AI Innovation Day at MBZUAI unites UAE leaders to shape the future of AI in healthcare

MBZUAI brought together more than 200 leaders from healthcare, government, science and research for AI Innovation Day: Shaping the Future of Healthcare Together – a landmark event sparking high impact collaborations that are shaping the future of healthcare.  

Hosted at MBZUAI’s Masdar City campus in Abu Dhabi, the full-day event featured engaging sessions across four healthcare domains where the University is driving innovation: multimodal foundation models, human genomics, longevity science and robotics-enabled therapeutics.   

Building a health system of the future, today  

The UAE has made AI and digital health central to its national development goals. Through events such as AI Innovation Day and initiatives such as the School of Digital Public Health, MBZUAI is positioning the country as a global hub for digital healthcare research and innovation.  

The event was opened by His Excellency Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of Health and Prevention for the UAE, who highlighted the importance of AI in developing health and wellbeing across the country. 

“We view AI not as a tool, but as a fundamental force contributing to the very future of healthcare in our nation,” he said. “We have a vision for deploying AI: it is focussed on a healthy UAE and a long life for people who live in the UAE. It is patient centric, and it is something we already see the results of today.”  

H.E. Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of Health and Prevention.

A day of science and strategy  

Structured around four interactive symposia, each domain session began with rapid-fire faculty talks followed by expert panels featuring international researchers, healthcare executives, and policy leaders.  

• In the Multimodal Foundation Models track – featuring Le Song, Professor of Machine Learning; Hisham Cholokkal, Assistant Professor of Computer Vision; and Mohammed Yaqub, Associate Professor of Computer Vision – MBZUAI showcased frontier research that is helping to improve disease prediction, treatment planning, and patient care. 
• During the Human Genome and Emirati Genome Project presentations, experts including Aziz Khan, Assistant Professor of Computational Biology, and Carlos Bustamante, Adjunct Professor of Personalized Medicine, demonstrated how AI is uncovering population-specific genetic risk factors to power precision medicine in the UAE and beyond. 
• The Longevity session examined how AI is being used to understand aging, identify biomarkers for healthy lifespan, and personalize interventions. Speakers included Natasa Przulj, Professor of Computational Biology; Eran Segal, Professor of Computational Biology and Acting Dean of School of Digital Public Health; and Imran Razzak, Associate Professor of Computational Biology. 
• The Therapeutics, Intervention, and Robotics session highlighted MBZUAI’s work on AI-powered surgical robotics, rehabilitation tools, and intelligent drug discovery platforms. Cutting-edge research was presented by Cesare Stefanini, Professor of Robotics; Anqing Duan, Visiting Assistant Professor of Robotics; and Olivier Oullier, Visiting Professor of Practice, Human-Computer Interaction.  

Eric Xing, MBZUAI President and University Professor.

A model for collaboration  

AI Innovation Day reinforced MBZUAI’s role as a bridge between cutting-edge science and national healthcare priorities, with strong engagement from partners including the Department of Health, Emirates Health Services, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, M42, Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center, the Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi (IHLAD) and Insilico Medicine. The event underscored the UAE’s commitment to becoming a global leader in AI-enabled life sciences and MBZUAI’s role as an engine for innovation in the region’s healthcare ecosystem. 

Sami Haddadin, Vice President of Research and Professor of Robotics.

“Our first innovation day for health at MBZUAI, brought together science, research, industry leaders, decision-makers, start-up founders and the wider health ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and across the UAE,” said Sami Haddadin, Vice President of Research and Professor of Robotics at MBZUAI.  

“It represents a driving force for innovation, as our wonderful University, soon to celebrate its fifth anniversary, enters an exciting new phase of translating our core technologies into real-world impact for the UAE and for the benefit of society. The future of healthcare will be shaped by people, scientists, physicians, innovators, and patients, all working together to turn intelligence into healthier people.”