Members

Azizi Seixas

Members

Featured Member: Azizi Seixas, PhD

How to become an IDSC Member

Transforming Data into Stories That Inspire

He’s an Assistant Professor at New York University’s Langone Health Center, but Dr. Azizi Seixas’s career can’t be summed up in one title. Dr. Seixas (Say-shas) is also a seasoned biomedical researcher, scientist, communicator, health-tech innovator, sought-after speaker, and consultant to some of the world’s most recognizable organizations, from NBC Health News, where he’s the in-house sleep expert, to the Department of Defense, where he serves on the Mental Health Task Force.

Azizi Seixas and familyIt’s a mouthful of an answer when asked, “What do you do?” but Dr. Seixas has never followed a pre-defined path. Growing up in inner-city Jamaica, he got his drive from his hard-working single mother who earned a college, then a Master’s degree while working full-time. His passion came from his force-of-nature grandmother, who taught him to question the status quo. “The two things in life that level-off human beings are death and education,” she told young Azizi. So he set about getting an education. With his hard-earned Ph.D. in hand, Dr. Seixas’ began working as an assistant professor at City University of New York’s Hostos Community College. While there, he applied to a summer training opportunity at New York University focusing on sleep and behavioral medicine and was offered a spot—despite being the only assistant professor from a community college to apply.

Once in the program, he discovered his passion for sleep as one of the four main pillars of health and developed a keen interest in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and health technology. He joined NYU School of Medicine Department of Population Health and the Department of Psychiatry after receiving an NIH grant. This was the opportunity he dreamed of and once he hit his stride doing pioneering research, he received several other NIH grants, one of which received a perfect score (a rare accomplishment for any scientist),  to continue his exploration of improving population health and making healthcare work for all. Today, he has over 100 publications, book chapters, and conference presentations to his credit, and his work has appeared in media outlets such as CBS, CNN, NBC, The Associated Press, The Guardian, and The Huffington Post. Dr. Seixas currently serves as the Chair for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Young Investigator Research Forum and a member of the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning sub-committee for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and was named a finalist for the 2019 Google Next Conference in London. Still, he prefers to define himself as husband to Meghan, and the father of his two children, Zahra and Khari.

To apply for IDSC Membership, please complete our Membership Application.

 

IDSC MEMBERS

 

Midhat H. Abdulreda

Midhat H. Abdulreada, PhD
Associate Professor of Surgery
UM Diabetes Research Institute

Joseph Avery, University of Miami Institute for Data Science and Computing Affiliated Member

Joseph Avery, JD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Miami Herbert Business School
Business Law Department
Affiliated Fellow, Yale Information Society Project

Christopher Lee Bennett, Member, University of Miami Institute for Data Science and Computing
Christopher Lee Bennett, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Music Engineering Technology,
UM Frost School of Music

IDSC Area of Interest:
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics
IDSC Areas of Interest:
AI + Machine Learning, Information Design,
and Data Ethics + Society
IDSC Area of Interest:
AI + Machine Learning

Sheldon Brown, speaker, Data Citizens distinguished lecture series, University of Miami Institute for Data Science and Computing

Sheldon Brown  
Founding Director,
Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination
Co-Founder, Calit2

Alberto Cairo, speaker, Meet A Data Scientist Lecture Series, University of Miami Institute for Data Science and Computing
Alberto Cairo, PhD
Director | IDSC Visualization
Associate Professor and
Knight Chair in Visual Journalism
UM School of Communication

Ta Chen "Peter" Chang, Member, University of Miami Institute for Data Science and Computing
Ta Chen Peter Chang, PhD
Associate Professor,
Clinical Ophthalmology,
Pediatrics, and Human Genetics
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute,
UM Miller School of Medicine

IDSC Area of Interest:
AI + Machine Learning
IDSC Area of Interest:
Information Design
IDSC Areas of Interest: AI + Machine Learning,
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics,
Advanced Computing, and
Systems and Data Engineering
Ching Hua Chuan
Ching-Hua Chuan, PhD
Research Associate Professor of Interactive Media
UM School of Communication
Adib Cure
Adib Cure
Associate Professor in Practice,
UM School of Architecture
Partner, Curé and Penabad
Ljubisa Daba Dabic
Ljubisa Daba Dabic, PMP, LEED AP BD+C
Partner, AMB Architectural Design Studio LLC
IDSC Area of Interest:
AI + Machine Learning,
Creative Computing
IDSC Area of Interest:
Smart Cities and Smart Environments
IDSC Areas of Interest:
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics
and Smart Cities and Smart Environments
Daniel Andres Diaz Pachon, Member, University of Miami Institute for Data Science and Computing
Daniel Andrés Díaz-Pachón, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Biostatistics Division
Department of Public Health Services,
UM Miller School of Medicine
Shane Elipot
Shane Elipot, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Ocean Sciences
UM Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
Research Associate, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Rodolphe el-Khoury
Rodolphe el-Khoury, PhD
Director, IDSC Urban Lab and Smart Cities
Dean, UM School of Architecture
IDSC Areas of Interest: Advanced Computing,
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics
and Data Ethics + Society
IDSC Area of Interest:
Smart Cities and Smart Environments
A. Michael Froomkin University of Miami 2018 Big Data Conference Speaker
A. Michael Froomkin, JD
Laurie Silvers & Mitchell Rubenstein
Distinguished Professor of Law
UM School of Law
Founder and Editor-in-Chief,
JOTWELL: The Journal of Things We Like (Lots)
Founder,  We Robot Conference
Kenneth Goodman
Kenneth W. Goodman, PhD, FACMI, FACE
Director,  IDSC Data Ethics and Society
Founder and Director,
UM Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy
Co-Director, UM Ethics Programs
Joseph Johnson, speaker, Meet A Data Scientist Lecture Series, University of Miami Institute for Data Science and Computing

Joseph Johnson, PhD
Associate Professor of Marketing
UM Miami Herbert Business School

IDSC Areas of Interest: AI + Machine Learning,
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics,
Data Ethics and Society, and
Smart Cities and Smart Environments
IDSC Area of Interest: Data Ethics and Society
Youngmee Kim

Youngmee Kim, PhD
Professor, Health Division
Department of Psychology
UM College of Arts & Sciences
Associate Editor, Translational Behavioral Medicine

Ben Kirtman, speaker, Meet A Data Scientist Lecture Series, University of Miami Institute for Data Science and Computing

Benjamin Kirtman, PhD
Deputy Director, UM IDSC
Director, IDSC Earth Systems
and Professor, Department of Atmospheric Sciences,
UM Rosenstiel School of Marina and Atmospheric Science
Director, NOAA Cooperative Institute for Marine
and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS)

Richard McNeer, Member, University of Miami Institute for Data Science and Computing

Richard McNeer, MD, PhD
Director of Research, JMH Center for Patient Safety
Division of Trauma Anesthesiology, Ryder Trauma Center
Professor of Anesthesiology,
UM Miller School of Medicine

 

IDSC Area of Interest:
Human-Centered Design + Computing,
Advanced Computing,
and Systems and Data Engineering
IDSC Area of Interest:
AI + Machine Learning, Earth Systems
IDSC Areas of Interest: AI + Machine Learning,
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics,
Advanced Computing,
and Systems and Data Engineering
Daniel Messsinger, speaker, Smart Cities MIAMI 2022
Daniel Messinger, PhD
Director, IDSC Social and Behavioral Data Science
Professor of Psychology,
UM College of Arts and Sciences
Coordinator, Developmental Psychology Program
Associate Director,
Child Division (Developmental Program)
Director, UM Sib Smile
Darlene Miller, Member, University of Miami Institute for Data Science and Computing
Darlene Miller, PhD
Research Professor,
UM Department of Ophthalmology

Michael Anthony Morris, MD, MS
Radiologist, Mercy Medical Center at
Glen Burnie, Maryland
IDSC Area of Interest:
Social and Behavioral Data Science
IDSC Areas of Interest: AI + Machine Learning,
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics,
Advanced Computing, and Systems and Data Engineering
IDSC Area of Interest:
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics
Amanda Myers

Amanda Myers
Associate Professor
UM Division of Neuroscience and
Department of Human Genetics and Genomics

David Nolan
David Nolan, PhD
Chair and Professor,
Department of Atmospheric Sciences,
UM Rosenstiel School of Marine
and Atmospheric Science
Timothy Norris
Timothy Norris, PhD
Data Scientist, IDSC Systems and Data Engineering
Research Associate Professor,
UM Richter Libraries
IDSC Area of Interest:
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics
IDSC Area of Interest: Earth Systems

Mitsunori Ogihara, PhD
Director, IDSC Education
Interim Director, IDSC AI and Machine Learning
Professor, Department of Computer Science
UM College of Arts & Sciences
Carie Penabad
Carie Penabad
Associate Professor in Practice,
UM School of Architecture
Partner, Curé and Penabad
Luis Ruiz Pestana
Luis Ruiz Pestana, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil, Architectural,
and Environmental Engineering

UM College of Engineering
IDSC Areas of Interest: AI + Machine Learning,
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics,
Earth Systems, Information Design, and
Smart Cities and Smart Environments
Laura PolisenoLaura Poliseno, PhD
Researcher, Institute of Clinical Physiology-CNR,
Pisa, Italy
Principal Investigator,
Oncogenomics unit, ISPRO
Rishi Rattan
Rishi Rattan, PhD
Associate Professor, Surgery,
UM Health System

Amin Sarafraz, PhD
Associate Scientist, UM IDSC Software Engineering
Research Assistant Professor,
UM College of Engineering
IDSC Area of Interest:
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics
IDSC Areas of Interest: AI + Machine Learning and
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics
Azizi Seixas
Azizi Seixas, PhD
Assistant Professor, UM Miller School of Medicine
Director,  The Media and Innovation Lab
Cynthia Silveira

Cynthia Silveira, PhD
Assistant Professor
UM Department of Biology
Silveira Lab

Prannoy Suraneni
Prannoy Suraneni, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil, Architectural,
and Environmental Engineering

UM College of Engineering
IDSC Area of Interest:
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics
IDSC Area of Interest:
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics
IDSC Areas of Interest:
AI + Machine Learning and Advanced Computing

Swarup S. Swaminathan, MD
Cataract & Glaucoma Specialist,
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
Assistant Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology,
UM Health System
Jie Xu
Jie Xu, PhD
Professor, Department of Electrical
and Computer Engineering

UM College of Engineering
 
Yelena Yesha, speaker, Meet A Data Scientist Lecture Series, University of Miami Institute for Data Science and Computing
Yelena Yesha, PhD
Knight Foundation Endowed Chair of Data Science and AIDirector, IDSC AI + Machine Learning
IDSC Innovation Officer and Head, International Relations
Professor, Dept. of Computer Science, College of Arts & Sciences
Professor, Dept. of Radiology, Miller School of MedicineFounding Director, NSF CARTA
IDSC Areas of Interest: AI + Machine Learning and
Digital Health and Life Sciences Informatics