Moderator: Bertha Coombs, NHHRI LAB Member, and Ken Barela, NHHRI CEO

Focus: How do we move from the design of a system to the deployment of a national strategy?

This opening session establishes the strategic foundation for building a national health infrastructure that integrates artificial intelligence, community-based participatory research (CBPR), and public health systems. Panelists will explore how community knowledge can evolve from local insight into trusted, federally actionable evidence that informs policy, research, and decision-making at scale.

The discussion will examine the systems, standards, and governance needed to move beyond individual research projects toward a coordinated national infrastructure. Attendees will gain a framework for understanding how AI can strengthen public health decision-making while ensuring that community voices remain central to the design of the nation's future health ecosystem.