As public health challenges grow more complex and interconnected, innovation has become essential to preparedness and recovery. That urgency was the focus on May 13, 2025, when more than 250 researchers, public health leaders, innovators, and community organizers came together at The Forum at Columbia University for the PRI Innovation Showcase: Defining the Future of Public Health Preparedness (Showcase), a full-day event focused on identifying, scaling, and supporting bold ideas in public health preparedness.
Hosted by the NYC Preparedness & Recovery Institute (PRI), the Showcase built upon last year’s Innovation Forum, and was designed to surface actionable innovations and spark collaboration across sectors. From artificial intelligence and diagnostics to grassroots infrastructure and community-led design, the Showcase highlighted how cross-sector collaboration can drive meaningful change before the next crisis.
The day began with a fireside chat between Dr. David Ho, a pioneer in HIV and COVID-19 research, and PRI Director Mitch Stripling. Their discussion grounded the event in a core idea: innovation is not a luxury, but a necessity in the face of accelerating public health threats. Panels throughout the day expanded on this theme with sessions on diagnostics, infrastructure, surveillance, artificial intelligence, and community-driven solutions.
“We must be proactive, not reactive, in our approach to public health,” said Dr. David Ho, Clyde and Helen Wu Professor of Medicine at Columbia University and founding scientific director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center. “The complexity and speed of emerging threats demand that we act decisively and collaboratively to stay ahead.”
Each panel emphasized practical pathways forward. Experts challenged one another to think beyond theory and explore what it would take to bring innovations to scale across five core themes:
- Rapid Diagnostics and Therapeutic Innovations
This session explored recent advances in diagnostics and treatments, as well as strategies for ensuring equitable access and deployment during emergencies.
(Jen Rakeman, Cepheid; Nikki Romanik, Brown University School of Public Health; Larry Au, City College of New York (CUNY); Moderator: Sam Sia, Columbia University) - Innovating with the Community
Panelists discussed the importance of co-designing public health interventions with communities, focusing on trust, feedback loops, and inclusive innovation.
(Gil Eyal, Columbia University; Terry Huang, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy; Jasmine Yiyuan Qin, re+connect; Moderator: Harry West, Columbia University) - Advancing Infrastructure and Logistics
This conversation focused on strengthening core infrastructure to support public health response, including supply chains, smart city technologies, air quality, and grassroots connectivity.
(Andrew Smyth, Columbia University; Faye McNeill, Columbia University; David Starr, NYC Department of Health; Lydon Thorpe, NYC Mesh; Moderator: Jeff Shaman, Columbia University) - Surveillance and Medical Analytics
Speakers highlighted how new methods in epidemiology, genomics, and environmental surveillance are transforming how we detect, track, and respond to outbreaks.
(Sharon Greene, NYC Department of Health; Suzue Saito, ICAP at Columbia University; Raul Rabadan, Columbia University; Kartik Chandran, Columbia University; Moderator: Wafaa El-Sadr, Columbia University) - Machine Learning and AI
This panel explored the growing role of artificial intelligence in emergency preparedness, diagnostics, data integration, and public health decision-making.
(Dawn O’Connell, Former HHS ASPR; Noémie Elhadad, Columbia University / NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital; Dawn Heisey-Grove, Amazon Web Services; Ken Mayer, HealthCheck Systems; Moderator: Jeff Goldsmith, Columbia University)
Each session provided opportunities for attendees to engage directly with leaders shaping the future of health systems and helped highlight the depth and diversity of innovation underway across disciplines. We hope to share the recordings of each of these sessions over the summer.
Learning by Doing: Operation Outbreak
One of the most popular elements of the Showcase was Operation Outbreak, a six-hour simulation that played out quietly but powerfully throughout the day. One hundred attendees participated in the virtual spread of a flu-like virus, making real-time choices about masking, vaccination, and interaction.
As the simulation unfolded, participants saw just how quickly an outbreak can move in a confined environment. By the end, only 17 participants remained healthy, while 33 were still infected, 44 had recovered, and 6 had died. The exercise offered a visceral, data-rich learning experience that sparked reflection and conversation among participants and observers alike. Those interested can view the results here. A summary report can also be found here.
Innovation on Display
More than 20 teams presented tools, prototypes, and platforms designed to tackle challenges in public health at the Demo Expo (Expo). From diagnostics and data analytics to Wi-Fi mesh networks and community engagement apps, the Expo provided a hands-on opportunity to test solutions, ask hard questions, and imagine new applications.
Attendees explored the exhibits and shared ideas across disciplines. It wasn’t just a showcase — it was a lab of live feedback and possibility.
Three innovations received special recognition: BioBus (Most Engaging), Nanovib (Most Innovative), and re+connect (Most Community-Minded). In making their selection, judges looked at public health relevance, creativity, and the ability to scale solutions equitably.
“The Demo Expo was a powerful convergence of innovation, collaboration, and diverse perspectives,” said Elsy Khoury, Co-Founder of NanoVib. “We were thrilled to share our work within such a dynamic community and truly honored to have it recognized with the Most Innovative Award alongside so many exceptional changemakers.”
Scaling What Works
The Showcase also highlighted promising projects from last year’s PRI Innovation Grants, with four recipients delivering rapid talks on how they are translating their ideas into implementation. These included AI-based preparedness platforms, systems modeling tools, and data-driven approaches to health equity.
“Presenting our work at the PRI Innovation Showcase, seeing heads nod, lightbulbs go off, and people line up to talk afterward, confirmed that our preparedness challenges are understood – it reminds us that rebuilding trust and scaling a robust public health system starts with commitments to working across sectors,” said Analee Etheredge, Senior Research Scientist & Public Health Data Science Team Lead at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Center for Population Health Data Science. “Reaching into the AI toolkit to transform information trapped as images into actionable data lets us solve for one common bottleneck.”
Looking Ahead
As the day closed, participants were encouraged to stay connected, contribute ideas, and help shape future PRI programming. New events are already on the horizon, including a mixed methods public health Hackathon, a public health preparedness Tabletop Exercise, and the next round of innovation funding. Special thanks again to our planning committee members: Amazon, NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, Firefly Innovations, Preppr.ai, Columbia Engineering, NYC Preparedness & Recovery Institute, East Harlem COAD, NYC Mesh, and Operation Outbreak.
“The collaborative energy at the PRI Innovation Showcase was both powerful and necessary,” said Terry Huang, Distinguished Professor at CUNY SPH and Founder of Firefly Innovations. “Bringing together voices and talents from across research, government, tech, and community organizations is how we move from ideas to real, scalable solutions. We encourage others to join us in shaping future initiatives that push public health innovation forward.”
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