Digital Twins have advanced various fields in engineering for decades and are now entering clinical care, posing several critical challenges.

A digital twin, built of data from a patient and the environment, aims to mimic the structure and behavior of the physical patient, is  dynamically updated with new data, and seeks to make predictions about the patient and inform decisions.  But how should such digital entities be regulated, and how do and will they affect clinicians, clinical decisions, and patients?

This multi-disciplinary workshop brings together leading experts – data scientists, clinicians, ethicists, legal scholars and others – to explore these complex and growing cutting edge clinical, ethical and legal questions.

This event is part of the Frontiers in Data Science and AI initiative at the Data Science Institute, Columbia University, and is co-sponsored by the Columbia University Masters of Bioethics Program and the Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub.

About Registration:

  • This is a hybrid event. Please select Virtual Registration if you do not plan to attend in-person and are seeking the Zoom link.
  • Seating for in-person registration is limited. Attendance will be prioritized for faculty, senior researchers (PhD Students, Postdocs), and external guests (alumni, clinicians, and practitioners).
  • All in-person registrations will be confirmed by the DSI Events team.

REGISTER

Event Details & Agenda

Monday, April 27, 2026 (9:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET)
In-Person & Zoom Option

Location: Columbia School of Social Work – Room C05
Address: 1255 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10027 – Map

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9:00 AM – 9:10 AM: Welcome Remarks (10 min)

  • Robert Klitzman, Professor of Psychiatry (in Sociomedical Sciences), Columbia University Irving Medical Center; Program Director, Bioethics Program, School of Professional Studies, Columbia University

9:10 AM – 9:30 AM: Introduction: What are digital twins and why are they important? (20 min)

9:30 AM – 10:45 AM: Current Clinical Uses I: How are DTs now being used in clinical care, and what clinical, provider, patient, regulatory, ethical or legal challenges arise? (75 min)

  • Moderator: Florence Hudson, Executive Director, Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub (in-person)
  • Dan Isaacs, GM & CTO of the Digital Twin Consortium, Chief Strategy Officer, Object Management Group (in-person)
  • Eric Stahlberg, Executive Administrative Director for the Institute for Data Science in Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center (in-person)
  • Grace Peng, Director of Mathematical Modeling, Simulation and Analysis, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) within the National Institutes of Health (virtual)
  • Chakra Chennubhotia, Associate Professor of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Chief Executive Officer, PredxBio, Inc. (virtual)

10:45 AM – 11:00 AM:  Break

11:00 AM -12:30 PM: Clinical Uses II and Clinician Perspectives (75 min)

  • Moderator: Charles E. Binkley, Director of AI Ethics and Quality, Hackensack Meridian Health; Associate Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine; and Lecturer in Bioethics, School of Professional Studies, Columbia University (in-person)
  • Nancy Lee, MD, Radiation Oncologist and Early Drug Development Specialist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (virtual)
  • Florence Doo, Assistant Professor, Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Director of Innovation, University of Maryland Medical Intelligent Imaging (UM2ii) Center; and Faculty, University of Maryland-Institute for Health Computing (UM-IHC) (virtual)
  • Kristin Myers, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia Engineering (in-person)
  • Caroline Chung, Vice President and Chief Data & Analytics Officer and Co-Director of the Institute for Data Science in Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center (virtual)
  • Martin Genet, Professor, Mechanics Department & Solid Mechanics Laboratory, École Polytechnique (in-person)

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM: Lunch and Discussion (1 hour)

1:30 PM – 3:30 PM: Other Stakeholder Perspectives (2 hours)

  • Moderator: Robert Klitzman, Professor of Psychiatry (in Sociomedical Sciences), Columbia University Irving Medical Center; Program Director, Bioethics Program, School of Professional Studies, Columbia University (in-person)
  • Orlando Lopez, Director of the NIDCR Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial (DOC) Biomaterials, Devices, and Clinical Technologies Program, Division of Extramural Research (virtual)
  • Matthias Braun, Director of the Department of Social Ethics, University of Bonn (virtual)
  • Nancy Berlinger, Senior Research Scholar, The Hastings Center for Bioethics (in-person)
  • Glenn Cohen, James A. Atwood and Leslie Williams Professor of Law; Deputy Dean of Harvard Law School; Faculty Director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology & Bioethics at Harvard (in-person)
  • Jodyn Platt, Associate Professor of Learning Health Sciences, Medical School Associate Professor of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Michigan Medical School (in-person)
  • Sean Whiteley, Founder, Axomem Private Limited (virtual)

3:30 PM – 3:45 PM:  Break

3:45 PM – 5:00 PM: Open Discussion, Future Directions, and Next Steps (1 hour, 45 min)

5:00 PM: Event Ends

Speaker Details

Listed in order of program:

Host & DSI Frontiers Awardee: Robert Klitzman
Professor of Psychiatry (in Sociomedical Sciences), Columbia University Irving Medical Center; Program Director, Bioethics Program, School of Professional Studies, Columbia University (presenting in-person)

Host: Florence Hudson
Executive Director, Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub (presenting in-person)

Dan Isaacs
GM & CTO of the Digital Twin Consortium, Chief Strategy Officer, Object Management Group (presenting in-person)

Eric Stahlberg
Executive Administrative Director for the Institute for Data Science in Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center (presenting in-person)

Grace Peng
Director of Mathematical Modeling, Simulation and Analysis, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) within the National Institutes of Health (presenting virtually)

Chakra Chennubhotia
Associate Professor of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Chief Executive Officer, PredxBio, Inc. (presenting virtually)

Charles E. Binkley
Director of AI Ethics and Quality, Hackensack Meridian Health; Associate Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine; and Lecturer in Bioethics, School of Professional Studies, Columbia University (presenting in-person)

Nancy Lee
MD, Radiation Oncologist and Early Drug Development Specialist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (presenting virtually)

Florence Doo
Assistant Professor, Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Director of Innovation, University of Maryland Medical Intelligent Imaging (UM2ii) Center; and Faculty, University of Maryland-Institute for Health Computing (UM-IHC) (presenting virtually)

Kristin Myers
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia Engineering (presenting in-person)

Caroline Chung
Vice President and Chief Data & Analytics Officer and Co-Director of the Institute for Data Science in Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center (presenting virtually)

Martin Genet
Professor, Mechanics Department & Solid Mechanics Laboratory, École Polytechnique (presenting in-person)

Orlando Lopez
Director of the NIDCR Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial (DOC) Biomaterials, Devices, and Clinical Technologies Program, Division of Extramural Research (presenting virtually)

Matthias Braun
Director of the Department of Social Ethics, University of Bonn (presenting virtually)

Nancy Berlinger
Senior Research Scholar, The Hastings Center for Bioethics (presenting in-person)

Glenn Cohen
James A. Atwood and Leslie Williams Professor of Law; Deputy Dean of Harvard Law School; Faculty Director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology & Bioethics at Harvard (presenting in-person)

Jodyn Platt
Associate Professor of Learning Health Sciences, Medical School Associate Professor of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Michigan Medical School (presenting in-person)

Sean Whiteley
Founder, Axomem Private Limited (presenting virtually)