SCPKU Summer Seminar: AI-Enabled Global Public Health and Population Health Management

Program Overview: The Stanford Center at Peking University (SCPKU) offers Stanford students a special opportunity for short-term study in Beijing. These three-week seminars are taught by Stanford faculty representing disciplines and schools spanning the entire campus and are specifically designed to integrate course content and program location. 

Program Dates: June 23, 2025 to July 11, 2025

Seminar Details: This three-week intensive seminar, "AI-Enabled Global Public Health and Population Health Management," focuses on advancing global health through cross-cultural collaboration and the application of cutting-edge technology in population health and health policy decision-making. Topics range from the fundamentals of machine learning, causal inference, and basic health economics concepts to case studies of AI-enabled population health programs, bias mitigation strategies, privacy protection protocols, and transparency in AI decision-making. Stanford students will interact with a carefully selected group of graduate students from Peking University, Hainan Medical School, and Tsinghua University to explore advanced applications and ethical considerations in AI-driven global public health and population health management. Classroom discussion will be complemented by field visits in Beijing and a trip to Hainan to learn about AI-enabled tools deployed in relatively resource-poor settings and emerging economic zones. 

Course Prerequisites: The course welcomes graduate students and advanced undergraduate students interested in responsible AI implementation for improving population health. Although there are no specific prerequisites, students should have completed some coursework in epidemiology or related disciplines such as biostatistics, bioinformatics, health policy, population health, medicine, data science, or public policy. 

Instructor Details: 

Michelle Williams is an epidemiologist, an award-winning educator, and a widely recognized academic leader. Since stepping down as Dean of the Faculty at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, she joined Stanford University’s School of Medicine faculty as a tenured Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health. Her research places special emphasis in the areas of reproductive, perinatal, pediatric, and molecular epidemiology. She has directed large cohort studies in Asia, South America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Williams has published more than 540 scientific articles and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2016. In 2020, she was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and recognized by PR Week as one of the top 50 health influencers of the year. Dr. Williams has master’s and doctoral degrees in epidemiology from Harvard University, TH Chan School of Public Health.

Karen Eggleston is a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Director of the Asia Health Policy Program in the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, and Professor, by courtesy, of Health Policy at Stanford University. In addition to over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, Eggleston’s books include The Dragon, the Eagle, and the Private Sector: Public-Private Collaboration in China and the United States with John D. Donahue and Richard J. Zeckhauser; Who Shall Live? Health, Economics and Social Choice 3rd Edition with Victor R. Fuchs; and Welfare, Choice and Solidarity in Transition: Reforming the Health Sector in Eastern Europe with János Kornai. She earned her PhD in public policy from Harvard University and is an affiliate of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Covered Expenses: SCPKU will cover participating students’ international round-trip economy airfare to Beijing and airport transfers up to $1500, lodging and meals for the duration of the seminar, and class-organized travel expenses within China. Students will be responsible for visa and passport application fees, pre-departure immunization costs, health insurance, and all other incidental expenses. Note that withdrawal after the cancellation deadline will incur a fee.