Girish N. Nadkarni, MD, MPH, CPH, an accomplished physician-scientist driving advances in artificial intelligence, has been appointed Chair of the Windreich Department of Artificial Intelligence and Human Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.  

The department is the first of its kind at a U.S. medical school, underscoring Mount Sinai’s leadership in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into health care. Dr. Nadkarni will also serve as Director of the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health.  

The appointment marks the latest milestone in a series of progressive initiatives by Mount Sinai to harness and optimize artificial intelligence for transformative health care solutions. Recent developments include the launch of its state-of-the-art AI facility, designed to accelerate innovation and collaboration in translational medicine.  

Other developments include an exciting, soon-to-be-announced tool exclusively available to students at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. This initiative is poised to redefine how AI is integrated into medical education and research, empowering students with cutting-edge resources.   

The institution has also significantly expanded its computational and data ecosystem, highlighted by its supercomputing cluster—the largest at any academic medical center in the world.  

In his new role, Dr. Nadkarni, an innovator in artificial intelligence (AI) and its clinical applications, will lead efforts to advance Mount Sinai’s AI research, education, and clinical translation. He will pioneer AI-driven discoveries across the Mount Sinai Health System, collaborating with clinicians and researchers within all departments and institutes of the Icahn School of Medicine and other parts of the Health System.  

Dr. Nadkarni will partner with Lisa S. Stump, MS, FASHP, Chief Digital Information Officer and Dean for Information Technology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, to leverage data and platforms to accelerate cures for diseases, improve patient outcomes, and streamline operational processes. Together with faculty and clinicians across Mount Sinai, they will prioritize the safe, effective, and equitable adoption of AI approaches, establishing Mount Sinai as a model of a progressive, AI-enabled learning health system.   

“Partnering with Dr. Nadkarni is an incredible opportunity to push the boundaries of what’s possible in health care. Together, we will optimize the power of AI to transform patient care, drive groundbreaking research, and set new standards for a progressive, AI-enabled health system at Mount Sinai,” says Mrs. Stump. 

“This appointment reflects Mount Sinai’s ongoing commitment to accelerating the frontiers of artificial intelligence in medicine,” says Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs of the Mount Sinai Health System. “Dr. Nadkarni is a visionary leader whose groundbreaking work has not only shaped the field of AI but also redefined its potential to transform health care delivery and research. We are confident that his leadership will further solidify Mount Sinai as a global leader in AI-driven medical innovation.” 

As Co-Director of The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine and the inaugural System Chief of the Division of Data-Driven and Digital Medicine within Mount Sinai’s Department of Medicine, Dr. Nadkarni has played a pivotal role in advancing AI applications in medicine and driving progress in precision medicine. His research includes landmark studies on clinical implementation of AI in health care, identifying and addressing bias in AI, and the development of predictive AI approaches using multimodal data for various conditions. 

“Mount Sinai is uniquely positioned to lead the next wave of AI-driven transformation in medicine. I am honored to take on these roles and look forward to continuing collaborations with our world-leading faculty, researchers, and clinicians to break new ground in technology-enabled medicine,” says Dr. Nadkarni. “Together, we will ensure that AI is not only cutting-edge, but also free from bias, transparent, and implemented responsibly and safely, ultimately improving patient care worldwide.”  

Dr. Nadkarni received extensive training in clinical medicine and research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, providing a strong foundation for his pioneering contributions in the field. Among his numerous achievements, he holds multiple patents for AI applications in medicine and co-invented the first Food and Drug Administration-approved AI bioprognostic tool for kidney disease. Additionally, as the scientific co-founder of Renalytix plc, he has spearheaded technology enabling early risk assessment of kidney function decline in patients with diabetic kidney disease. 

A prolific researcher, Dr. Nadkarni has published more than 375 peer-reviewed articles, accumulating more than 40,000 citations; secured $40 million in funding; and mentored more than 60 trainees, several of whom now hold leadership positions.  

“Dr. Nadkarni’s leadership represents a pivotal moment for Mount Sinai,” says Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Director of The Friedman Brain Institute, Dean for Academic Affairs, and Nash Family Professor in the Nash Family Department of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Chief Scientific Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. “His dedication to precision medicine and his ability to translate complex AI methodologies into real-world clinical solutions will continue to greatly benefit our institution and the broader medical community. We are thrilled to support his efforts in creating a truly catalytic AI ecosystem at Mount Sinai.” 

“Dr. Nadkarni’s appointment marks a defining milestone for us as we continue to harness the transformative power of AI to revolutionize patient care,” said Brendan G. Carr, MD, MA, MS, Chief Executive Officer and the Kenneth L. Davis, MD, Distinguished Chair, Mount Sinai Health System. “His innovative contributions will not only accelerate our efforts to expand the possibilities of AI in medicine but also ensure that these advancements are accessible, ethical, and improve lives for patients on a global scale. We are proud to have him lead this paradigm-shifting journey.”  

About Mount Sinai’s Windreich Department of AI and Human Health  

Mount Sinai’s Windreich Department of AI and Human Health, the first of its kind in a U.S. medical school, is leading the charge to revolutionize the intersection of artificial intelligence and human health. The department is committed to leveraging AI in a responsible, effective, equitable, and safe manner to transform research, clinical care, education, and operations. By bringing together world-class AI expertise, cutting-edge infrastructure, and unparalleled computational power, the department is advancing breakthroughs in multi-scale, multimodal data integration while streamlining pathways for rapid testing and translation into practice. 

The department benefits from dynamic collaborations across Mount Sinai, including with the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health at Mount Sinai—a partnership between the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering in Potsdam, Germany, and the Mount Sinai Health System—which complements its mission by advancing data-driven approaches to improve patient care and health outcomes. 

At the heart of this innovation is the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which serves as a central hub for learning and collaboration. This unique integration enables dynamic partnerships across institutes, academic departments, hospitals, and outpatient centers, driving progress in disease prevention, improving treatments for complex illnesses, and elevating quality of life on a global scale. 

In 2024, the Department’s innovative NutriScan AI application, developed by the Mount Sinai Health System Clinical Data Science team in partnership with Department faculty, earned Mount Sinai Health System the prestigious Hearst Health Prize. NutriScan is designed to facilitate faster identification and treatment of malnutrition in hospitalized patients. This machine learning tool improves malnutrition diagnosis rates and resource utilization, demonstrating the impactful application of AI in health care. 

For more information on Mount Sinai’s Windreich Department of AI and Human Health, visit: ai.mssm.edu 

About the Hasso Plattner Institute at Mount Sinai 

At the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health at Mount Sinai, the tools of data science, biomedical and digital engineering, and medical expertise are used to improve and extend lives. The Institute represents a collaboration between the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering in Potsdam, Germany, and the Mount Sinai Health System.  

Under the leadership of Professor Lothar Wieler, a globally recognized expert in public health and digital transformation, the shared goal is to drive innovations that have a positive impact on the lives of patients, while transforming how people think about their personal health and health systems. 

The Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health at Mount Sinai receives generous support from the Hasso Plattner Foundation. Current research programs and machine learning efforts focus on improving the ability to diagnose and treat patients.