By action of the Regents of the University of Michigan on March 23, 2023, Center member Akbar Waljee now officially holds the fully endowed Lyle C. Roll Medical School Professorship in the Department of Learning Health Sciences.
The award is the result of a generous gift from Marguerite S. Roll in honor of her late husband who led the Kellogg Company for a quarter century. Mrs. Roll was especially interested in advancing medical teaching and research that focuses on the importance of the doctor-patient relationship. This is a monumental achievement, and the department will host a congratulatory event in the coming months.
Waljee is an accomplished physician-scientist in healthcare policy and innovation, focusing on using machine learning and deep learning techniques to improve healthcare outcomes. With Amina Abubakar, he leads the Center-enabled UZIMA initiative in East Africa and is engaged with mant other projects in Africa.
Waljee holds several key leadership positions at the University of Michigan, including serving as the faculty lead for the IHPI Data and Methods Hub and as co-director of the Michigan Integrated Center for Health Analytics and Medical Prediction (MiCHAMP), as well as a convener for the e-Health and Artificial Intelligence program (e-HAIL).
Waljee’s work is aimed at improving healthcare access, quality, and efficiency, particularly in resource-constrained settings. He employs novel machine learning techniques to develop AI-enabled decision support systems and tools to facilitate more personalized care for disease management and healthcare utilization with the ultimate goal of delivering efficient, effective, and equitable care both domestically and globally.
