HEALTH TECH SUMMIT PROGRAM 2026
MARCH 2
MORNING SESSION
Doors Open + Networking Coffee
Welcome Remarks by Robert A. Harrington, MD – Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean, Weill Cornell Medicine; Provost for Medical Affairs, Cornell University
Fireside Chat with Eric Horvitz – Chief Scientific Officer, Microsoft
Moderator: Robert A. Harrington, MD – Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean, Weill Cornell Medicine; Provost for Medical Affairs, Cornell University
Lightning Talk
Fireside Chat with with Chris Klomp – Director, Center for Medicare; Senior Advisor to the Secretary, HHS
Moderator: Tanzeem Choudhury - Chief of Health Innovation, Roger and Joelle Burnell Professor in Integrated Health and Technology, Cornell Tech
PITCH LUNCH
AFTERNOON SESSION
Hype, Harm, and Hope: Where Mental Health AI Stands Today
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Moderator: Mario Aguilar - Health Tech Correspondent, STAT News
Matthew Brown – Head of Digital Technology, Discovery Research & Mental Health, Wellcome Trust
Munmun De Choudhury, PhD – J. Z. Liang Professor of Interactive Computing, Georgia Tech
Matthew Nock, PhD – Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology, Harvard University
Sarper Taskiran, MD – Senior Psychiatrist, Child Mind Institute
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The mental health AI revolution promised wearables and smartphones detecting behavioral changes that signal shifts in mental health, social media analysis flagging suicide risk, and new chatbots promising what their predecessors couldn't deliver. Yet this revolution hasn’t arrived—pioneering companies have collapsed, chatbots have been linked to teen suicides, and the FDA still hasn't figured out how to regulate therapy delivered by AI. This panel brings together researchers who built the science, funders betting on its future, and clinicians who see patients every day, moderated by a journalist who has documented both the breakthroughs and the failures. Together, they'll confront some of the field's most pressing questions around safety, privacy, and more.
Fireside Chat with Seema Verma – EVP & GM, Oracle Health & Life Sciences
Moderator: Rahul Sharma, MD, MBA – Professor and Chair of Emergency Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine-New York Presbyterian; Executive Director, Center for Virtual Care
Lightning Talk
Sustainable Scaling: Building Healthcare Companies That Last
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Moderator: Danish Munir – Founding Partner, GreyMatter Capital
John Hui – Co-founder, Rendr; Co-founder, Trendlytics; Co-founder & GM, Twiage
Israel Krush – CEO & Co-founder, Hyro
Aniq Rahman- Founder & CEO, Fabric
Stephanie Sharron – Partner, Morrison Foerster
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What does it take to grow a healthcare startup from early traction to lasting impact? This panel brings together Cornell founders who have scaled AI-powered healthcare companies serving millions of patients, navigated enterprise sales cycles, and guided strategic acquisitions, alongside legal counsel who advises on responsible tech and AI governance practices, IP strategies, and data rights issues that can make or break a deal.
From Lab to Launch: Academics Making Impact
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Moderator: Fei Wang– Associate Dean for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Weill Cornell Medicine; Senior Faculty Fellow in Clinical AI, Cornell Tech
Monica Agrawal – Co-founder, Layer Health; Assistant Professor, Duke University
Robert Min – President & CEO, Weill Cornell Physician Organization; Chair of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine
Zachary Lipton – Co-founder & CTO, Abridge; Associate Professor of Machine Learning, Carnegie Mellon University
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This panel brings together both academic faculty founders and institution leaders who are actively advancing the translation of academic research into real-world impact. From launching startups to building institutional pathways that support commercialization, these leaders are reshaping how academics engage with industry and society. Panelists will share perspectives on moving ideas from lab to market, fostering entrepreneurial culture within academic institutions, and balancing scholarly excellence with innovation and impact. The discussion will highlight practical lessons for academic researchers and leaders seeking to accelerate meaningful translation without compromising academic mission.
Closing Remarks
Networking Reception at the Verizon Center Lobby
MARCH 3
MORNING SESSION
Doors Open + Networking Coffee
Welcome Remarks by Greg Morrisett - Jack and Rilla Neafsey Dean, Vice Provost, Cornell Tech
Fireside Chat with Dave A. Chokshi, MD – Sternberg Family Professor of Leadership, City College of NY; Attending Physician, Bellevue Hospital
Lightning Talk
Fireside Chat with Amy Gleason – Acting Administrator, U.S. DOGE Service; Special Advisor, CMS
Moderated by Mainul Mondal - Founder & CEO, Ellipsis Health
Building the AI-Ready Health System: How Innovation Leaders Are Navigating the Next Wave
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Moderator: Chethan Sarabu – Director of Clinical Innovation Health Tech Hub, Cornell Tech
Ashley Beecy, MD – Chief AI Officer, Sutter Health
Jason Hill, MD, MS, MMM– Clinical Innovation Officer, Ochsner Health
Girish Nadkarni, MD, MPH - Chief AI Officer, Mount Sinai Health System
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As AI reshapes healthcare delivery, health systems are creating new leadership roles to guide this transformation. This panel brings together Chief AI Officers and Clinical Innovation leaders from Sutter Health, Ochsner Health, and Mount Sinai to discuss what it takes to move AI from pilot to enterprise-wide impact. The conversation will explore how to operationalize clinical AI at scale, from ambient scribes to predictive models, while measuring not just efficiency gains but workforce well-being and patient outcomes. The panel will also examine how these new leadership roles are evolving, and how health systems are navigating EHR integrations and collaboration with external technology partners.
LUNCH BREAK
AFTERNOON SESSION
From Claims to Care: Understanding the AI Payment Revolution
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Moderator: Brittany Trang – Health Tech Reporter, STAT News
Jeffrey P. DiLisi – Chairman of the Board, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
Narges Razavian – Associate Professor, Center for Healthcare Innovation and Delivery Science, NYU Langone Health
Martin Seneviratne – Co-founder, Phare Health
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AI is transforming healthcare payment from both sides of the transaction: insurers are deploying algorithms for prior authorization and claims processing while providers are adopting AI tools for coding and documentation. Yet these parallel revolutions are unfolding with little transparency and even less coordination. As Medicare pilots AI-powered prior authorization programs and states move to regulate algorithmic coverage decisions, fundamental questions remain unresolved: Can AI make reimbursement faster and fairer, or will it simply automate existing friction? Will integrating AI into the payment cycle drive up costs? This panel brings together payer leadership, health AI research, and entrepreneurs building the next generation of payment infrastructure to debate whether AI will bridge the divide between clinical care and financial systems or widen it.
Fireside Chat with Howard Morgan – Chairman, B Capital; Chairman, Cornell Tech Council
Moderator: Ian Chiang - Partner, Flare Capital Partners
Keynote “Swifties, Startups, and the Singularity”with Stephen K. Klasko, M.D., M.B.A. – Executive in Residence, General Catalyst; Board Chair, DocGo; Teleflex
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Dr. Klasko has been a private practice obstetrician, department chair, medical college dean, university president, and CEO of one of the largest health systems in Pennsylvania. Now an Executive in Residence at General Catalyst, in this session he will take on a totally different role, returning from 2035 to discuss what we have gotten right—and wrong—about robots, AI and humans working together, value-based care, personalized medicine, and population health. As to how the “Shake It Off” superstar and Ray Kurzweil, the most prolific inventor of our generation and author of “The Singularity Is Near” and “The Singularity Is Nearer,” ended up in the same title…well, you’ll just have to be there.
Fireside Chat with Mitchell Katz, MD – President & Chief Executive Officer, NYC Health + Hospitals
Moderator: Deborah Estrin – Professor of Computer Science, Associate Dean for Impact, Cornell Tech
Moonshots: Big Bets and Radical Innovations Transforming Healthcare
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Moderator: Alexi G. Nazem, MD, MBA – General Partner, AlleyCorp
Jianying Hu – Director of Healthcare & Life Sciences Research, Global Science Leader of AI for Health, IBM
Justine Levin-Allerhand, PhD – Executive Partner, Chief Corporate Development Officer & Chief Operating Officer of Flagship Labs, Flagship Pioneering
Pat Pataranutaporn, PhD – Assistant Professor, MIT; Founding Director, Cyborg Psychology research group; Co-director, MIT Media Lab's Advancing Humans with AI (AHA) Research Program
Guillermo Sapiro – Distinguished Engineer, Apple; Augustine Family Professor, Princeton University
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Panelists will explore high-risk, high-reward innovations that have the potential to transform patient care. From audacious applications of AI and advanced therapeutics to reimagined care models and breakthrough diagnostics, learn about how panelists are pursuing “moonshot” ideas in environments that demand safety, efficacy, and equity. Through candid stories of bold experimentation, lessons learned, and strategic risk-taking, this conversation will illuminate the opportunities and challenges of driving radical change at the intersection of clinical practice and cutting-edge technology.