Introducing the DI2 Accelerator — the new home for WashU Digital Transformation.
What We Do
The DI2 Accelerator, born from Washington University’s Here & Next strategic plan for Digital Transformation, represents a bold vision for success in the new digital economy.
The DI2 Accelerator will expand and support work in the digital domain to grow research excellence, enhance and strengthen educational experiences for our students, and enable operational excellence.
Our goals include:

Amplify and accelerate the activities of researchers and innovators working in prioritized digital domains.

Inform the architecture and operations of data and computing infrastructure needed to position the university as a “living laboratory” for digital transformation.

Embed digital competencies into teaching and learning at all levels.
What’s Next

Our year 2 objectives are ambitious — and will touch a range of disciplines across the university. Here are just a few.
- Launch an External Advisory Board, complementing the existing university-wide Internal Advisory Committee.
- Advance a proposal for a strategic cloud computing partnership to address research computing and data analytics at a university-wide level.
- Develop a strategic roadmap for AI research and practice across all academic units.
- Host two major convening events, including an AI & Digital Health Summit on Oct. 18-19.
- See the full list of year 2 objectives here.

Digital Solutions Studio
Launched in early 2023 as part of the DI2 Accelerator, the DSS helps faculty bring their research to life through software engineering and development assistance
Convening Events


May 6-8, 2024
Washington University hosts the third installment of Digital Universities US, in collaboration with Inside Higher Ed and Times Higher Education.

AI & Digital Health Summit
Thank you for joining us for two days of field-leading speakers, engaging panel discussions and networking with the community working in this space at WashU. Watch Atul Butte, PhD, deliver the keynote address, ‘From Data to Diagnosis to Delivery: Artificial Intelligence in Precision Medicine,’ now.
Meet the Team
An interdisciplinary team from across the university is working together to transform the way we do things.
Yongs Shin, Committee Chair
Douglass C. North Distinguished Professor in Economics
Chandler Ahrens
Associate Professor, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
Peter Boumgarden
Director and Professor of Practice, the Koch Family Center for Family Enterprise
Lily Dollan
Academic Advisor, University College Patrick Fowler
Tammy English
Associate Professor, Psychological & Brain Sciences
Patrick Fowler, PhD
Associate Professor, Brown School
Director, Doctoral Program in Public Health Sciences
Greg Hart, PhD, MBA
Chief Technology Officer
Ray Irving
Director, Center for Digital Education
Tao Ju
Professor and Associate Chair of Research, Computer Science and Engineering
Pauline Kim, JD
Daniel Noyes Kirby Professor of Law
Katherine Krajcovic, EdD, MBA, PMP, SHRM-SCP
Executive Director Clinical Affairs and Business Operations
Albert Lai, PhD
Chief Research Information Officer, School of Medicine
Deputy Director, Institute for Informatics, Data Science and Biostatistics (I2DB)
Professor of General Medical Sciences, School of Medicine
Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering
II Luscri
Managing Director and Assistant Vice-Provost, Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Joe MacDonald
Assistant Provost and Director of Strategy, Transformation, and Impact
Thomas Maddox, MD, MSc
Professor of Medicine
Vice President, Digital Products and Innovation, BJC HealthCare
Mary McKay, PhD, MSW
Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Initiatives
Jacob Montgomery, PhD, MS
Professor, Political Science
Chair of Political Science Track for Division of Computational and Data Sciences
Alvitta Ottley, PhD, MS
Assistant Professor, Computer Science & Engineering
Philip R.O. Payne, PhD, FACMI, FAMIA, FAIMBE, FIAHSI
Janet and Bernard Becker Professor and Director, Institute for Informatics
Associate Dean and Chief Data Scientist
Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Neil Richards, JD, MA
Koch Distinguished Professor in Law
Director, Cordell Institute
Betsy Sinclair, PhD, MS
Chair, Political Science
Professor, Political Science
Liberty Vittert, PhD
Professor, Practice of Data Science
Richard Wahl, MD
Professor, Radiology
Director, The Edward Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Head of the Department of Radiology
Professor, Radiation Oncology
Elizabeth E. Mallinckrodt Professor of Radiology
Pam Woodard, MD
Professor, Radiology
Senior Vice Chair, Division of Radiological Sciences
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Professor, Pediatrics
Professor, Medicine
Hugh Monroe Wilson Professor of Radiology
Philip R.O. Payne, PhD, FACMI, FAMIA, FAIMBE, FIAHSI
Janet and Bernard Becker Professor and Director, Institute for Informatics
Associate Dean and Chief Data Scientist
Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Rachel Hauck
Portfolio Manager II, Office of Health Information and Data Science
Andrea Krussel, MA
Director of Education and Workforce Development, Office of Health Information and Data Science
Madeline Kuklo
Program Coordinator, Office of Health Information and Data Science
Albert M. Lai, PhD, FACMI, FAMIA
Chief Research Information Officer, School of Medicine
Deputy Director, Institute for Informatics, Data Science and Biostatistics (I2DB)
Professor of General Medical Sciences, School of Medicine
Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering
Cynthia L. Marich, MLitt
Executive Director, Office of Health Information and Data Science
Carter Staley
Marketing/Social Media Coordinator, Office of Health Information and Data Science
Laura Swofford
Director of Marketing and Communications, Office of Health Information and Data Science
Janice Woodcock
Manager of Administrative Services and Support; Assistant to the Associate Dean, Office of Health Information and Data Science
Anastasia Zylka
Portfolio Manager, Office of Health Information and Data Science
Carmen Quinn
Administrative Coordinator II

Join Us for Coffee
Curious about Digital Transformation? Have ideas? Want to get involved? Every Thursday, you can join Philip R.O. Payne, Digital Transformation lead, and the Digital Transformation implementation team for coffee while talking all things digital transformation.
Innovation in Action

Digital Solutions Studio Helps Bring Data to Life
This pilot program pairs software engineers with faculty to create useful ways to share research findings.

New Dashboard Helps Researchers Study the Existential Issues of Our Time
The Digital Solutions Studio built the St. Louis Data Dashboard in less than 12 months — an endeavor that would’ve otherwise taken three to five years.

A Project that Studies Origin Stories Gets Its Happily Ever After
The Digital Solutions Studio helped create Stories That Win, a website WashU researchers are using to collect and analyze fairytales and origin stories.

Digital Transformation initiative launches at Washington University
WashU is mobilizing research, education and patient care to establish the university, and St. Louis, as a global hub for transformative solutions to our deepest societal challenges.
Get Involved
Together, we’ll find the spark to drive what’s next.
Get the latest updates from the DI2 Accelerator.