BRAIN Summit: Leveraging AI to explore new frontiers in brain health for our nation’s Veterans

The VA National Artificial Intelligence Institute (NAII) is exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to help Veterans facing brain cancer, traumatic brain injuries, and mental health conditions. The Brain Health & Rehabilitation through Artificial Intelligence Network Summit (BRAIN Summit) will highlight how AI impacts three areas of critical importance to Veterans’ health: brain cancer, brain injury and rehabilitation, and mental health. The BRAIN Summit will be held September 7-9, bringing together leaders and innovators interested in exploring the nexus of AI policy, health care and brain health for our nation’s Veterans.

Speakers will include Dr. Carolyn Clancy, assistant under secretary for Health for Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks, Veterans Health Administration, and the director of VA’s National Artificial Intelligence Institute (NAII) Dr. Gil Alterovitz. Other leading experts include:

• Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, assistant professor, Columbia University Medical Center, and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer”;
• Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, William J. and Charles H. Mayo professor, and Monica Flynn Jacoby, endowed chair of Neurosurgery at Mayo Clinic;
• Dr. Ronald Summers, senior investigator, NIH Clinical Center;
• Dr. Jordan Green, director, professor and vice chair, Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins;
• Dr. Nick van Terheyden, principal, ECG Management Consulting;
• Dr. Eliot Siegel, professor and vice chair, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, and chief of radiology and Nuclear Medicine for the VA Maryland Healthcare System.

The BRAIN Summit will gather AI professionals across government, health care, research and industry. Experts will share their latest research and practices on how to help VA better serve Veterans dealing with brain cancer, brain injury, PTSD, suicidal ideation and other health conditions.

VA is ready to embrace AI responsibly and efficiently. The BRAIN Summit will help VA clinicians increase their knowledge of integrating AI into mental health care to ensure the best care possible for Veterans.

How will the BRAIN Summit help Veterans?

There are approximately 50,000 new cancer cases in Veterans each year. Overall, 12.9% of Veterans have PTSD in a given year. The number of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and suicides are also high among Veterans.

VA NAII is already using AI and machine learning to transform several areas of Veteran health care services, including cancer detection and suicide prevention. Founded in 2019, the NAII seeks to advance AI research, development and training to improve Veteran health and well-being, and to share this knowledge globally. Integrating AI into the brain and mental health services will enhance suicide prevention methods, cancer screening, TBI treatment and other urgent health challenges for Veterans.

How can Veterans participate in the BRAIN Summit?

Veterans, clinicians and researchers are invited to attend the BRAIN Summit free of cost, and they can register here. The Summit will be in-person, September 7-9, and take place at the Hilton Crystal City at Washington Reagan National Airport, 2399 Richmond Highway, Arlington, VA 22022.

Please visit the BRAIN Summit webpage for more information.