Health Innovation
& Technology
Interest Group · HUCM HIT
A student-run organization at Howard University College of Medicine. Founded in 2022, we explore how AI, digital health, medical devices, and entrepreneurship can transform healthcare — and how physicians can be at the forefront of that change. From AI coding workshops and health tech networking events to community service at McKinley Tech, we are dedicated to impacting healthcare both inside and beyond the bedside.
What We've Done
Past Events
A snapshot of the workshops, panels, and experiences we've created for the HUCM community.
Psychiatry x HIT: Dr. Clara Guo, MD, MBA
Co-hosted with the HUCM Psych Interest Group, this conversation featured Dr. Clara Guo — Yale Psychiatry resident and co-founder of Lucid Care — exploring the intersection of psychiatry, innovation, and digital mental health. Students gained insight into building health tech companies from within medicine.
How to Use AI to Code – No Experience Needed
Hands-on workshop led by CEO Yusuf Ashktorab focused on building websites, visualizing algorithms, and using AI to supercharge research and digital presence. Featured Google AI Studio and Gemini Canvas as tools to turn ideas into real working code.
DC Medicine Mixer
A collaborative networking event with Grapevyne Health and ClinX Academy bringing together med students and residents from Howard, GW, and Georgetown around shared interests in innovation, entrepreneurship, and healthcare leadership.
Tips for M1 Year: Using AI to Learn and Honor Your Exams
Panel event for the incoming M1 class featuring Yusuf Ashktorab, Marshall Mendoza, Harry Wu, and Rebecca Brighton sharing AI tools and study strategies to help students study smarter and build a strong foundation in first year.
VisualDx Partnership Event
Exclusive event with VisualDx — the award-winning clinical decision support system trusted by 2,300+ hospitals worldwide. Students explored how cutting-edge technology is transforming clinical diagnosis and advancing health equity in dermatology.
McKinley Tech Community Service & Anatomage Demo
Community service event at McKinley Tech High School led by Alex Mills, demoing the Anatomage table to expose pre-med students to innovative academic resources. Part of our mission to extend health tech education beyond the walls of HUCM.
Tech Talk Q&A: Shiv Gaglani, Osmosis
Tech Talk and Q&A with Shiv Gaglani, MBA — Founder and former-CEO of Osmosis.org (now from Elsevier) and Medical Student at Johns Hopkins. The conversation spanned medical education, business, entrepreneurship, technology, and physician leadership.
Leveraging Generative AI in Psychiatry
Virtual panel featuring Roaa Jambi, MD and Ritvij Satodiya, MD exploring how generative AI is advancing applications in medical science — with a focus on psychiatry. Hosted via Zoom as part of our Advancing AI Applications in Medical Science series.
Building Buzz Health: Health Tech Internship Talk
Speaker event featuring @dvn.jr sharing the journey of creating Buzz Health and what it takes to land stellar health tech internships. Students got an inside look at health tech entrepreneurship and career pathways.
SNMA Region 6 Regional Leadership Institute
HIT members led a breakout session on Health Tech at the SNMA Region 6 RLI hosted by SNMA Howard. One of the first events showcasing our mission on a regional stage.
Inside the Health Tech Landscape: Entrepreneurship, AI, and More
Q&A panel with physician leaders immersed in healthcare technology, entrepreneurship, AI, and venture capital — featuring Pitou Devgon MD, MBA (Healthcare Entrepreneur & Angel Investor), Dereck Paul MD (Cofounder & CEO, GlassHealth), and Abiodun Otolorin MD (Family Physician, Clinical Informatics). Introduced by Prof. William Southernland, Ph.D.
EMR Rollout Think Tank
Co-hosted with the HUCM New Freedmen's Clinic, this think tank explored the clinic's transition from paper to electronic medical records. Featured Heidi Collins, VP of Clinical Systems & Associate Chief Information Officer at UCSF Health, and offered students hands-on opportunities in medical informatics.
Day in the Life: UCSF Chief Health Information Officer
Virtual fireside chat with Russ Cucina MD, MS — Chief Health Information Officer at UCSF Health — on the day-to-day of a CHIO at a major academic health system and navigating a career in informatics and leadership while maintaining clinical practice.
A Day in the Life: Google Physician Edition
The very first HIT event — co-hosted with HUCM Business and Medicine — featuring Charles DeShazer MD, Director of Clinical Products at Google. Students got an inside look at what it means to be a physician working in Big Tech and shaping the future of clinical tools.
The People Behind HIT
Leadership Team
The dedicated students driving health innovation at HUCM.
Founder of HIT and passionate physician-scientist leveraging AI to address health disparities. Created RALLM-O and Pimprr to supercharge medical education and leads the club's mission to bridge medicine and technology at HUCM.
Serves as Vice President of HUCM HIT, helping lead club strategy and operations alongside the executive team to advance the mission of health innovation at HUCM.
Leads AI strategy and initiatives for HUCM HIT, exploring how artificial intelligence can advance medical education, clinical decision-making, and health equity.
Manages the financial operations and funding strategy of HUCM HIT, ensuring sustainable growth and resources for the club's events and initiatives.
Serves as Chief of Staff managing club operations, correspondence, and records. Excited to learn more about the health tech industry and help grow HIT.
Coordinates community outreach initiatives including mentoring pre-med students at McKinley Tech and partnering with local organizations to extend the impact of HUCM HIT beyond the bedside.
Leads innovation and technology initiatives for HUCM HIT, identifying emerging tools and trends that can advance health equity and medical education.
Leads networking initiatives and partnerships for HUCM HIT, including community outreach events like the Anatomage demo at McKinley Tech. Dedicated to growing HIT's community impact.
Co-leads networking strategy and external partnerships for HUCM HIT, helping connect students with leaders across health tech, digital health, and medical innovation.
Builds and maintains relationships with health tech companies and industry partners, creating pathways for HUCM students to connect with the broader health innovation ecosystem.
Oversees internal club operations and governance for HUCM HIT, ensuring clear communication and coordination across the leadership team.
Represents the M4 class within HUCM HIT, bridging the perspective of senior medical students with the club's broader mission in health innovation.
Born and raised in Arizona, Gavin studied Chemical Engineering at Stanford before medical school. Brings experience in engineering, computer science, and wet-lab research with a passion for technology and hardware.
Represents the M2 class within HUCM HIT, passionate about the future of health technology and its role in transforming patient care.
Brings experience from Boston Consulting Group to the HIT team. Passionate about the intersection of healthcare, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Comes with a background in biomedical engineering and 3D printing in medicine. Serves as a liaison for the M1 class, sharing event info and growing the HIT community.
Founder of HUCM HIT and ongoing advisor to the club. Instrumental in establishing the vision for health innovation and technology at Howard University College of Medicine.
Get in Touch
Contact HIT
HUCM HIT is a Howard University College of Medicine student organization. Follow us on Instagram to stay up to date on events, or reach out directly with questions, partnership inquiries, or speaker opportunities.