Duke AI Health

An artist’s illustration of artificial intelligence (AI). This image was inspired by neural networks used in deep learning. It was created by Novoto Studio as part of the Visualising AI project launched by Google DeepMind. Image credit: Google DeepMind/Unsplash

Friday Roundup: validation study for updated Epic sepsis tool; HealthGPT offers mixed results in diagnosing problems; mathematical model for incentive structures threatening peer review; years of fictionalized clinical vignettes never ID'd as such by journal; more: aihealth.duke.edu/ai-health-ro...

A new perspective in JAMIA by Duke's Michael Cary, Nicoleta Economou, and colleagues examines the National Academy of Medicine’s AI Code of Conduct. The paper highlights a key gap in health AI governance: the lack of explicit nursing representation. academic.oup.com/jamia/advance-

Happening March 24: @dukeaihealth.bsky.social and @dukemargolis.bsky.social are hosting a webinar titled, 'From Deployment to Oversight: Strengthening AI Risk Management and Patient Safety in Health Care,' that will explore strategies to protect patients in the age of AI! To register: duke.is/5/cg7u

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Friday Roundup: agentic AI & lab automation; revealing values underlying AI models; neural net classifies animal behavior; pilot program for autonomous clinical care; role of individual states in supporting research; Elsevier unveils lit-searching AI tool; more: aihealth.duke.edu/ai-health-ro...

What Slow AI Offers (opinion) Whether you’re an AI advocate or a skeptic, the slow AI movement has something to offer.

“Even if you are skeptical about AI’s promise or agnostic about its relevance, the way others use it will shape higher education. Slowing down is not about becoming an AI advocate. It is about developing habits that protect judgment, highlight blind spots and reduce harm.”

A group of comic, brightly colored toy robots are arrayed in a horizontal line against a white background. Image credit: Eric Krull/Unsplash

Friday Roundup: agentic AI goes rogue; evolutionary link between prokaryotes & eukaryotes; comp sci swamped by AI output; people find AI persuasive, even when they know it’s AI; guidelines for AI usefulness; semantic ablation & the problem with AI writing; more: aihealth.duke.edu/ai-health-ro...

Sudden cardiac arrest remains one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., but we can improve survival. On Feb. 25, thousands of people across NC will learn hands‑only CPR while helping us test how community preparedness can change outcomes.

Find a location near you: https://duke.is/5/p925

A man wearing a white suit is juggling balls. Three are in the air above his head; two are in his hands. Image credit: Marco Bianchetti/Unsplash

Friday Roundup: juggling increased work with AI incurs human costs; chatbot responses to health questions affected by phrasing; statin study: no causal link to commonly reported adverse events; evidence quality for edu AI lacking; digital twin for prosthetics; more: aihealth.duke.edu/ai-health-ro...

Digital collage featuring a computer monitor with circuit board patterns on the screen. A Navajo woman is seated on the edge of the screen, appearing to stitch or fix the digital landscape with their hands. Blue digital cables extend from the monitor, keyboard, and floor, connecting the image elements. Hanna Barakat & Archival Images of AI + AIxDESIGN / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Friday Roundup: evidence on benefit for LLM-human collabs still murky; probing associations between AI use, depressive symptoms; RCT examines human+AI for mammogram reading; geographic AI analysis reveals gaps in MMR coverage; don't abdicate peer review to AI; more: aihealth.duke.edu/ai-health-ro...

The largest randomized trial of medical A.I.
—Over 100,000 women in Sweden
—radiologist + AI vs 2 radiologists, in follow-up
—AI added led to 29% more cancer detected, 44% reduced workload, and
—Less cancer dx in subsequent 2 years, and, when found, less aggressive
thelancet.com/journals/lan...

New pub! For those in the Health AI/LLM space wanting a more thorough description of personal risk of data leaks and HIPAA violations as a provider using these tools we have a analysis now published in JACEP Open. Thanks to @acepnation.bsky.social

An artist’s illustration of artificial intelligence (AI). This image explores generative AI and how it can empower humans with creativity. It was created by Zünc Studio as part of the Visualising AI project launched by Google DeepMind. Image credit: Google DeepMind/Unsplash

Friday Roundup: AI consumes AI, converges on generic representations; AlphaGenome debuts; heritability of human lifespan underestimated; measles spread in SC; gaming or gambling disorder?; disclosure of AI use in journal articles; restoring public trust in science; aihealth.duke.edu/ai-health-ro...

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Friday Roundup: going all-in on world models for AI; cows discover tools; challenges to peer review integrity grow; should we get comfortable with imperfect health AI?; too many elderly patients getting meds affecting CNS; questioning AI productivity boosts; more: aihealth.duke.edu/ai-health-ro...

Submit by Feb. 1: Entries open for NASW’s annual awards Each year, the #SciWriAwards recognize some of the best works in science journalism and science writing, as judged by fellow science journalists and science writers. Deadline to enter is Feb. 1, 2026.

Have a piece from 2025 you are especially proud of? The National Association of Science Writers welcomes entries for our Science in Society Journalism Awards and Excellence in Institutional Writing Awards. Membership not required. Submit by February 1, 2026:

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Friday Roundup: AI may be imposing tunnel vision on science; report shows stubborn problems in heart health; taking Health GPT for a test drive; the genetics shaping a dog’s ears; housing, food insecurity among healthcare workers; AI vs clinician deskilling; more: aihealth.duke.edu/ai-health-ro...

Conceptual rendering NC Children's campus

A major milestone @ NC Children’s: a $25M transformational gift, the 1st major philanthropic investment supporting our new #behavioralhealth center in Apex.

Read more about today’s announcement: duke.is/v/umkg

@dukemedschool.bsky.social | @dukechildrens.bsky.social | @unchealth.bsky.social

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Monica Bertagnolli — former NIH director and surgical oncologist — has been elected President of the National Academy of Medicine.

Bertagnolli has championed efforts to advance #HealthInnovation and #HealthEquity, and will be the first woman to lead the NAM.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/vPhb50XXuw4

Why exercise doesn’t burn more calories — and why that’s not the point Herman Pontzer, PhD, has spent his career studying how humans burn energy. His research suggests that exercise is essential for good health — just not for the reason most of us think.

After studying the world’s most active communities, Duke evolutionary anthropologist Herman Pontzer, PhD, found something shocking: we all burn about the same amount of calories.

#AcademicSky #MedSky

https://medschool.duke.edu/stories/why-exercise-doesnt-burn-more-calories-and-why-thats-not-point

Department Chair, Duke Neurobiology - Duke University, Durham job with Duke University - School of Medicine | 12852576 The Duke University School of Medicine (SOM) seeks a distinguished neuroscientist to serve as the next Chair of the Department of Neurobiology.

My department, Duke Neurobiology, is searching for a new chair. Ad below. Come work with me, @jmgrohneuro.bsky.social @ennatsew.bsky.social @jorggrandl.bsky.social @jnklab.bsky.social @sbilbo.bsky.social @neurocircuits.bsky.social and many other amazing folks! @dukemedschool.bsky.social

Dr. Nicholas Christakis (@nachristakis.bsky.social ) will be joining us as a Keynote Speaker at the Conference on Society-Centered AI 2026 Feb 12-14th! Learn more and Register here: sites.duke.edu/scai/

A row of four colorful, glowing pinball machines stand against the wall of dark arcade interior. Themes for each machine, from left to right: Jaws (the movie), Iron Maiden (the British heavy metal band), Godzilla, and You Only Live Twice (James Bond movie). Image credit: Jason Leung/Unsplash

Friday Roundup: pinball-like LLM parameters; off-target vaccine benefits; humility & curiosity for LLMs; OpenAI unveils ChatGPT Health; international alternatives to PubMed; relationship between flu & heart attack; LLMs still at risk from prompt injection; more: aihealth.duke.edu/ai-health-ro...

Close-up photograph shows a tangle of colorful measuring tapes, some marked in inches, others in centimeters. Image credit: Patricia Serna/Unsplash

Friday Roundup: choosing measures for AI performance; problems with AI simulation in behavioral studies; AI ethics text full of bogus citations; testing chatbots on subspecialty boards; looking back on computer science in 2025; ML spots liver disease in EKGs; more: aihealth.duke.edu/ai-health-ro...

Evaluation of performance measures in predictive artificial intelligence models to support medical decisions: overview and guidance Numerous measures have been proposed to illustrate the performance of predictive artificial intelligence (AI) models. Selecting appropriate performance measures is essential for predictive AI models i...

Our guidance regarding performance measures for medical AI models is finally out!

- Stop bashing AUROC, although it does not settle things
- Calibration and clinical utility are key
- Show risk distributions
- Classification statistics (e.g. F1) are improper

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Detail from a medieval illuminated manuscript showing a scribe at work at his desk. Image courtesy National Library of Wales via Wikipedia.

Friday Roundup: ambient scribing vs clinician burnout; merits of explainable AI in healthcare; PFAS & infant health; tattoos & immune response; problematic data leads to scores of retractions; AI for manuscript review; autoencoders for high-dimensional data; more: aihealth.duke.edu/ai-health-ro...

Duke Researchers Selected to National Academy of Inventors | Duke Today

Two DIBS Network Faculty elected to National Academy of Inventors! Dr. Adam Wax: methods for imaging retinas & tracking biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Arovind Asokan: viral methods for gene therapies incl. for the brain. @dukeubme.bsky.social @dukesurgery.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/DIIBS-NAI

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Friday Roundup: considering healthcare AI bubbles; Cochrane reports on HPV vaccine & cervical cancer; AI slop crops up in autism paper; academic libraries in the AI age; lonely people turn to chatbots; AI-written peer reviews & papers show up at conference; more: aihealth.duke.edu/ai-health-ro...

Statement on New CMS ACCESS Model from Mark McClellan and Christina Silcox.

Institute Director Mark McClellan and Research Director Christina Silcox have released a statement on the new CMS ACCESS Model, which aims to improve the health of people with chronic disease and covered by Traditional Medicare, through technology-supported care. Read our statement: duke.is/j/tqrq

A person stands behind a cluttered desk in an office, smiling at the camera. The office is filled with numerous bookshelves, books, and stacks of papers, alongside a desktop computer displaying a scientific diagram. The room has a cozy ambiance with a couch and a warm lighting.

What started as a fight against one virus led to breakthroughs in immunology, cancer treatment, hepatitis care, pandemic preparedness, and more.

Read about 10 major advances that owe their roots to HIV research ➡️ https://medschool.duke.edu/news/10-groundbreaking-advances-grew-out-hiv-research

A collage that merges circuit board patterns with textile motifs in a grid-like background of alternating black, grey, and white. Two hand-drawn arms are on each side of the image, positioned as if gently pulling on thin, white strings that cross the image diagonally. The hands appear soft and somewhat translucent, contrasting with the rigid lines of the circuit board patterns behind them. The strings are woven through both the hands and the background, symbolising the connection between traditional weaving and modern technology. The overall colour palette features muted earth tones, including browns, beiges, and grays, creating a sense of both history and continuity between the natural and technological worlds. Hanna Barakat & Archival Images of AI + AIxDESIGN / Better Images of AI/ CC-BY 4.0

Friday Roundup: practice licenses for AI?; drones deliver defibrillators fast; continuous evaluation of predictive models; light pollution messes with ecosystem metabolism; AI competencies for docs; cancer vax trial shows encouraging results 2 decades later; more: aihealth.duke.edu/ai-health-ro...

Selective focus photograph shows a disorderly pile of jigsaw puzzle pieces lying on a flat surface. Image credit: Nathalia Segato/Unsplash

Friday Roundup: puzzle-solving illuminates new paths for AI; link between Epstein-Barr & lupus; frameworks for reporting GAI research; new chip extends quantum computing; creative potential of AI; updated Turing Test spots key differences between human, AI; more: aihealth.duke.edu/ai-health-ro...