The University of Florida recently hosted its inaugural Frontier Scholars in AI and Health program, featuring visiting scholar Dr. Chris Tignanelli, Associate Professor of Surgery and Associate Dean for Data Science at the University of Minnesota. Led by Dr. Azra Bihorac, Senior Associate Dean for Research and the Director of the University of Florida’s new AI for Health Institute, the panel brought together surgeons, oncologists, and educators to demystify how clinicians can move from being passive users of technology to leaders in AI implementation.
A recurring theme throughout the discussion was that a career in AI rarely follows a linear path. Many of the experts emphasized that their current roles didn’t exist when they began their training. Dr. Martina Murphy, Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education, noted the necessity of this evolution.
“Healthcare is changing, medicine is changing, and how we train our future physicians has to inherently change.”
One of the most grounding insights came from Dr. Tignanelli. While many trainees feel pressured to master complex coding, he argued that a clinician’s true value lies in translation, or bridging the gap between a mathematical model and a living patient. He recalled the advice that shaped his own career.
“You are never going to be an expert in model building and model methods. That is what the PhDs do. Your expertise as a clinician that understands AI is going to be on the implementation, the translation of these models into practice.”
Dr. Jeremy Balch, a fourth-year general surgery resident with a PhD in Biomedical Informatics, represents the next generation of AI-fluent clinicians using these new tools to improve patient care. He highlighted the practical application of these tools, from “computer vision in the operating room” to “using retrieval of augmented generation to extract coding information.”
However, the panel was also blunt about the pitfalls of modern AI education. Rather than spending months on theoretical online courses on AI, the experts urged trainees to find and collaborate with a lab to solve a concrete problem.
“I think [general courses] are kind of useless, at least initially,” Tignanelli said. “I think the most important thing for a trainee is just getting involved in a project. Experiential learning… could just be so much more focused.”
Dr. Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, Professor of Physiology and Aging, said, “You are going to pick up a laboratory, clinical research or truly data science-driven AI lab, and you can do something very simple. Maybe in a year’s time, when you have this skill or this data, you can be part of a paper. You must start somewhere. You must have a little luck.”
Echoing the importance of mentorship and hands-on experience, Dr. Christina Murphy highlighted the role of protected time for physician-scientists and biomedical researchers through concrete training programs that “protect their time and provide a pilot award.”
“I think jumping into things and getting involved… [because] there are things that you do not even know that you are interested in since you have not been exposed to them. Surrounding yourself with people who have different ideas, different experiences… [Jump] into the deep end of the pool and [learn] as you go…is powerful.”
In the age of perfection and AI, Dr. Elias Sayour, the Bonnie R. Freeman Professor for Pediatric Oncology Research,left a reminder for students and researchers on the importance of trying new things and imperfection:
“Part of our humanity is…tinkering, is that failure, is that empiricism, is the ‘whoops!’ I think as we optimize AI, it would be a shame to throw away…our greatest gift. Our failures, in many ways, are our greatest strengths.”
Perhaps the most profound moment of the panel occurred when the conversation shifted from technical logistics to the philosophical core of medical advancement. Dr. Bihorac reminded the audience that while AI handles the data, the human element remains the irreplaceable engine of progress.
“It is hard to be human, and it is hard to be a creator…what you need to…focus on teaching people to embrace that as the biggest gift we have…Not everyone tells people the biggest gift you have is to be human, to feel, to think, to create.”
In a field often obsessed with efficiency and “easy” solutions, Dr. Bihorac’s closing thoughts served as a powerful call to action: “For me, it is a humanity question.”
The consensus of the panel was clear: the “frontier” of AI will be about better integration driven by human creativity, ingenuity, and imperfection. For those looking to build a career in this space, it is imperative not to wait for the perfect, linear clinical AI curriculum. Start seeking out the complex, collaborative, translational AI projects and embrace the “hard” work of being a human creator in a digital age.