Capra Symposium focused on growing impact of AI in medicine

School of Health Professions event fosters interdisciplinary research partnerships

Published on: March 07, 2025 By: Christen Brownlee

Capra Symposium Banner — Jonathan Reeder, M.D., Interim Director of the Master of Science in Health Informatics Program in the School of Health Professions, spoke at the Capra Symposium about how health informatics tools can supercharge research.

Students from UT Southwestern’s School of Health Professions gathered in mid-February for the 16th annual Capra Interdisciplinary Healthcare Symposium to learn about the future of collaborative research as it increasingly incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies.

This year’s event, “Collaborate: New Horizons in Medicine and Science,” drew more than 230 attendees and is coordinated by the school’s Research Advisory Committee.

man speaking at podium; Eric Peterson, dark hair and beard in dark suit

Keynote speaker Eric Peterson, M.D., M.P.H., Vice Provost, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research, and Professor of Internal Medicine, talked about the increasing role of AI in biomedical research.

Eric Peterson, M.D., M.P.H., Vice Provost, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research, and Professor of Internal Medicine, delivered the keynote address on the growing role of AI in medicine and biomedical research.

Dr. Peterson detailed research at UTSW to develop AI algorithms to extract pertinent information from patients’ electronic health records. That information may be used, for example, to grade malignant tumors, identify patients eligible for clinical trials, or enter data into disease registries – work that could save extensive time and money. He said additional AI research will soon generate visit notes by analyzing recorded interactions between physicians and patients or grade simulated visits between medical students and patient-actors. Basic science could also benefit from AI, Dr. Peterson added, through research that identifies the metastatic potential of cancer cells from their appearance on pathology slides or predicts the behavior of immune cells.

“AI can be transformational for basic and clinical research, education, and clinical care. How far and how fast this transformation will happen is up to us to decide, but we want UTSW to be a national leader and not left behind,” Dr. Peterson said about the impact of AI.

The featured speaker was Jonathan Reeder, M.D., Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Interim Director of the Master of Science in Health Informatics Program in the School of Health Professions. Dr. Reeder, who began his career in software engineering before transitioning to medicine, discussed the role of informatics – the science of the collection, evaluation, organization, and dissemination of information – in today’s data-heavy research.

“Our domain, our medium, our canvas is data and information, but we don’t generate that much of it ourselves,” Dr. Reeder said about information scientists. “For us to be successful, we partner with those of you generating data on the front lines.”

Students who took part in a roundtable discussion on the impact of AI take time for a photo with Jason Zafereo, M.P.T., Ph.D., Professor of Physical Therapy and Orthopaedic Surgery and Chair of the Research Advisory Committee, (left in back) and Jon Williamson, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Health Professions.

A key component of the symposium is the awarding of an Interdisciplinary Grant to promote collaborative research. Grant applications must include researchers from at least two departments or programs within the School of Health Professions.

Winners of the 2023-2024 Interdisciplinary Grant Program award presented their findings. The team included Principal Investigator Juan Estrada, Ph.D., Instructor of Applied Clinical Research; co-investigator Hoda Yeganehjoo, Ph.D., RD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Nutrition; and collaborator Masaki Mizuno, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Applied Clinical Research.

They studied the effects of linoleic acid (LA) – an inflammatory fatty acid prevalent in vegetable oils, nuts and seeds, animal products, and other foods – on the exercise pressor reflex. This mechanism regulates the heart, blood vessels, and respiration changes in response to muscle contractions. Work funded by the grant to date has shown that in rats fed a diet incorporating 10% LA for at least 14 weeks, the exercise pressor reflex is heightened compared with rats fed a lower LA diet. The researchers suggested that insights into the mechanism behind this phenomenon could aid in determining dietary and pharmacological interventions in patients with peripheral artery disease.

The event, now in its 16th year, drew more than 230 attendees to learn about collaborative research at the School of Health Professions.

The event also recognized the 2024-2025 Interdisciplinary Grant Program awardees: Principal Investigator Jijia Wang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Applied Clinical Research; co-investigator Ambarish Pandey, M.D., Associate Professor of Internal Medicine; and student collaborator Traci Tiemann Betts, D.P.T., PT, from Applied Clinical Research, who will present their findings at the 2026 Capra Symposium. The title of their grant proposal is “Effects of Immersive Virtual Reality on Exercise Physiology and Satisfaction in Patients at Risk for Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction: A Pilot Protocol.”

The symposium concluded with a student roundtable discussion on the impact of AI and other new technologies on their future careers.

Dr. Peterson holds the Adelyn and Edmund M. Hoffman Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.

Contact:

Communications
3000 Pegasus Park Drive, 6th Floor
Dallas, TX 75247
Phone: 214-648-3404
Email

About the Capra Symposium

The Capra Symposium, as it has been known since 2010, was founded in 1998 by J. Donald Capra, M.D., and his wife, Patricia Capra, Ph.D., in UTSW’s School of Health Professions to promote and share efforts involving interdisciplinary research. Dr. Donald Capra, who died in 2015, was Director of Molecular Immunology in Internal Medicine at UTSW for 23 years, then became President of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Dr. Patricia Capra, who retired from UTSW’s Department of Rehabilitation Counseling in the School of Health Professions, along with her son, Tony Capra, attended this year’s gathering via videoconference. Their other son, Jay D. Capra, M.D., a pediatrician in Abilene, attended the event in person.

Abstract competition winners

Students, residents, and postdoctoral fellows in the School of Health Professions were encouraged to submit projects for a research abstract competition. Winners who presented highlights of their work during the event included:

Amane Hori, Ph.D., ACR, won in the completed/ongoing research abstract category performed by a resident or postdoctoral fellow. His work, “Blockade of brain insulin receptor signaling impairs open-loop arterial baroreflex function via attenuated neural arc in healthy male rats,” focused on the role of chemical signaling initiated by the insulin receptor (the protein to which the hormone insulin attaches) in the brain on the baroreflex, a mechanism the body uses to maintain blood pressure at consistent levels. By blocking this signaling in rats, the researchers found that it can modulate arterial pressure through a neural mechanism.
Yinying “Robyn” Wei, M.C.N., RDN, LD, CPT, ACR, won in the completed/ongoing research abstract category performed by a student. Her abstract, “The impact of K-enriched salt on taste and blood pressure in hypertensive adults,” focused on identifying an optimum ratio for acceptable taste of sodium to potassium in salt adapted to lower blood pressure and cardiovascular risk. Her study found that as the proportion of potassium rose, the perceived saltiness of the mixture decreased. She suggested that these findings could lay the foundation for dietary guidelines and public health policies that contribute to improved cardiovascular health.
Yosanly Cornelio, M.D., M.Sc., ACR, won in the abstract category proposed by a student for future research. Her abstract, “ELEVATE-VR study: Evaluating long-term effects of virtual reality cognitive behavioral therapy on adolescent depression in Latino youth with chronic pain,” focuses on testing virtual reality cognitive behavioral therapy (VR-CBT) – an intervention studied mostly in adults – on Latino adolescents with chronic pain. She suggests that VR-CBT could significantly improve both pain intensity and depressive symptoms.