Emily
Lewis
Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Lead at UCB
"Building AI Strategy That Serves Patients, Not Just Pipelines"
"Building AI Strategy That Serves Patients, Not Just Pipelines"
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Session: Building AI Strategy That Serves Patients, Not Just Pipelines
As AI adoption accelerates across the life sciences, many organizations have successfully embedded AI into discovery, development, and operational workflows—yet far fewer can demonstrate that these advances meaningfully improve patient outcomes. This panel explores what it truly means to build an AI strategy that serves patients, not just pipelines.Drawing on real-world examples from drug discovery, clinical development, real-world evidence, and post-market engagement, the discussion will examine how patient-centric AI strategies differ from pipeline-optimized ones. Panelists will address how decisions about data sources, model objectives, evidence standards, and deployment contexts can either reinforce existing inefficiencies or reorient organizations toward measurable patient benefit.
Key themes include aligning AI use cases with unmet clinical needs, designing evidence generation strategies regulators and clinicians can trust, embedding human oversight where patient risk is highest, and resisting the temptation to equate technical performance with clinical value. The panel will also explore governance and incentive structures that ensure AI investments prioritize long-term patient impact over short-term productivity gains.
Attendees will leave with a clearer framework for evaluating AI initiatives through a patient-centered lens, understanding the leadership decisions required to operationalize that lens at scale, and recognizing the organizational shifts needed to ensure AI strengthens, not dilutes, the core mission of improving human health.
Key Takeaways
- An effective AI strategy in the life sciences is defined not by how much it accelerates pipelines, but by how clearly it improves patient outcomes and that requires leaders to anchor AI decisions in clinical relevance, evidentiary rigor, & accountability
Bio
Emily Lewis is a pioneer at the intersection of artificial intelligence, digital health, and life sciences. With nearly two decades of leadership across biopharma, clinical research, and emerging technology, she has become one of the foremost voices shaping the responsible design, deployment, and governance of AI in healthcare. Named one of Fierce Healthcare’s Rising Stars in HealthTech, Emily is sought after by industry, academia, and policymakers alike for her ability to translate AI breakthroughs into real-world impact—accelerating drug discovery, improving clinical trial efficiency, transforming patient engagement, and advancing equitable access to care.Academic Foundations
Emily’s academic training—spanning public health, epidemiology, and regulatory science—established the foundation for her career-long mission: to harness advanced technologies for patient benefit. Holding a Master’s in Clinical Research and Regulatory Administration from Northwestern University, she pairs scientific rigor with technological foresight, ensuring that AI innovations meet the highest standards of clinical validity, ethical responsibility, and regulatory compliance.
Professional Track Record & Achievement
Emily has built a distinguished record of delivering ambitious, high-impact AI initiatives across the life sciences, including agentic AI architectures for R&D acceleration, digital evidence-generation frameworks, and AI-enabled solutions that advance both scientific rigor and operational performance. Her work consistently sets new benchmarks for innovation within complex global organizations.
Organizational and Industry Influence & Thought Leadership
Emily has shaped enterprise-wide AI strategies, guided executive decision-making, and helped redefine how leading biopharmaceutical companies structure themselves for an AI-driven future. Across the industry, she is recognized as one of the most forward-thinking voices on modern AI adoption, contributing to conversations that impact standards, regulatory thinking, and long-term strategic direction.
Emily is a globally recognized thought leader, with nearly 30,000 professionals following her insights on LinkedIn. She is frequently invited to keynote international conferences, contribute to policy forums, and serve as an advisor to healthcare innovation accelerators. Her writing and speaking consistently push the field forward—advocating for explainable AI, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and frameworks that balance innovation with patient safety and trust.
As a Fellow of HITLAB and an active contributor to the Digital Medicine Society, Emily not only advances technical innovation but also nurtures an ecosystem where inclusivity, transparency, and accountability remain central to AI adoption.
Social Impact
Emily’s work has had substantial social impact, particularly in therapeutic areas where unmet need is high. She has championed AI-enabled solutions that enhance early diagnosis, personalize care pathways, expand treatment access, and improve the lived experience of patients and families. Her efforts consistently center on improving health outcomes and reducing barriers to care.
Leadership
A highly respected leader, Emily mobilizes multidisciplinary teams, elevates AI literacy across functions, and fosters a culture of responsible innovation. She is known for her ability to align scientific, technical, and business stakeholders and to lead organizations through complex transformation with clarity, empathy, and vision.
Global AI Leadership & Innovation
At UCB Biopharma, Emily serves as the resident global subject matter expert in AI, advising executive leadership and R&D teams on how AI, from large language models and natural language processing to computer vision and agentic architectures, can redefine the life sciences value chain. Her achievements include:
Redefining Clinical Development: Designed and implemented the industry’s earliest applications of telemedicine and AI-enabled decentralized trials, years ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic while at Science37.
Pioneering AI-Driven Biomarkers: Advanced novel digital endpoints and software as a medical device (SaMD) solutions for neurodegenerative diseases, establishing frameworks now referenced across regulatory and scientific communities.
Scaling Remote Monitoring: Spearheaded the deployment of Virtual Motor Exams for Parkinson’s patients, combining passive and active digital biomarkers; this breakthrough remains a cornerstone example in digital health policy debates.
AI for Market Access & Equity: Applied AI-driven analytics to payer policy intelligence, scenario planning, and access strategy, ensuring innovative medicines reach patients in rare and underserved populations.
Agentic AI in Care Delivery: Championed the development of patient-facing AI avatars and clinical decision support systems, setting new benchmarks for human-AI collaboration in healthcare.
Mentorship & Advocacy
Passionate about developing the next generation of leaders, Emily mentors rising professionals, with a particular focus on empowering women in AI and FemTech. She actively supports global coalitions to align AI innovation with health equity, working to ensure that breakthroughs serve diverse populations and reduce disparities in care.
Areas of Expertise
Generative AI, agentic AI, and hybrid intelligence systems
Large and small language models, NLP, and computer vision
AI-enabled digital biomarkers and SaMD development
Clinical trial innovation: decentralized, remote, and hybrid designs
Payer intelligence, real-world evidence, and market access AI
Global AI policy, ethics, and governance frameworks
Impact
Emily’s influence transcends organizational boundaries. She is widely recognized as one of the few leaders capable of bridging the gap between scientific discovery, technological innovation, and systems-level healthcare transformation. Her work continues to inspire a new generation of AI-enabled solutions that not only transform how medicines are developed and delivered, but also redefine what equitable, patient-centered healthcare can and should look like worldwide.
Emily is a firm believer in giving back to the digital health community. She is an active member of the Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (AAIH) and Coalition for Healthcare AI (CHAI). She works closely with Stanford’s Emerging Applications Lab (SEAL) as well as the OpenNotes initiative. She works closely with the Digital Medicine Society, a 501c3 dedicated to the advancement of the safe, effective, ethical, and equitable use of digital technologies to improve lives through research, education, and community building. She is currently serving on the team creating the Implementing AI In Healthcare Playbook. She serves as a Fellow at Healthcare Innovation and Technology Lab (HITLAB), judging challenges, speaking at summits, and mentoring junior professionals through their early careers in digital health. She is passionate about inspiring the next generation of female leaders and constantly looking for ways to highlight the achievements of innovators.
Supporting many strategic initiatives in change management and digital transformation, Emily has demonstrated a commitment to harnessing the power of IT to positively transform health and healthcare. Her leadership and impact on the industry, advocacy for inclusive policies, and commitment to mentorship demonstrate her leadership and dedication to advancing digital health.
