Meet The AI & Digital Health Innovation Team

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Executive Leadership

  • Steve Kunkel

    Steven Kunkel, PhD

    Executive Vice Dean for Research

  • Brahmajee Nallamothu

    Brahmajee Nallamothu, MD, MPH,

    Co-Director,
    AI & Digital Health Innovation

  • Jenna Wiens

    Jenna Wiens, PhD

    Co-Director,
    AI & Digital Health Innovation

  • Sebastian Zoellner

    Sebastian Zoellner, PhD

    Co-Director,
    AI & Digital Health Innovation

  • Phil Jacokes

    Phil Jacokes, MBA

    Managing Director,
    AI & Digital Health Innovation

Faculty Leads

  • Mike Burns

    Michael Burns, PhD, MD

    Associate Director,
    Research Implementation

  • Mike Dorsch

    Michael Dorsch, PharmD, MS

    Associate Director,
    MGI Data Collection

  • Megan Haymart

    Megan Haymart, MD

    Associate Director,
    Data Solutions

  • Headshot

    Mariel Lavieri

    Associate Director,
    Research Implementation

  • Mike Sjoding

    Michael Sjoding, MD, M.Sc.

    Associate Director,
    Research Implementation

Team Leaders

  • Janet Houghtby

    Janet Houghtby

    Senior Manager, Research Relations and MGI Operations

    Janet shapes how researchers engage with and navigate AI & Digital Health Innovation (AI&DHI) and the Michigan Genomics Initiative (MGI). She partners with faculty, internal teams, and institutional stakeholders to understand researcher needs and expand awareness of available services and resources.

    jhoughtb@med.umich.edu

  • Kelly Manthei

    Kelly Manthei

    e-HAIL Program Manager

    Kelly serves as the primary point of contact for e-HAIL members and prospective researchers, managing community programming, member engagement, and the day-to-day operations that keep the e-HAIL community connected and active.

    kmanthei@umich.edu

  • A man with a beard and short hair, wearing a dark blue polo shirt, standing against a plain white wall.

    Giovanni Siciliano

    Team Lead, Data & AI Engineering

    Gio provides the vision and strategy for our Data & AI Engineering team. With a focus on automation and reliability, he leads the mission to find optimal ways to make health data available to researchers and to leverage AI to improve the way researchers interact with the data.

    siciliag@med.umich.edu

  • Cinzia Smothers

    Cinzia Smothers

    Director, Research Services

    Cinzia is responsible for developing effective processes and systems needed to provide scaleable technical solutions to our researchers.

    cinziavs@med.umich.edu

Support Team

  • Hossam Abouzahr

    Proposal Development Manager

    Hossam partners with e-HAIL researchers to strengthen grant proposals by sharpening narratives, aligning budgets, and ensuring submissions are competitive and complete.

    hossamab@umich.edu

  • Emily Bertucci-Richter

    Emily Bertucci-Richter

    Sr Data Solutions Mgr/Genetic Data Analyst

    As a Senior Data Solutions Manager, at AI&DHI, Emily meets with researchers to understand their data needs and facilitates the pulling and delivery of the data needed to complete their research.

    As a Genetic Data Analyst, she analyzes genetic data using computational, statistical, and bioinformatics methods to uncover new insights.

    embricht@umich.edu

  • Joe Blackmer

    Joe Blackmer

    Research Implementation Engineer

    Joe is adept at implementing models into existing systems. From data pipelines to workflow integration, he’s a key piece in finding ways to successfully implement models at Michigan Medicine.

    joblackm@med.umich.edu

  • Gaspare Leone

    Gaspare Leon

    MGI Participant Recruiter

    As an an MGI Participant Recruiter at AI & Digital Health Innovation, Gaspare is responsive for enrolling new, diverse participants in the MGI Genomics Initiative.

    gleone@med.umich.edu

  • Jaye Minghine

    Jaye Minghine

    MGI Participant Recruiter

    As an an MGI Participant Recruiter at AI & Digital Health Innovation, Jaye is responsive for enrolling new, diverse participants in the MGI Genomics Initiative.

    mjaye@med.umich.edu

  • Kate Murphy

    Kate Murphy

    Marketing & Communications Specialist

    Kate Murphy is a graphic designer and creative copywriter. She helps with design needs related to proposal development, web design, and event collateral, in addition to supporting the overall work of AI & Digital Health Innovation’s Marketing department through newsletters and other content needs.

    mukately@umich.edu

  • Jacob Ortlieb

    Jacob Ortlieb

    Data and AI Solutions Manager

    Jacob is a Data and AI Solutions Manager for AI & Digital Health Innovation. He meets with researchers to understand their needs and facilitates the delivery of the data and tools needed to complete their research.

    ortliebj@med.umich.edu

  • A smiling man with a beard and short hair, wearing a suit jacket and a collared shirt, standing in front of a blue background.

    Justin Ortwine

    Data Architect

    Justin is responsible for designing the Data Operations systems at AI & Digital Health Innovation. He ensures that we provide a secure and scaleable development environment for our Data Engineers.

    ortwinej@med.umich.edu

  • Portrait of a woman with long brown hair smiling against a gray background.

    Lori Robertson

    Administrative Specialist

    Lori is responsible for leading administrative responsibilities at AI & Digital Health Innovation by supporting our team with scheduling, finances, event planning and more.

    lorimr@med.umich.edu

  • A young man with short dark hair, glasses, and a checkered shirt smiling at the camera, with a background of blurred blue and yellow decorations.

    Brett Vanderwerff

    Genetic Data Analyst

    Brett is a Genetic Data Analyst for AI & Digital Health Innovation. He analyzes genetic data using computational, statistical, and bioinformatics methods to uncover new insights.

    brettva@umich.edu

  • A young man with dark hair and glasses, wearing a black suit and tie, smiling in front of a yellow background.

    Adrian Weyhing

    Data & AI Engineer

    Adrian is a Data & AI Engineer at AI & Digital Health Innovation. He builds data pipelines to integrate diverse data types and sources into our database and develops AI tools to help improve the way researchers interact with data.

    weyhing@med.umich.edu

  • A man with short black hair, glasses, and a slight smile, sitting outdoors in front of trees and a house, wearing a blue polo shirt.

    Qihua Zhao

    ML & AI Engineer

    Qihua is a Machine Learning & AI Engineer at AI & Digital Health Innovation. He builds machine learning models and develops AI tools to support researchers prior to grant proposal submissions.

    qizhao@med.umich.edu