Hollis L. Albright, MD ’31 Symposium | March 30th, 2026

Topic; "Accelerating Discovery: How A.I. is Transforming the Lab"; JOIN US

Join us as Marinka Zitnik, PhD, associate professor of biomedical informatics at HMS, will discuss how artificial intelligence is transforming research, accelerating discoveries, and opening new frontiers in understudied areas. You’ll also hear how HMS is building infrastructure for A.I.-driven work, collaborating with external partners, and training the next generation of leaders in A.I.-enabled scientific discovery.

Monday, March 30th

Noon – 1 p.m. ET | 9–10 a.m. PT

This symposium will be accessible virtually. A Zoom link will be sent to registrants.

WELCOME REMARKS BY

Tenley Albright, MD ’61, on behalf of the Albright family

HOSTED BY

George Q. Daley, AB ’82, MD ’91, PhD

Dean, Harvard Medical School

FEATURING KEYNOTE SPEAKER; Marinka Zitnik, PhD

Accelerating Discovery: How AI is Transforming the Lab

Marinka Zitnik, PhD, is an associate professor in Harvard Medical School’s Department of Biomedical Informatics and an associate faculty member at the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Harvard University. She investigates the foundations of AI to enhance scientific discovery and facilitate individualized diagnosis and treatment in medicine.

Before joining Harvard, Zitnik was a postdoctoral scholar in computer science at Stanford University and a member of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub at Stanford. She received her bachelor’s degree with a double major in computer science and mathematics and, three years later, earned a PhD in computer science from the University of Ljubljana while also conducting research at Imperial College London, the University of Toronto, Baylor College of Medicine, and Stanford University. She is the recipient of the 2022 Young Mentor Award at HMS.

PRESENTATION OF THE 2026 ALBRIGHT SCHOLAR AWARD

Besmira Alija, MD, Class of 2026 and

Aparna Nair-Kanneganti, MD Class of 2026

Besmira Alija was born in Albania and raised in New York City. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Hunter College, majoring in biological sciences and interdisciplinary studies. In 2022, she began her studies at Harvard Medical School, where she has continued a strong trajectory in research and clinical care. At Harvard, Alija has taken on several leadership roles, including involvement in the HOPE Scholars Program, the Medical Justice Alliance, the Massachusetts General Hospital Austen Surgical Society, and the HMS Surgical Education Committee.

Aparna Nair-Kanneganti is a fourth-year medical student in the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and a native of Cleveland and New York City. She holds a Bachelor of Science in applied physics from Yale, and her undergraduate work seeded an interest in the physics of soft biological systems. Funded by the Harvard Medical School Martin Prince Fellowship, Nair-Kanneganti investigates physics-based reconstruction for medical ultrasound images. She aims to deliver accurate images at minimal cost, enabling surgical planning for resource-deprived patients.