ASPPH staff will lead three sessions at AIxPH, the National Network of Public Health Institutes’ (NNPHI) first annual Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Public Health, October 14–16 in Baltimore. Under the theme “Building Ethical, Equitable and Data-Driven Futures with AI,” the conference convenes public health practitioners, technologists, researchers, funders, and policymakers to examine how AI can strengthen public health and how to manage its risks.

All three ASPPH sessions take place at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront on Thursday, October 15:

• NHIT INSPIRED™ AI Academy x ASPPH: Building an AI Capstone Program in Rural and Underrepresented Communities (10:45 AM–12:00 PM, Essex Room A/B/C). ASPPH Chief Information Officer, Ed Ruiz, BS, moderates a panel with Luis Belén, CEO of the National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved (NHIT); Tracie Seward, MS, ASPPH Senior Director of Educational Pathways and Undergraduate Education; and a student from the Academy’s fall 2026 cohort. The 10-week applied capstone gives students from ASPPH member institutions and the ASPPH Undergraduate Network hands-on experience using AI and data science to address challenges facing rural and underserved communities.
• Deploying Agentic AI for the Public Health Workforce (1:30–3:00 PM, Laurel Room C/D). In this lightning presentation, Ed Ruiz shares lessons from ASPPH’s deployment of agentic AI, including the policies, governance, and infrastructure needed to adopt it responsibly. The presentation will be shared during the “AI Infrastructure for Modern Public Health Systems” session.
• Implementing Trusted AI in Public Health Education: Lessons from the ARIE and IDEA Ecosystem (1:30–3:00 PM, Essex Room A/B/C). Jamie Atchison, MS, ASPPH Senior Director of Innovation and Strategy, and Miranda Bosse, MPH, MSW, Director of the IDEA Institute, discuss ARIE, the IDEA Institute’s equity-focused AI chatbot, during the “AI with Intention” session.

The sessions build on ASPPH’s AI for Public Health initiative and the ASPPH Artificial Intelligence Framework. Members attending AIxPH are encouraged to join these sessions and connect with ASPPH staff throughout the conference. The full agenda is available on the conference website.