Research

My research focuses on improving healthcare delivery in underserved communities through rigorous evaluation of innovative approaches, with particular emphasis on digital health technologies and AI-assisted clinical decision support.

AI in clinical decision-making

How clinicians and AI systems make better decisions together. Clinician-in-the-loop evaluation of clinical AI, collective intelligence for diagnosis, and reinforcement learning from expert feedback through AugMed, an open-source platform built with collaborators at the University of Washington. Two current projects run through CollectiveGood: a field pilot with Cone Health funded by a UNC Kickstart Venture Studio award, and an NIH NIMHD STTR Phase I project on asynchronous peer consultation for rural clinicians.

Behavioral economics for digital health

Whether tailored behavioral nudges change health behavior at scale. A Humana Foundation pilot delivers SMS nudges matched to loss aversion, cognitive bandwidth, and social inclusion to adults in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Related work on telehealth payment parity and outpatient use (Health Affairs Scholar, Medical Care, 2025).

Measuring quality of care

Unannounced standardized patients and audit studies to measure what providers actually do. Antibiotic use for childhood diarrhea in rural China (NIH K01, 2022 to 2026), HIV care quality and stigma in Vietnam (NIH R01 with Kumi Smith, University of Minnesota), and NLP and item response methods for assessing diagnostic competence on digital platforms.

Health systems and early childhood in low-resource settings

Healthy Future, a maternal and child health program in rural China with Stanford, now entering its second phase. Social accountability and contraceptive care in Kenya and Madagascar. Information markets that pay communities for local health observations, including a published COVID-19 surveillance pilot in Accra, Ghana. Clinician training and data-science capacity building in Ethiopia.

Talks & Presentations

AI for Academic Workflows

Faculty workshop, Department of Health Policy and Management, UNC Gillings • Jun 2026

Three Roles for AI in a Health Economics Lab

EPID Faculty Retreat, UNC Gillings • May 2026

AI-Enhanced Curriculum Delivery for Community Health Workers: Evidence and Design from the Healthy Future Platform

with Gary Darmstadt, Yunwei Chen, Ann Weber, and Siva Balakrishnan. Stanford REAP Conference, KU Leuven • Mar 2026

Data Sciences for Modeling and Health Technology Assessment

Co-instructor, Addis Ababa University • Feb 2026

Technology for Sustainable Primary Health Care

ADRI Annual Conference Panel • Dec 2025

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