Charles Taylor, inventor of a health care artificial intelligence system which served more than 400,000 patients, will lead UT’s new Center for Computational Medicine, according to a Jan. 13 press release.

Taylor, professor of internal medicine at the Dell Medical School and chair in computational medicine at the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, hopes to continue his research on cardiovascular diseases while simultaneously developing the new The University of Texas Medical Center. He said Austin will have a significant leadership role in technology.

“UT, with a fairly new medical school (and) building a new academic medical center, is so exciting, really one of the things that really sold me on (leading the center),” Taylor said.

Taylor’s AI technology uses medical imaging techniques and artificial intelligence to help diagnose coronary artery disease. Taylor said he wants to bring his experience to develop his ideas beyond research and expand technology access to patients. 

“Taylor’s talent and expertise in developing research breakthroughs into tools for preventive care, diagnosis and healing are unmatched,” said Claudia Lucchinetti, dean of Dell Med, in a press release. “We have assembled the building blocks to become a powerhouse in a field that’s driving many of the most important health care advances of our time.”

The center will create a bridge between the Oden Institute and Dell Med connecting researchers and clinicians, allowing undergraduate students to interact more with the medical school.

 “The new Center for Computational Medicine will help us grow and expand our educational programs at the interfaces of computing and health care,” said Oden Institute director Karen Willcox in an email.

Taylor said he wants to contribute to the University’s “hospital of the future” as much as possible. 

“We don’t get many opportunities in life to do things that we can look back on (and) feel like we really contributed something that made the world a better place,” Taylor said. “What’s wonderful to see is there’s support from top to bottom (from) the University … and community.”

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story included an incorrect number. This has been corrected. The Texan regrets this error.