Second Meeting of the DS-I Africa Consortium
29 October -2 November 2022

Dr Akbar Waljee (Participant)

Akbar K. Waljee is a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Waljee serves as the faculty lead for the Data and Methods Hub and the Co-Director of the Michigan Integrated Center for Health Analytics and Medical Prediction (MiCHAMP) both at the UM Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation (IHPI). He also serves as the Director of the VA CCMR Prediction Modeling Unit (PMU) and, clinically, he is the Director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease clinic both at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. Dr. Waljee was born in Kenya and moved to the United States to complete his undergraduate and medical degrees at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. He then completed his residency and fellowship at the University of Michigan. Dr. Waljee holds a master's degree in Health Services Research from the University of Michigan and completed a health care policy fellowship at the Center for Health and Research Transformation. Dr. Waljee's work is at the forefront of using machine learning and deep learning techniques to improve healthcare access, quality, and efficiency (high-value care) in resource-constrained settings. He uses novel machine learning techniques to implement decision support systems and tools that facilitate more personalized care for disease management and healthcare utilization to ultimately deliver efficient, effective and equitable therapy for chronic diseases. To test and advance these principles, he built operational programs that are guiding-and improving-patient care in costly gastroenterology and liver disorders in under-resourced settings.