AI for HOPE
About AI for HOPE
Funded in 2024 through a Nexus Convening Grant, the AI for HOPE initiative unites experts from across Johns Hopkins University with external stakeholders. We aim to cultivate a better understanding of how ethical and responsible AI can be leveraged to address mental health and deaths of despair—including suicide, overdose, and alcohol-related illnesses.
Dr. Emily Haroz
Leading Professor
Dr. Emily Edmunds Haroz is an Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with co-primary appointments in Mental Health and International Health. She is Co-Director of Research at the Center for Indigenous Health and specializes in implementation science, suicide prevention, and precision public health. Dr. Haroz leads multiple NIH-funded studies applying AI and machine learning to improve mental health care.
She directs the ELEVATE program and serves as Research Core Director for the CIRCLE Center, promoting culturally-centered behavioral health approaches. She also advises global and community-based suicide prevention initiatives, including the Red Cross, Navajo Nation, and Dartmouth’s Center for Technology and Behavioral Health.
Research Assistants
Graduate Student
Angela Weinberg
Angela is currently a full-time MPH student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She earned her bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley in 2015, double majoring in Psychology and Art Practice. Since then, She has worked as an entrepreneur, building several socially conscious businesses and serving as a Fractional COO for other early-stage ventures. During her MPH, she is focusing on the intersection of mental health, digital health, and leadership, with the goal of advancing mental healthcare service delivery through the use of AI to coordinate care and access to the right mental healthcare at the right time.
Graduate Student
Shivani Angappan
Shivani is currently a full-time MSPH student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Board of Advisors
The AI for HOPE teams draws technical, health, and policy expertise from faculty across Johns Hopkins. Listed below are faculty advisors, partner schools, and associated policy experts.
Dr. Roland Thorpe
Professor of Health, Behavior, and Society
Dr. Alexis Battle
Professor of Biomedical Engineering and co-director of the Data Science and AI Institute
Dr. Kadija Ferryman
Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management
Dr. Keshia Pollack Porter
Dean, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Professor and Bloomberg Centennial Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management
Dr. Jonathan Thornhill
Program Manager in the Applied Physics Laboratory
Dr. Matthew Eisenberg
Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management and Mental Health
Dr. Roy Adams
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Gordon Gao
Professor at the Carey Business School and co-director of the Center for Digital Health and AI
Dr. Anjalie Field
Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Dr. Valentine Sierra
Postdoctoral Fellow