UBC medical students are leading the way across Canada in exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) and data literacy can help to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease.
“In healthcare, AI is about people rather than data and algorithms,” says Dr. Anita Palepu, Professor and Head of the Department of Medicine. “It’s a way to remove the transactional aspects and pressures of the healthcare system to free up clinicians’ time, so they can focus on connecting with patients and building real relationships. This is how trust grows, and how healthcare becomes more accessible and equitable for everyone.”
Dr. Palepu is co-leading the new UBC AI and Health Network with Dr. Raymond Ng, Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Data Science Institute at UBC. The network launched in June of 2025 with a founding donation from the Gordon B. Shrum Charitable Fund.
Within the Network, the education and training theme will focus on expanding curriculum and courses that develop data literacy among MD students, medical residents and graduate students in the life sciences and biomedical engineering at UBC, plus health professionals working across the province. The goal is to help them feel empowered to use AI tools, and also aware of their limitations and biases.
Building on our strengths
UBC has a strong foundation to build on. In 2019, the UBC AI in Medicine Club developed a workshop called Introduction to Medical Artificial Intelligence. Offered twice a year, this workshop has engaged more than 300 medical students across Canada.
As research lead for the club, then-medical student Miini Teng conducted a 2021 survey of Canadian health professions students on their attitudes and perceptions of AI.
“I found a mix of curiosity and concern,” says Dr. Teng, BSc’16, MScOT’18, MD’24. “Many students see AI as inevitable—they think it’s going to be part of their practice in five or 10 years—but they don’t feel equipped to engage with it critically.”
“Some worry that it will depersonalize care or worsen inequities, and others are excited by the potential to improve diagnostics and to reduce burnout. What’s clear is that students want guidance. They want to know how to use AI responsibly and communicate its role to patients.”
Dr. Teng first learned about data science—the foundation for building, training and deploying AI—when she was working as an occupational therapist. She was looking for solutions to practical problems like how to prevent skin ulcers for patients in long-term care facilities.
After a fellowship with UBC’s Data Science Institute and medical school, she is a resident doctor in Public Health and Preventative Medicine and clinical faculty with the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at UBC.
In the 2025/26 academic year, this department will be the first of its kind in Canada to include AI and data literacy in the graduate curriculum, with Dr. Teng teaching a module on ethical considerations of AI.
“Digital literacy is about helping healthcare professionals ask the right questions and use these technologies safely and effectively,” says Dr. Teng. “UBC is leading research in this area that is paramount for the future of healthcare.”
To learn more about supporting the UBC AI and Health Network, please contact Erin Bartlett at erin.bartlett@ubc.ca