims to bring together faculty and researchers from both institutions to explore the evolving role of artificial intelligence in advancing the behavioral health field. The event will serve as a platform to highlight the newly established School of Behavioral Health Sciences and its role within the Rice-TMC health research ecosystem. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in AI-driven approaches to behavioral health, exchange ideas, and build meaningful connections that can spark future research partnerships.   

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Call for Ideas: This workshop will feature Student IDEA-a-Thon presentations. If you have an idea for utilizing AI to solve a problem in behavioral health, submit your idea to be selected for IDEA OF THE YEAR. This call is open to students of all levels from Texas Medical Center schools/universities, including UH and UTMB. Click here to explore criteria, submission deadline, and information on the awards.

 

Check-in

12:30pm – 1:00pm

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This event will be moderated by Michelle Patriquin, PhD, ABPP, Assistant Dean, Digital Health & Innovation, UTHealth School of Behavioral Health Sciences; Co-Director of Research, UTHealth John S. Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center; Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, UTHealth McGovern Medical School.

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Opening Remarks 

1:00pm – 1:10pm ​

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• Eduardo Salas, PhD, Associate Vice President for Research, Collaborative Engagement and Team Science; Allyn R. and Gladys M. Cline Professor of Psychological Sciences, Rice University

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Research and Clinician Presentations* 

1:10pm – 2:10pm 

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• ​Ashu Sabharwal, PhD, Co-Director of the Rice-Houston Methodist Digital Health Institute; Director, Rice Digital Health Initiative; Ernest Dell Butcher Professor of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University​

  • From Sensors to Deployed Health Programs: This talk will present the ongoing journey from innovation to adoption in deployed clinical workflows, through case studies in pulmonology, diabetes care, and mental health, highlighting the fundamental importance of paying attention to human behavior. ​​​​

 

• Akane Sano, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University​

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• Vanessa Sanchez, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rice University​

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• Scott D. Lane, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair for Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UTHealth Houston McGovern Medical School; Associate Dean, Academic and Student Affairs, UTHealth Houston School of Behavioral Health Sciences; Director of Research, UTHealth Houston Dunn Behavioral Sciences Campus; Associate Director, Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addiction

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Panel Discussion

2:10pm – 2:30pm

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• Angela Wilkins, PhD (Moderator)

 

Poster Session

2:30pm – 3:00pm

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Student IDEA-a-Thon Presentations

3:00pm – 4:00pm

 

"IDEA OF THE YEAR" Prizes and Awards 

4:00pm

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*Featured speakers are part of Rice University's Digital Health Initiative and Digital Health Institute, which connect experts across disciplines and institutions to advance digital health through collaboration and next-generation technology.

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About the Organizers

• ENRICH (Educational and Research Initiatives for Collaborative Health) serves the Rice University community to foster research collaborations and educational partnerships with health-related institutions of the Texas Medical Center (TMC), to position Rice as a leader in advancing healthcare.

• The newly established UTHealth Houston School of Behavioral Health Sciences will address the critical workforce shortage by developing and educating the next generation of mental health professionals to meet the needs of Texans.

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