Events for September 11, 2026

The UCI PHIT Summit 2026: Digital & Public Health Informatics & Technology – Workforce of the Future is a two-day interdisciplinary summit bringing together leaders from academia, industry, government, standards organizations, healthcare, public health, and technology to explore the rapidly evolving landscape of digital health and public health informatics. Hosted at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) College of Health Sciences on September 10–11, 2026, the Summit will focus on the technologies, standards, workforce capabilities, and interdisciplinary collaboration required to build the next generation of healthcare and public health systems. The program combines keynote presentations, moderated expert panels, student poster presentations, technical training, professional-development activities, industry roundtables, and networking opportunities. Sessions will examine how emerging technologies—including Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Large Language Models, Generative AI, Agentic AI, wearable and medical devices, cloud technologies, interoperability standards, FHIR, and digital health platforms—are transforming healthcare delivery, public health, research, and the future health technology workforce. Each major 90-minute technical session will follow a 30/30/30 format, consisting of a session keynote, an industry-focused discussion, and an academic/government perspective. This structure is designed to connect technological innovation with real-world deployment, research, policy, standards, and workforce development. Key areas of discussion include Emerging Technologies; Devices & Apps; Aging, Longevity & Lifestyle; Healthcare & Public Health Systems; Standards and Interoperability; Informatics, Technology & Standards; Society & Mental Health; and Disease Informatics. A strong emphasis will also be placed on student and early-career workforce development. Participants will have opportunities to engage in hands-on technical learning, including cloud architecture, DevOps/CI-CD, integration using sandbox environments and Postman, FHIR, notebooks, LLMs, GenAI, Agent-to-Agent technologies, and Model Context Protocol (MCP). Professional-development activities will include industry roundtables, resume and LinkedIn guidance, AI-assisted job-search strategies, soft-skills development, and direct interaction with employers. The Summit will also feature the PHIT Student Poster Program, allowing students to showcase their projects and research while engaging with professionals, researchers, technology leaders, and prospective employers. Supported by UCI PHIT and academic partners, HL7, IEEE, ISO TC215, and industry partners, the Summit seeks to strengthen collaboration across the health technology ecosystem while preparing students and professionals for the emerging workforce needs of Digital Health, Public Health Informatics, Healthcare AI, Interoperability, and Health Information Technology. [] PARKING: A valid UC Irvine parking permit is required at all times when parking on campus. Parking for guests attending the UCI PHIT Summit event at the College of Health Sciences is complimentary via (https://www.google.com/url?q=https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://apps.parking.uci.edu/parkbyplate/s/purchase.cfm?code%3DUCIPHIT__;!!OLgoXmg!XP5TgMzSnHUmWQoQ4iUKctUe-6fLAFMSwDh7FSLr2HolGwCpirzNeJwj9cDrPGlXLlicU8yVhgG2XX9QCxYinw$&source=gmail-imap&ust=1789086491000000&usg=AOvVaw22rqqEXpoBY2CI8oa8egYG). Upon successful registration, your license plate will serve as your parking permit. Parking is available in general (unmarked) stalls in the (https://www.google.com/url?q=https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://map.uci.edu/?id%3D463*!ct*92249,95177,95129,95130,95176*m*1213197*s*hsps__;Iy8_Lz8v!!OLgoXmg!XP5TgMzSnHUmWQoQ4iUKctUe-6fLAFMSwDh7FSLr2HolGwCpirzNeJwj9cDrPGlXLlicU8yVhgG2XX-Twul_Xg$&source=gmail-imap&ust=1789086491000000&usg=AOvVaw0Vw0TL9M5N47wZmqijnNAD). Co-sponsored by: Pradyumna Kodgi Agenda: INDUSTRY/ACADEMIA EXPERT TALKS & PANELS @ UCI COHS Sue & Bill Gross Auditorium Agenda Day 1 — September 10, 2026 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Registration, Breakfast & Networking 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM UCI PHIT Summit Kickoff - (https://www.linkedin.com/in/normasramirez/) — PHIT Program Manager - (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kai-zheng-96a8bb3/) — PHIT Director / UCI ICS Faculty - Welcome Keynote: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernadette-boden-albala-97613019/) - Opening Remarks: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayor-larry-agran/) 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Session 1: Emerging Technologies NLP, ML, LLMs, Generative AI, Agentic AI, and emerging healthcare technologies. Speakers: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/goradatta/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/arieshen/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjosephhagerty/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-k-tabor-ed-d-a611b632/) 11:00 AM – 11:15 AM Break 11:15 AM – 12:45 PM PHIT Student Poster Session 12:45 PM – 2:00 PM Lunch & Networking 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM Session 2: Devices & Apps Wearables, connected devices, SaMD/SiMD, and digital health applications. Speakers: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-ivey-0a03068/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammad-usman-34a3081/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-mar-yohana/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramsey-wehbe/) 3:30 PM – 3:45 PM Break 3:45 PM – 5:15 PM Session 3: Aging, Longevity & Lifestyle (A2L) Nutrition, preventive care, precision healthcare, healthy aging, and longevity. Speakers: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-albitar-a6278a350/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/derrickholman/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sanjay-bhojraj/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/raijaleiviska/) 3:45 PM – 5:15 PM — Parallel Training (Room #1030 @ COHS) PHIT Technical Training: Introducing Large Language Models (LLMs): LLM Internals Trainers: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinaysharma75/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/pranay-k-66571639/) 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM Industry Roundtables / Meet-the-Employers 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM Day 1 Closing Keynote: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/raj-nihalani-m-d-rac-3b03972/) + Dinner & Networking --------------------------------------------------------------- Day 2 — September 11, 2026 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Registration, Breakfast & Networking 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Day 2 Welcome Keynote Digital Health Standards – FHIR Around the World - (https://www.linkedin.com/in/goradatta/) Opening Keynote Reclaiming the Commons: Health as if People Matter - (https://www.linkedin.com/in/meilinfung/), Vice Chair, UN AI for Good Impact Steering Committee 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Session 4: Healthcare & Public Health Systems EHRs, patient portals, laboratory systems, and digital health infrastructure. Speakers: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadineba/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sameerhalai/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-ann-prebil-81145a9/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/raj-nihalani-m-d-rac-3b03972/) 11:00 AM – 11:15 AM Break 11:15 AM – 12:45 PM Session 5: Standards Interoperability at Work HL7, ISO, IEEE-SA, FHIR, APIs, cloud, and interoperability standards. Speakers: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddcooperafc/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-dunscombe-b029b16/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/goradatta/) 11:15 AM – 12:45 PM — Parallel Professional Development (Room #1030 @ COHS) Building the Future PHIT Workforce Resume/LinkedIn development, AI-assisted job search, prompt engineering, soft skills, and career readiness. Speaker: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-m-9a0059237/) 12:45 PM – 2:00 PM Lunch & Networking 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM Session 6: Society & Mental Health Public policy, mental health, social determinants, resilient healthcare, and community health. Speakers: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuriquintana/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/orlandolopezz/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-ann-prebil-81145a9/) 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM — Parallel Training (Room #1030 @ COHS) PHIT Technical Training: FHIR & Healthcare Interoperability: Hands-on FHIR, APIs, sandbox environments, and Postman. Trainer: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/pkodgi/) 3:30 PM – 3:45 PM Break 3:45 PM – 5:15 PM Session 7: Disease Informatics RPM, chronic care, disease surveillance, epidemics, and pandemics. Speakers: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/manijeh-mani-berenji-md-mph-b9b80631/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryantkarras/), (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmad-charifa-1a9882a2/), (https://health.ucdavis.edu/internal-medicine/team/42806/angel-desai-infectious-diseases-sacramento-sacramento) 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM Awards, Certificates & Meet-the-Employers 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM Day 2 Closing Keynote: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravnish-bhalla-86a53114/) + Dinner & Networking Program and speaker lineup are subject to change. Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/571968

Modern AI does not understand pixels or words. It understands latent structure. As these invisible representations become the language through which humans and machines communicate, they will fundamentally redefine how we create, discover, and collaborate. This lecture reveals the mathematics behind these hidden spaces and explores why they may become the most important interface between human intelligence and artificial intelligence. This lecture explores the evolution of latent representations from Variational Autoencoders, which first learned meaningful probabilistic embeddings, to Generative Adversarial Networks, which demonstrated photorealistic generation while exposing challenges in stability and control, and finally to diffusion models and Stable Diffusion, which combine exceptional image quality with unprecedented controllability and robustness. Beyond the algorithms, the talk examines how latent representations are transforming human-AI interaction. By enabling AI systems to reason, generate, and collaborate through shared abstract representations, they are reshaping creativity, scientific discovery, healthcare, education, and engineering. Understanding these hidden spaces offers not only insight into how modern AI works, but also a glimpse into a future where humans and intelligent machines communicate and co-create in entirely new ways. Note: - You will require a Zoom account (free to obtain) to join the meeting. This requirement is to avoid Zoom bombing. Please sign in using the email address tied to your Zoom account, not necessarily the one you used to register for the event. - By registering for this event, you agree that IEEE and the organizers are not liable to you for any loss, damage, injury, or any incidental, indirect, special, consequential, or economic loss or damage (including loss of opportunity, exemplary or punitive damages). The event will be recorded and will be made available for public viewing. Co-sponsored by: Vishnu S. Pendyala, SJSU Speaker(s): Dr. Narayan Srinivasa, IEEE Fellow , Dr. Vishnu S. Pendyala Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/570049