Panorama of conference attendees sitting in a large hall and listening to a speaker

CLHSS Holds Largest Ever Advances in Learning Health System Sciences Conference

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The University of Minnesota Center for Learning Health System Sciences (CLHSS) ended September with its third annual Advances in Learning Health System Sciences (AiLHSS) conference. 

Taking place on September 22 at the McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota (UMN) campus, the conference focused on how to build bridges and sustain success in learning health systems (LHS) research during changing and challenging times. 

Improving the quality, value, and outcomes of health care demands new forms of collaboration between researchers and research users, including patients, clinicians, administrators, and others. Recent surveys of health system leaders indicate that the lack of mechanisms for convening is one of the biggest challenges for developing and scaling innovations within systems and across the state.

This year was the  largest conference yet, discussing how to innovate and improve patient care in a collaborative and concerted manner
AiLHSS featured three nationally acclaimed keynote speakers, as well as sessions covering implementation science, digital health, data sharing, and other pressing LHS topics.

We received over 70 quality abstract submissions, which were highlighted through poster and plenary sessions. Poster presentations covered a range of themes, including data science and informatics; education, engagement, and real-world evidence; and implementation science.

Our People’s Choice Best Poster Award went to Chanhee Kim (UMN), Larry Chen (UMN), Sarah Solarz (MDH), and Sripriya Rajamani (UMN/MDH) for their poster entitled “Review of Standards-based Electronic Case Reporting (eCR) for Public Health Surveillance”. 

The conference was followed by a half-day of supplemental workshops on Tuesday, September 23. Attendees either received expertise and feedback to develop Implementation Science studies or attended the MN EHR Consortium Annual Meeting, where consortium members connected and explored the organization’s direction for the coming year.

This year’s event was made possible through funding from a range of health systems and related organizations, including Children's Minnesota, the UMN Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Mayo Clinic, Fairview Health Services, the MN EHR Consortium, HealthPartners, and Gillette Children's. Their generous support reflects the interest healthcare leaders have in LHS and the value they can bring to patient care delivery.

Thank you to our sponsors, attendees, and everyone who made the conference a success! We look forward to seeing AiLHSS continue to grow and transform in the coming years. If you would like to join us at the 2026 AiLHSS conference, you can sign up for our mailing list to receive updates on next year’s event.

Additionally, our closing keynote speaker, Dr. Karandeep Singh, was recently featured in a podcast episode by NEJM AI. If you would like to hear more about his thoughts on AI in healthcare, we encourage you to listen to this conversation.

Until then, consider joining our iMpact seminars, a monthly webinar series that explores the many facets and dimensions of impact that the ideas, technologies, and practices presented have on learning health systems. Register now: z.umn.edu/clhssimpact