IMPACT Symposium
The University of Utah Health IMPACT Program (Integrating Medicine & Policy to Achieve Health Care Transformation) invites you to join us for our 2nd Annual IMPACT Symposium on Thursday, September 24, 2026 from 8:00-5:00 pm at the Dr. Julie Hansen Conference Center in the James Levoy Sorenson Center for Medical Innovation.
Join us at this free, full-day symposium exploring the future of AI in health care, featuring nationally recognized physician and author Dr. Bob Wachter.
The day is divided into two complementary sessions:
Morning Session: The Future of AI in Healthcare
8am: Breakfast and Welcome
9am: Opening Remarks from Vice Dean Research Chris Hill
9:10am: State of IMPACT Address from Adam Bress and Valerie Vaughn, Director and Associate Director of the IMPACT Program
9:35am: IMPACT AI Initiative Spotlights from Echo Warner and Andrew Wong
10am: Keynote #1, The State of AI in Healthcare at the University of Utah, Ken Kawamoto
10:30am: Break
10:40am: Keynote #2, AI and the Future of Healthcare, Robert Wachter
11:50: Health System Leaders Panel with Zach Boyd (Director, Office of Artificial Intelligence for the State of Utah), Byron Crowe (CMO, Doctronic AI), Vivek Reddy (CMIO, University of Utah Health), Rashmee Shah (Clinical Research Scientist, Meta)
12:30pm: Lunch, networking, and book signing with Robert Wachter. Free signed copies of A Giant Leap for the first 100 attendees.
Afternoon Session: Thriving as an Early-Stage Investigator
This session is designed and led by our IMPACT Scholars to focus on career development activities for junior investigators and is open to ALL research methods.
2:00pm: Afternoon Opening Remarks from Valerie Vaughn and Mike Rubin (Director of VPCAT)
2:15pm: Navigating New Environments/Institutions as Junior Faculty & Fostering Successful Collaborations, Jane Zhu
3:15pm: Break
3:25pm: Communication and Dissemination: Simplify Brand & Communicating to General Audiences, Sophia Friesen
4:10pm: Break
4:20pm: U2M2 Research Excellence Across UofU Health (REACH) Panel
5:00pm: Closing Remarks and Reception
Robert Wachter, MD is Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Author of 300 articles and 6 books, he coined the term “hospitalist,” the fastest-growing medical specialty in U.S. history. He is past-president of the Society of Hospital Medicine, past-chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. In 2004, he received the John M. Eisenberg Award, the nation’s top honor in patient safety. Modern Healthcare magazine has ranked him as one of the 50 most influential physician-executives in the U.S. more than a dozen times; he was #1 on the list in 2015. His 2015 book, "The Digital Doctor," was a New York Times bestseller. His new book, "A Giant Leap: How AI is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future," was published by Portfolio/Penguin in 2026 and is well on its way to being another best seller.