On June 4–5, 2025, the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI Global) convened a two-day in-person workshop in Washington, DC, to explore the strategic use of artificial intelligence (AI) in advancing human and environmental health protection within a One Health framework. The workshop gathered over 150 participants from more than 10 countries, representing a wide range of sectors including academia, government, industry, and nonprofit organizations. A novel element of the workshop was the deployment of a customized generative AI model (Workshop GPT), designed to synthesize live inputs and identify key thematic focus areas—referred to as Guiding Pillars—that serve as strategic destinations on the path toward AI-enabled health and environmental systems. Drawing from expert presentations, moderated discussions, and real-time polling, the Workshop GPT produced five Guiding Pillars: Connected Data, Trust and Validation, Real-World Use Cases, Capacity Building, and Responsible Design. These Guiding Pillars define critical areas for the practical and responsible implementation of AI across biological, ecological, and regulatory domains. The meeting report presents these outputs, combining AI generated content with extensive review and refinement by the HESI Global scientific team.
This AI-generated podcast episode from Wondercraft.ai, based on the above report, delves into the HESI Global workshop on “Building a Roadmap for AI-Enabled Human and Environmental Health Protection”, while highlighting HESI’s mission and the innovative use of generative AI during the event. It details the five “Guiding Pillars” for AI in health and environmental protection: Connected Data, Trust and Validation, Real-World Use Cases, Capacity Building, and Responsible Design. The conversation underscores the importance of collaboration, transparency, and practical application in leveraging AI for global health challenges.
Listen to the full podcast here.
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Day 1: June 4, 2025 |
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| 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM | Registration and Breakfast |
| 9:00 AM – 9:15 AM | Welcome and Meeting Goals – Dr. Syril Pettit, HESI
Input from the audience, panelists, and speakers will be used to generate a roadmap advancing the use of AI/ML in protecting human and ecosystem health by the end of the meeting! |
| 9:15 AM – 10:05 AM | Keynote: Is Regulatory Science Ready for AI? – Dr. Robert Califf, Duke University |
| Session 1: Molecular Initiating Events and Cellular Responses – Tackling challenges to understanding complex toxicity and exposure pathways with novel computational and AI methods. Moderator: Dr. Carole Yauk, University of Ottawa | |
| 10:05 AM – 11:00 AM | Session Keynote: AI as a Tool to Support New Approaches in Human and Environmental Safety Assessment – Dr. Nicole Kleinstreuer, NIH |
| 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Break |
| 11:30 AM – 11:45 AM | AI-enabled PBPK and QSAR models for food safety and risk assessments of environmental chemicals, drugs, and nanoparticles – Dr. Zhoumeng Lin, University of Florida |
| 11:45 AM – 12:00 PM | Opportunities for AI to Enhance Species Extrapolation Capabilities – Dr. Carlie LaLone, USEPA |
| 12:00 PM – 12:15 PM | AI-optimized Ontologies as Mechanistic Roadmaps for in vitro Hazard Identification: Chemical-induced Human Hepatotoxicity as a Case Study – Dr. Mathieu Vinken, Vrije Universiteit Brussel |
| 12:15 PM – 12:30 PM | GenAI-powered AoP Generation and Application for New Modalities – Dr. Zhichao Liu, Boehringer-Ingelheim |
| 12:30 PM – 1:00 PM | Panel Discussion |
| 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Lunch & Networking |
| Session 2: Understanding Organism and Population Responses to Stressors – Potential for Expanding Study Design, Diversity of Exposure Scenarios, and Study Feasibility with Virtual Elements Moderator: Dr. Nina Hallmark, Syngenta |
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| 2:00 PM – 2:15 PM | Virtual Control Groups and the Contributions of AI – Dr. Thomas Steger-Hartmann, Bayer Pharmaceuticals |
| 2:15 PM – 2:30 PM | Knowledge-Guided Prediction of Drug Toxicity – Beyond QSAR – Dr. Dongying Li, FDA |
| 2:30 PM – 2:45 PM | Digital Heart – Dr. Steve Levine, Dassault Systems |
| 2:45 PM – 3:30 PM | Panel Discussion |
| 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM | Break |
| Session 3: Ecosystem and One-Health (Human, Ecological, & Environmental) Protection and Prediction – Can AI Help Us with Global Scale Health Protection? Moderator: Dr. Gary Minsavage, ExxonMobil Biomedical Sciences, Inc. |
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| 4:00 PM – 4:15 PM | AI-Driven One Health Security: An All-Source Approach to Mitigating Health Threats – Dr. Lauren Charles, PNNL |
| 4:15 PM – 4:30 PM | Flood Prediction – The Role of AI and Data Sourcing for Environmental Prediction – Victoria Baxter, Google |
| 4:30 PM – 4:45 PM | Smart Biodiversity Inventorying – Dr. Levente Klein, IBM |
| 4:45 PM – 5:00 PM | AI and Landscape Modeling in Agricultural Chemical Safety – Dr. Julian Heinrich, Bayer Crop Science |
| 5:00 PM – 5:30 PM | Panel Discussion |
| 5:30 PM – 5:50 PM | Closing Keynote: Building Best Practices for AI Data Equity – Marcelo D’Agostino, PAHO, WHO |
| 5:50 PM – 7:45 PM | Evening Reception and Poster Session |
| Day 2: June 5, 2025 | |
| 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM | Breakfast |
| 9:00 AM – 9:15 AM | Welcome and Goals – Dr. Michelle Embry, Deputy Director, HESI |
| 9:15 AM – 10:00 AM | Keynote: The Hidden Environmental and Public Health Impacts of AI – Dr. Shaolei Ren, University of California, Riverside |
| Session 4: Exploring the Last Mile of Implementation – Legal, Ethical, Environmental Moderator: Dr. Warren Casey, NIEHS |
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| 10:00 AM – 10:25 AM | The Neglected Last Mile: When Technology Interventions for Human and Environmental Health Fall Short of Impact – Dr. Syril Pettit, HESI Global |
| 10:25 AM – 10:50 AM | Driving Value through Actionable AI-Enabled Outputs: Digital Biomarkers and Assessing ROI for Collaborative Effort – Preclinical Digital In Vivo Alliance – Dr. Brian Berridge, B2 Pathology Solutions LLC |
| 10:50 AM – 11:10 AM | Break |
| 11:10 AM – 11:35 AM | AI/ML-based Safety Assessment and Future Perspective – Dr. Yasu Kanda, Japan NIHS |
| 11:35 AM – 12:00 PM | The Evolving Ethics and Regulatory Landscape of Leveraging AI for Medicine and Clinical Research – Dr. Vasiliki N. Rahimzadeh, BCM |
| 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM | Panel |
| 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM | Lunch |
| Wrap-Up | |
| 1:30 PM – 2:15 PM | Putting It Together: An Initial Look at the Roadmap Created on Day 1 – Dr. Justin Teeguarden, PNNL
Presentation of initial draft ‘roadmap’ and key barriers/opportunities. The audience will have the opportunity for input and feedback. |
| 2:15 PM – 2:30 PM | Final Remarks |
Submission Closed: May 23, 2025
We welcomed submissions from researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and students working in AI, toxicology, environmental health, public health, and One Health disciplines.
Abstract Format:
Abstract submissions should align with the following conference sessions:
Molecular Initiating Events and Cellular Responses
Novel computational and AI methods for understanding complex toxicity and exposure pathways.
Organism and Population Responses to Stressors
AI-driven approaches to expand study designs, exposure scenarios, and feasibility of virtual elements.
Ecosystem and One-Health Protection & Prediction
Advancing global-scale health protection through AI-driven solutions for interconnected systems.
Exploring the Last Mile of Implementation
Legal, ethical, and environmental considerations for real-world AI applications in health and environmental sciences
hesi@hesiglobal.org
Phone: +1-202-659-8404
Fax: +1-202-659-8403
740 15th Street NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20005
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