Program Overview

Introduction to the Building for Digital Health Program

The Building for Digital Health program is sponsored by the Stanford School of Medicine and Stanford's Computer Science department. Its primary goal is to provide Computer Science students with the opportunity to apply their skills to real-world health technology development projects, while enabling Stanford School of Medicine faculty to leverage these talented individuals to help advance their technology concepts toward patients.

Program Overview

The program aims to give students the chance to work on digital health projects, addressing unmet needs in the healthcare field. It also provides faculty members with the technical resources needed to develop research ideas and projects. The program focuses on developing secure digital solutions, working with technical and multidisciplinary teams, and becoming familiar with various digital technologies for medical research and clinical care.

Program Details

• Course Title: Building for Digital Health
• Course Number(s): CS 342, MED 253
• Quarter(s): Winter
• Schedule: Tuesday/Thursday, 4:30-5:50 pm
• Units: 3-4
• Eligible Participants: Undergraduate and graduate Computer Science (or similar) students; Stanford School of Medicine faculty, including clinical educators

Learning Goals

For Students

• Gain exposure to unmet needs in the healthcare field and learn to design and build secure digital solutions to address them
• Get experience working with technical and multidisciplinary teams with the help of external mentors and industry experts who can help guide career paths in health tech innovation
• Become familiar with CardinalKit (iOS platform, the Swift programming language, HealthKit and ResearchKit frameworks, Google Cloud’s Firebase and Firestore)
• Learn secure data collection and storage practices

For Faculty

• Gain access to technical resources to develop research ideas and projects
• Learn about different digital technologies for medical research and clinical care
• Understand how to organize data on digital platforms while limiting usage, safeguarding PHI, and complying with privacy and security standards
• Learn how to ideate and validate solutions using needs-based criteria and design thinking

Program Leaders and Advisory Board Members

• Program Leaders:
  • Oliver Aalami, Director, Biodesign for Digital Health
  • Carlos Guestrin, Professor of Computer Science
  • Meghana Nerurkar, Manager, Courses and Global Programs
  • Vishnu Ravi, Lead Architect, Building for Digital Health
  • Paul Schmiedmayer, Biodesign Digital Health Group
  • Aydin Zahedivash, Clinical Advisor
• Advisory Board Members:
  • Michael Duff, Interim Chief Privacy Officer, Stanford University
  • Michael Halaas, Chief Information Officer, Stanford School of Medicine
  • Christopher Sharp, Chief Medical Information Officer, Stanford Healthcare
  • Ryan Spitler, Co-Director, PHIND Center, Stanford University
  • Lyn Denend, Director, Academic Programs
  • Gordon Saul, Executive Director

Additional Information

The program is part of the Stanford Mussallem Center for Biodesign, which offers various programs, including fellowships, Stanford courses, executive education, global programs, and grants. The center's mission is to empower tomorrow's leaders to improve healthcare through innovation and technology. The program's impact is evident in the million+ patients helped, stories and spotlights, technologies, companies, trainee outcomes, and fellows. The center is committed to diversity, and its timeline and history reflect its growth and development. The setting and process of the program are designed to foster collaboration and innovation, and the team is dedicated to making a positive impact in the healthcare field.