Using AI to Transform Healthcare: PhD student Todd Adams joins national training program

As healthcare systems produce increasingly complex data, nurse scientists are playing a vital role in utilizing advanced analytics to enhance patient care. College of Nursing PhD student Todd Adams, MSN, RN, PMHNP-BC, has been chosen for a competitive national training program focused on applying machine learning to real-world healthcare issues.

Adams is one of 50 early- to mid-career clinicians and researchers across the country selected for the National Institutes of Health’s AIM-AHEAD Machine Learning Training Program, an eight-month initiative that develops expertise in translational research, clinical biostatistics, and applied machine learning.

Todd’s selection to AIM-AHEAD highlights the college’s leadership in advancing data-driven healthcare research and shows the growing national recognition that nurse scientists are crucial to progress in AI-driven healthcare,” said Brian Ahn, PhD, dean of the College of Nursing. “It demonstrates the quality of our PhD program and our commitment to preparing nurse scientists who are shaping the future of innovation in healthcare.

“This recognition reflects both Todd’s dedication and the evolution of nursing science as a discipline that integrates data, technology, and patient-centered inquiry,” said Juyoung Park, PhD, MSW, FGSA, Interim NHS Division Chair and PhD Program Director.

The AIM-AHEAD Consortium, in partnership with the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), created the program to expand access to real-world clinical data and encourage research at the intersection of AI, machine learning, and healthcare. Participants complete online coursework, attend live classes, and gain hands-on experience using the NCATS National Clinical Cohort Collaboration (N3C) Data Enclave, a secure dataset containing health information from more than 22.9 million individuals. The training emphasizes the ethical and effective use of AI and machine learning to generate insights that improve health outcomes and address care gaps.

“As healthcare becomes increasingly data-driven, it’s crucial that nurse scientists are not only participants in AI innovation but also leaders in it,” Adams said. “This experience enhances my ability to incorporate machine learning into nursing research using large-scale, real-world data.”

The 2025–2026 AIM-AHEAD cohort includes clinicians and researchers from across the United States and concludes with a national presentation at the NIH AIM-AHEAD conference in July 2026 in San Diego.

Now in his third year of the Nursing PhD program, Adams says the experience aligns with his research on using advanced analytics to tackle complex healthcare challenges.

“I believe the future of nursing is at the crossroads of ethics, human caring, and information,” he said. “Being selected for AIM-AHEAD confirms the national importance of my work and strengthens my path as a nurse scientist focused on complex systems and machine learning.”

As part of the program, Adams is mentored by Badri Adhikari, PhD, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. The training will expand his skills in Python, R, clinical biostatistics, and real-world data analytics, supporting both his dissertation and future research while fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and introducing new data science perspectives.

Adams credits the College of Nursing for providing strong mentorship and research support during his doctoral training. “This opportunity positions the College of Nursing at the forefront of translational data science and reinforces our role in shaping the future of healthcare innovation,” Adams said. “It also demonstrates that nursing scholarship is not only contributing to, but helping lead, national conversations on artificial intelligence and healthcare equity.”

Todd’s work highlights the growing role of data science and AI in nursing research,” said Sheila M. Gephart, PhD, RN, FAAN, his PhD advisor and dissertation chair. “Programs like AIM-AHEAD prepare nurse scientists to lead interdisciplinary research that tackles complex healthcare challenges and improves patient outcomes.”

Through AIM-AHEAD, Adams is advancing his dissertation research on applying machine learning to complex healthcare systems, striving to develop scalable solutions that improve care quality and reduce disparities across diverse populations.