Browse objectives

Harness Rice’s expertise in targeted disciplines that produce innovative and ethical health research and high-impact health outcomes.

• Lead innovations and discoveries in engineering and basic sciences to create materials and tools for diagnostics, therapeutics, and understanding complex biological systems.
• Pioneer innovative solutions that leverage AI, advanced computing, and data analytics to drive transformative innovation in healthcare.
• Transform healthcare through research and applications that use effective teams to prioritize patient-centric care, collaborative approaches, safety, and workforce development.
• Research and develop innovative business models that help the healthcare industry adapt to an ever-evolving healthcare landscape, implement new technologies and tools, enhance operational efficiency, and foster commitment to continuous improvement.
• Set the standard in healthcare for integrating the social, cultural, and ethical dimensions of health into medical education and practice, thereby influencing positive changes in healthcare culture and delivery in Houston and beyond through Rice’s Medical Humanities Research Institute.
• Invest in biomedical innovation, commercialization, and startups at the forefront of health advancements, fostering a dynamic ecosystem of cutting-edge health solutions.
• Advance research in robotics to develop diagnostic, surgical, therapeutic, and efficient automation applications to improve health outcomes.
• Fully utilize and leverage the new joint Center for Human Performance to advance research and growth in the Kinesiology department, and bolster its research capabilities.
• Advance research on the social determinants of health, including health disparities, healthy aging, health economics, and community health.

Develop and implement innovative, accessible, and scalable health solutions and policy that empower communities to equitably achieve sustainable well-being.

• Actively contribute to the implementation of policies that foster inclusivity, reduce disparities, and improve healthcare outcomes for everyone.
• Leverage the interdisciplinary impact of Rice’s global health centers and institutes to pioneer transformative technologies and interdisciplinary solutions that advance health worldwide.
• Employ the strengths of the Baker Institute to establish Rice as the foremost health policy resource in the TMC, investigating the effects of specific policies on health disparities and healthcare delivery.
• Ensure an interdisciplinary approach to advancing brain health, positioning Rice at the center of a case for a statewide Texas Brain Institute that will provide funding and research support for brain health, similarly to CPRIT for cancer research.

Transform basic and translational research initiatives by creating partnership and research collaborations between Rice and Texas Medical Center institutions, the world’s largest medical complex.

• Increase the number of shared sponsored projects and expanded types of research funding (e.g., NIH, CPRIT) through collaborative research ventures, resource sharing, and data sharing with local partners in health-related institutions.
• Position Rice at the forefront of neuroscientific research through strategic collaborations with TMC institutions and researchers across engineering, natural science, social science, and the Baker Institute to develop innovations and improve policy on brain health.
• Increase investments to advance cancer research at Rice through Rice’s Cancer Bioengineering Center, SynthX Center, and Center for Nanoscale Imaging Sciences through collaborations with MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Dan Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine.
• Develop a digital health partnership with Methodist and others at TMC to transform data into actionable insights that will bring practical health applications and products to market.
• In partnership with TMC institutions, identify ways to strengthen the healthcare workforce by enhancing employee engagement and improving job satisfaction.
• Position the office of Educational and Research Initiatives in Collaborative Health (ENRICH – the liaison between Rice and health-related institutions of the TMC) to identify and eliminate institutional barriers to collaboration, develop networks, and provide funding for new joint initiatives and mid-level collaborative research.

Advance and expand educational opportunities in the health and healthcare professions, leveraging current academic strengths.

• Develop additional degree programs, minors, and professional certificates that allow students the opportunity to focus on specific areas of interest in the health field.
• Offer unique opportunities in the TMC for health-related educational experiences for undergraduate and graduate students through research projects and internships.
• Develop graduate programs in Kinesiology drawing on the expertise of Rice faculty and the unique opportunities through the Center for Human Performance.
• Develop graduate master’s, certificates, and noncredit programs to educate clinicians at TMC in the use of AI and data to advance healthcare.
• Expand opportunities for Rice students for careers in health-related fields, including community health and other alternative pathways.
• Improve and align processes facilitated through the Rice-hosted Rice-TMC Experiential Education Network of educational administrators to transform the movement of students between various TMC institutions.