LSE Health partners with Rice University and Houston Methodist to explore global digital health collaboration
A proposed new programme would support early-career researchers working to improve care in underserved communities
LSE Health has signed a memorandum of understanding with Rice University and the Houston Methodist Research Institute to explore collaboration on an interdisciplinary training programme for future global healthcare leaders.
The proposed Global Digital Health Scholars Program would be led by the Digital Health Institute (DHI), a joint initiative of Houston Methodist and Rice University launched in 2024. Scholars would receive joint mentorship from LSE Health and DHI faculty while developing digital health solutions that make care more affordable and accessible, particularly in underserved communities
Connecting digital innovation with health policy
For LSE Health, the collaboration centres on making sure the benefits of new technologies reach the people who need them most. Professor Elias Mossialos, Director of LSE Health, Cheng Yu Tung Chair in Global Health, said:
Who benefits from advances in medical technology depends on how health systems put those innovations into practice. Our vision is to help scholars connect the development of digital tools with the policy expertise needed to guide their use.
Scholars would build expertise at the intersection of data science, clinical care and innovation, working with faculty and practitioners at LSE, Rice and Houston Methodist, as well as with industry, government and community stakeholders.
Programme goals
The core goals of the Global Digital Health Scholars Program are to:
- • Build a talent pipeline to recruit and support exceptional postdoctoral and early-career scholars pursuing clinical and/or engineering-track degrees with a health policy component
- Advance technological innovation for cost-efficient care
- Focus on underserved populations
- Ensure global relevance and scalability
How the programme would work
The collaboration plan would support one or two scholars each year in multi-year appointments. Scholars would be embedded in, or would lead, high-impact digital health projects focused on translation and innovation. These projects would draw on real-world evidence platforms and have the potential for scalable impact.
Areas of technical focus include artificial intelligence, digital diagnostics, remote care, wearables and predictive analytics. Projects would be selected for their ability to reduce healthcare costs, eliminate inefficiencies, promote early disease detection and optimise care delivery, with a particular focus on under-resourced settings and historically underserved populations.
Bridging the gaps
Professor Khurram Nasir, DHI co-director and chief of cardiovascular disease prevention at Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, said the programme would address a long-standing gap between disciplines:
We have no shortage of brilliant engineers, and no shortage of brilliant physicians. We have very few people who can sit with a physician, an engineer and a health economist and be genuinely fluent in all three rooms. This program will train people to bridge those worlds and bring ideas into practice.
A global partnership
Professor Ashutosh Sabharwal, DHI co-director and Ernest D. Butcher Professor of Engineering at Rice University, said the collaboration reflects Rice’s global ambitions:
Having a global impact is part of Rice’s strategic plan, and global impact means we need global partners. Over the past five years, our global footprint has grown significantly. This new partnership aligns perfectly with that momentum, and all three institutions bring together complementary strengths that will enable the DHI to carry out its mission to its fullest potential.