February 19, 2025

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Dr Azizi Seixas: Revolutionising healthcare with AI and precision medicine | Lead Stories

Dr Azizi Seixas: Revolutionising healthcare with AI and precision medicine | Lead Stories

It’s almost impossible to define Dr Azizi Seixas by career as his path has been anything but conventional, spanning multiple disciplines and industries.

For the moment, he is associate professor of psychiatry and behavioural health at the University of Miami; director of the Media and Innovation Laboratory (MIL); as well as associate director of the Center for Translational Sleep and Circadian Sciences (TSCS) at the university’s Miller School of Medicine.

Before those, he was – and still is – an experienced biomedical researcher, scientist, communicator, health-tech innovator, sought-after speaker, and consultant to some of the world’s most recognisable organisations. He is also an in-house sleep expert with the US Department of Defense, where he serves on the Mental Health Task Force.

One of central passions of the not-yet-50-year-old medical researcher is the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionise healthcare with precise diagnoses, treatments and genetic analysis.

“I currently lead innovative and transformative efforts at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine as the interim chair for the Department of Informatics and Health Data Science,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.

“My work is centred on creating cutting-edge healthcare solutions that fuse technology, precision medicine, and equity to address the most pressing challenges in global health.”

His groundbreaking work includes the development of the MIL Box – a remote health monitoring system designed to bring healthcare to low-resource areas.

“The MIL Box uses advanced sensors and AI algorithms to track health data in real time, predict illnesses, and monitor chronic conditions – ultimately aiming to provide timely interventions,” he said.

This technology has received global recognition, winning the Tipping Point Award from T-Mobile and Malcolm Gladwell.

“This is not just about improving individual health but also transforming healthcare systems by providing scalable, data-driven solutions,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.

At the heart of Seixas’s work is his vision of a future where technology and precision medicine merge to create accessible and effective healthcare solutions.

“I am focused on training the next generation of clinician innovators, practitioner innovators, and scientist innovators, who will carry this work forward and expand its impact globally,” he explained.

He envisions AI-driven technologies that can analyse real-time health data, predict risks, and provide tailored treatment options – enabling proactive healthcare even in underserved regions. For example, a person in rural Jamaica with limited access to healthcare could use wearable devices to monitor blood pressure or glucose levels, and AI would analyse the data to alert healthcare providers and even adjust treatment plans automatically. This kind of healthcare system could be especially transformative in the Global South, where access to care is limited and healthcare infrastructure is often lacking.

“At its core, digital health is the future of medicine – dynamic, data-driven, and designed to serve all populations equitably,” he stated unequivocally.

Born, raised and schooled in Jamaica in his early years, Seixas was inspired by his mother’s perseverance – she worked full-time while pursuing a master’s degree – and the wisdom of his grandmother, who emphasised education and encouraged him to question the status quo. These values fuelled his pursuit of education and research.

PASSION FOR SLEEP AND BEHAVIOURAL HEALTH

After earning his PhD, the former St George’s College head boy worked as an assistant professor at Hostos Community College in New York, where he applied for a summer training opportunity at New York University (NYU) focused on sleep and behavioural medicine. He was offered a spot despite being the only assistant professor from a community college to apply, and it was there that his passion for sleep and behavioural health deepened. He also began exploring machine learning and AI in healthcare, a field he would later contribute to significantly.

Seixas’s work at NYU led to a National Institute of Health grant and groundbreaking research in sleep and behavioural health. His research on improving population health ultimately led to several other grants, including one that received a perfect score – a rare accomplishment for any scientist. His work on sleep, behavioural health, and health technology has contributed to several pioneering advancements in healthcare.

“My vision is to create a world where every individual – regardless of geography, socioeconomic status, or background – has access to personalised, proactive, and predictive care. This means using AI and advanced sensor technologies to anticipate health risks before they occur, tailor treatments to the individual, and deliver care in ways that are scalable and sustainable,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.

One of his major accomplishments is his role in the development of digital twins – biometric and biological replicas of individuals that model and predict health outcomes with incredible accuracy.

“By creating a virtual replica of an individual, we can predict health risks before they become serious issues, identify the most effective treatments, and optimise care delivery,” Seixas explains.

REVOLUTIONISING EARLY DETECTION, INTERVENTION

Seixas’s work on digital biomarkers also has the potential to revolutionise early detection and intervention for some conditions.

“[Digital biomarkers] use real-world data like sleep patterns, physical activity, and stress levels to monitor health and detect conditions like dementia or cardiovascular disease early. This means that someone in Jamaica or Burkina Faso could access life-saving diagnostics and personalised treatment plans without needing extensive or expensive hospital visits,” said Seixas, who is one of 400 recipients if the 2025 US Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

A key part of Seixas’s vision is to create equitable healthcare solutions for the Global South. He believes that regions like Jamaica can lead innovation in health technology and biotechnology, becoming hubs for cutting-edge healthcare solutions.

“Through initiatives like the MIL Box and HARMONI Alliance, we’re building ecosystems that empower local communities to create, adopt, and scale cutting-edge technologies. The Global South has the potential to become a hub for health technology, biotechnology, and precision medicine, setting the standard for the rest of the world,” he told The Sunday Gleaner, noting that these efforts aim to position the Global South as not just consumers of healthcare innovations, but creators of them.

For Jamaica, where the healthcare system faces numerous challenges – such as a shortage of medical professionals, rising chronic diseases, and limited access to care – Seixas’s work offers a potential path forward.

Ultimately, Seixas noted, the future of healthcare is about putting the individual at the centre – “giving people the right treatment at the right time, supported by technologies that make care accessible, affordable, and effective. It’s a vision of healthcare that is not just transformative but truly inclusive”.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the deep inequities in global healthcare systems, and Seixas believes the crisis has catalysed the need for digital transformation in healthcare. The widespread adoption of telemedicine, remote monitoring, and AI-driven decision-making during the pandemic has revealed the potential of digital health solutions to address some of these systemic weaknesses. However, access to these technologies remains limited in many regions, especially in the Global South. Seixas’s work aims to close these gaps by ensuring that digital health solutions are accessible and equitable, benefiting communities that have historically been left behind.

Citing specific examples, Seixas said his team’s work on decentralised clinical trials allow for greater inclusion of diverse populations, breaking down barriers to participation, and ensuring that medical research reflects the needs of all communities. The lessons from the pandemic have inspired a renewed focus on innovation with a purpose – “creating healthcare systems that work for everyone, not just a privileged few”.

Ultimately, Seixas’s work is about making healthcare more inclusive, accessible, and effective. He believes that the fusion of precision medicine, advanced technology, and global equity will redefine healthcare systems worldwide.

But he prefers to define himself as husband to Meghan, and the father of Zahra and Khari.

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