Dr. Azizi Seixas

Azizi Seixas, Ph.D. is the Interim Inaugural Chair of the Department of Informatics and Health Data Science, Founding Director of The Media and Innovation Lab (The MIL), Associate Director of the Center for Translational Sleep and Circadian Sciences (TSCS), and Director of Population Health Informatics within the Institute for Data Science and Computing at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Seixas is a nationally recognized scientist and technology leader. He was named Cell Press’ Top 100 Most Inspiring Black Scientists in America, 2022 Amazon’s Education Champion Award, 2023 M.I.A. Miami’s Most Influential and Powerful Black Business Leader, 2024 M.I.A. South Florida’s Black Educator of the Year, 2024 Academy of Science, Engineer and Medicine of Florida Rising Star Award, the winner of the Inaugural 2024 Tipping Point Award from Malcolm Gladwell and T-Mobile, and 2025 US Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) the highest honor given to scientist at this stage of their career by the US government. Dr. Seixas has made significant contributions in education, research, clinical care, venture, and service. He pioneered several educational programs in AI, big data, digital technology, STEM education, underrepresented groups, and mentored over 40 junior scientists. Dr. Seixas has an extensive publication record with over 200 peer-reviewed and published papers and abstracts in the following areas: 1) exploring cardiovascular and brain health disparities among diverse communities, with a focus on urban and rural settings, racial/ethnic groups, and sex differences; 2) investigating the impact of sleep, physical activity, diet, and stress on cardiovascular and brain health; 3) developing personalized behavior modification strategies using machine learning and AI to enhance healthcare through digital twins; 4) developing novel decentralized clinical trial methodologies to increase research inclusivity, as highlighted in a recent Science manuscript; and 5) advancing early dementia screening and diagnosis through digital biomarkers and augmented reality. Dr. Seixas is Principal Investigator for 3 large grants (2 NIH and industry grants) and holds key leadership roles in 5 NIH grants. Dr. Seixas developed and pioneered several innovations: 1) The MIL Box, a remote health monitoring technology program and kit; 2) a 10-minute digital and augmented reality-based cognitive assessment (e.g. Altoida) to detect cognitive impairment and dementia; 3) the HARMONI Alliance and Real World Data platform, a global alliance dedicated to promoting healthy aging for all through innovation and technology; 4) digital health equity framework: developed a novel turn-key software to increase technology capacity for underresourced communities in Florida via the NIH AIM AHEAD project.