Lone Star HealthTech AI 2026From Bench to Bedside

Agenda

February 27, 2026|TMC³, Houston, Texas|8:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Presented by CRI and MODI Ventures

Event Schedule

8:00 – 9:00 AM
Registration & Networking Breakfast
9:00 – 9:15 AM
Opening Remarks & Summit Kickoff
Sponsors: JPMorgan Chase and Wilson Sonsini Asif Ali MD / Amir Ali / William "Bill" McKeon, President and CEO of the Texas Medical Center (TMC)
9:15 – 10:00 AM
PANEL 01 The Validation of AI
Moderator: Effie Andrikopoulou MD, MBA, FACC, FASE Panelists: • Jordan Strom MD • Cristina Gutierrez MBA • Umair A. Shah MD, MPH • Jagat Narula MD, PhD, MACC
10:00 – 11:00 AM
PANEL 02 The ROI of AI
Sponsor: Echo IQ Moderator: Henry Peck Panelists: • John Mattison MD, PhD • Dustin Haines • Chris Hanna MBA • Asif Ahmad MBA
11:00 – 11:10 AM
Break
11:10 – 11:15 AM
XENTER IO: Richard J. Linder
Chairman & CEO
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM
Opening Keynote
“The Future of Healthcare is Not Just Intelligent Algorithms — It is Intelligent Systems.” David Rhew MD Global Chief Medical Officer & VP Health Life Sciences Microsoft
12:00 – 1:15 PM
Lunch & Sponsor Showcase
1:15 – 2:10 PM
PANEL 03 The Regulation of AI
Sponsors: Cairdio and Kencore Moderator: Pat Dunn PhD, MBA Panelists: • Alexander J. "AJ" Blood MD, MSc, FACC, ABOM • Michalis Papadakis PhD • Hassan A. Tetteh MD, MBA • Ronald A. DePinho MD
2:10 – 3:00 PM
PANEL 04 The Value of AI
Sponsors: FirstHX and Tabia Health (~5 min intros) Moderator: Gabriele Niederauer PhD, FAIMBE Panelists: • Marat Fudim MD, MHS • Ken Nelson • Maria Palombini MBA • Tariq Qureshi MD, MPH, FACOG
3:00 – 3:10 PM
Break
3:10 pm
Prismecs CEO: Junaid Ali
3:10 – 4:00 PM
Keynote
"Life, Death and Data: Leading AI at the Edge of Human Care." Dr. Hassan Tetteh MD, MBA Johns Hopkins University Co-Founder, AI MINDSystems Impact
4:00 – 5:30 PM
Networking Reception & Happy Hour

Summit Theme

Artificial Intelligence in healthcare has moved beyond proof-of-concept. The critical question is no longer "Can AI work?" but rather:

How do we validate it, regulate it, deploy it, reimburse it, and scale it responsibly across real healthcare systems?

The Lonestar HealthTech & AI Summit 2026 convenes four essential stakeholders — Academia, Commercial Industry, Policy Leaders, and Healthcare Systems — to bridge the gap between algorithmic innovation and system-wide implementation.

Panels

Panel 01
The Validation of AI

Moderator: Effie Andrikopoulou MD, MBA, FACC, FASE

  • Jordan Strom MD
  • Cristina Gutierrez MBA
  • Umair A. Shah MD, MPH
  • Jagat Narula MD, PhD, MACC

Discussion Question

How do we validate AI in healthcare in a way that simultaneously:

  1. Demonstrates measurable clinical efficacy against real-world patient outcomes,
  2. Ensures reliability, safety, and contextual appropriateness of large language models and AI systems within the environments in which they are deployed, and
  3. Prevents the amplification of health disparities, ensuring these technologies improve outcomes across diverse and underrepresented populations?
Panel 02
The ROI of AI

Moderator: Henry Peck

  • John Mattison MD, PhD
  • Dustin Haines
  • Chris Hanna MBA
  • Asif Ahmad MBA

Discussion Question

What does the journey from regulatory clearance to recurring revenue for AI products actually look like? Specifically:

  1. Which CPT codes, billing modalities, and reimbursement frameworks currently offer the strongest revenue potential for AI-enabled clinical tools?
  2. What payer contracting and enterprise sales strategies give an AI company the fastest path to scalable, predictable revenue?
  3. What specific steps must a company execute after FDA clearance to bridge the gap between regulatory approval and actual market adoption?
Panel 03
The Regulation of AI

Moderator: Pat Dunn PhD, MBA

  • Alexander J. "AJ" Blood MD, MSc, FACC, ABOM
  • Michalis Papadakis PhD
  • Hassan A. Tetteh MD, MBA
  • Ronald A. DePinho MD

Discussion Question

How do we build a regulatory framework that keeps pace with the speed of AI innovation? Specifically:

  1. How should regulators continue to evolve approval pathways to accommodate adaptive, self-improving AI systems and rapidly evolving diagnostic algorithms?
  2. What frameworks are needed to regulate the explosion of AI-enabled wearable devices and personalized diagnostics entering the market at unprecedented speed?
  3. How do we strike the right balance between enabling innovation velocity and maintaining rigorous safety standards that protect patients across diverse clinical settings?
Panel 04
The Value of AI

Moderator: Gabriele Niederauer PhD, FAIMBE

  • Marat Fudim MD, MHS
  • Ken Nelson
  • Maria Palombini MBA
  • Tariq Qureshi MD, MPH, FACOG

Discussion Question

Where is AI creating the most measurable operational value inside health systems today? Specifically:

  1. In which operational areas is AI delivering the most quantifiable return on value right now— workflow automation, clinical documentation, readmission prevention, or resource allocation?
  2. How are health systems measuring and attributing real-world impact such as time saved, clinician burden reduced, and costs avoided in a way that justifies continued AI investment?
  3. How do we ensure that AI-driven value creation reaches underserved and diverse patient populations equitably — rather than concentrating gains in well-resourced health systems and widening existing disparities in care?

Sponsored by

Lone ★ StarHealthTech AI 2026From Bench to Bedside

Agenda

Panel Descriptions & Discussion Questions

February 27, 2026|TMC³, Houston, Texas|8:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Presented by CRI and MODI Ventures

Summit Theme

Artificial Intelligence in healthcare has moved beyond proof-of-concept. The critical question is no longer "Can AI work?" but rather:

How do we validate it, regulate it, deploy it, reimburse it, and scale it responsibly across real healthcare systems?

The Lonestar HealthTech & AI Summit 2026 convenes four essential stakeholders — Academia, Commercial Industry, Policy Leaders, and Healthcare Systems — to bridge the gap between algorithmic innovation and system-wide implementation.

Event Schedule

8:00 – 9:00 AM

Registration & Networking Breakfast

9:00 – 9:15 AM

Opening Remarks & Summit Kickoff

Sponsors: JPMorgan Chase and Wilson Sonsini

Asif Ali MD / Amir Ali / William "Bill" McKeon, President and CEO of the Texas Medical Center (TMC)

9:15 – 10:00 AM

PANEL 01 The Validation of AI

Moderator: Effie Andrikopoulou MD, MBA, FACC, FASE

Panelists:

• Jordan Strom MD

• Cristina Gutierrez MBA

• Umair A. Shah MD, MPH

• Jagat Narula MD, PhD, MACC

10:00 – 11:00 AM

PANEL 02 The ROI of AI

Sponsor: Echo IQ

Moderator: Henry Peck

Panelists:

• John Mattison MD, PhD

• Dustin Haines

• Chris Hanna MBA

• Asif Ahmad MBA

11:00 – 11:10 AM

Break

11:10 – 11:15 AM

XENTER IO: Richard J. Linder

Chairman & CEO

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM

Opening Keynote

“The Future of Healthcare is Not Just Intelligent Algorithms — It is Intelligent Systems.”

David Rhew MD

Global Chief Medical Officer & VP Health Life Sciences Microsoft

12:00 – 1:15 PM

Lunch & Sponsor Showcase

1:15 – 2:10 PM

PANEL 03 The Regulation of AI

Sponsors: Cairdio and Kencore

Moderator: Pat Dunn PhD, MBA

Panelists:

• Alexander J. "AJ" Blood MD, MSc, FACC, ABOM

• Michalis Papadakis PhD

• Hassan A. Tetteh MD, MBA

• Ronald A. DePinho MD

2:10 – 3:00 PM

PANEL 04 The Value of AI

Sponsors: FirstHX and Tabia Health (~5 min intros)

Moderator: Gabriele Niederauer PhD, FAIMBE

Panelists:

• Marat Fudim MD, MHS

• Ken Nelson

• Maria Palombini MBA

• Tariq Qureshi MD, MPH, FACOG

3:00 – 3:10 PM

Break

3:10 pm

Prismecs CEO: Junaid Ali

3:10 – 4:00 PM

Keynote

"Life, Death and Data: Leading AI at the Edge of Human Care."

Dr. Hassan Tetteh MD, MBA

Johns Hopkins University

Co-Founder, AI MINDSystems Impact

4:00 – 5:30 PM

Networking Reception & Happy Hour

Panel 01

The Validation of AI

Moderator: Effie Andrikopoulou MD, MBA, FACC, FASE

  • Jordan Strom MD
  • Cristina Gutierrez MBA
  • Umair A. Shah MD, MPH
  • Jagat Narula MD, PhD, MACC

Discussion Question

How do we validate AI in healthcare in a way that simultaneously:

  1. Demonstrates measurable clinical efficacy against real-world patient outcomes,
  2. Ensures reliability, safety, and contextual appropriateness of large language models and AI systems within the environments in which they are deployed, and
  3. Prevents the amplification of health disparities, ensuring these technologies improve outcomes across diverse and underrepresented populations?
Panel 02

The ROI of AI

Moderator: Henry Peck

  • John Mattison MD, PhD
  • Dustin Haines
  • Chris Hanna MBA
  • Asif Ahmad MBA

Discussion Question

What does the journey from regulatory clearance to recurring revenue for AI products actually look like? Specifically:

  1. Which CPT codes, billing modalities, and reimbursement frameworks currently offer the strongest revenue potential for AI-enabled clinical tools?
  2. What payer contracting and enterprise sales strategies give an AI company the fastest path to scalable, predictable revenue?
  3. What specific steps must a company execute after FDA clearance to bridge the gap between regulatory approval and actual market adoption?
Panel 03

The Regulation of AI

Moderator: Pat Dunn PhD, MBA

  • Alexander J. "AJ" Blood MD, MSc, FACC, ABOM
  • Michalis Papadakis PhD
  • Hassan A. Tetteh MD, MBA
  • Ronald A. DePinho MD

Discussion Question

How do we build a regulatory framework that keeps pace with the speed of AI innovation? Specifically:

  1. How should regulators continue to evolve approval pathways to accommodate adaptive, self-improving AI systems and rapidly evolving diagnostic algorithms?
  2. What frameworks are needed to regulate the explosion of AI-enabled wearable devices and personalized diagnostics entering the market at unprecedented speed?
  3. How do we strike the right balance between enabling innovation velocity and maintaining rigorous safety standards that protect patients across diverse clinical settings?
Panel 04

The Value of AI

Moderator: Gabriele Niederauer PhD, FAIMBE

  • Marat Fudim MD, MHS
  • Ken Nelson
  • Maria Palombini MBA
  • Tariq Qureshi MD, MPH, FACOG

Discussion Question

Where is AI creating the most measurable operational value inside health systems today? Specifically:

  1. In which operational areas is AI delivering the most quantifiable return on value right now— workflow automation, clinical documentation, readmission prevention, or resource allocation?
  2. How are health systems measuring and attributing real-world impact such as time saved, clinician burden reduced, and costs avoided in a way that justifies continued AI investment?
  3. How do we ensure that AI-driven value creation reaches underserved and diverse patient populations equitably — rather than concentrating gains in well-resourced health systems and widening existing disparities in care?