VIHAR

Concept Note

Vision: To create a world where every woman and girl can benefit from a culturally contextualized Female Digital Health Twin—a lifelong, data-driven digital companion that integrates biomedical, behavioral, and social information to advance precision health, education, and well-being.

Mission: The Female Digital Health Twin Global Alliance (FDHT-GA) will unite researchers, clinicians, technologists, policymakers, and community advocates to design, validate, and deploy digital twin technologies that reflect the biological diversity and cultural realities of women’s lives. The Alliance will serve as a catalyst for the Vijayalakshmi Innovation Center in Women’s Health Analytics and Research (VIHAR) vision of comprehensive, inclusive, and ethically responsible digital health solutions.

Objectives:  Our long-term objectives along four important and integral dimensions are: 

• Scientific Innovation – Develop interoperable, life-course digital twin models (puberty, reproductive health, pregnancy, menopause, healthy aging). 

• Cultural Integration – Embed local traditions, social determinants, and community values into twin design and deployment.

• Equity & Access – Ensure participation from low- and middle-income regions and under-represented populations.

• Policy & Ethics – Establish global standards for privacy, informed consent, and responsible AI in women’s health.

Structure: 

We will create the following infrastructures to achieve the above long-term objectives:

• Steering Council: Cross-disciplinary leaders in AI, medicine, cultural anthropology and sociology, public health, and ethics.

•  Regional Hubs: Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas to foster culturally and technologically relevant partnerships.

• Working Groups: Data & Standards; Life-Stage Twin Models; Culture & Ethics; Technology & AI; Capacity Building & Education

Early Activities (Year 1)

• Founders Roundtable – Virtual workshop to finalize charter and governance.

• Pilot Demonstrations – Launch 1–2 culturally grounded projects (e.g., maternal health in Sub-Saharan Africa, menopause care in East Asia).

• Global Data Commons – Create secure, de-identified datasets with ethnographic metadata.

• Open Modeling Toolkit – Share reference algorithms and best practices.

• First Annual Summit – Showcase pilot results and expand membership.

Partnership Opportunities

The Alliance seeks collaboration with academic institutions, women’s health organizations, femtech startups, philanthropic foundations, and international bodies such as UNESCO, WHO, and UN Women. Seed funding is being pursued through global health agencies, research councils, and philanthropic donors.

We have previously laid a foundation as per below for global partnerships:

The beginnings of a potential UNESCO Chair in Global Partnerships for Digital Health and Lifelong Education is forming as well. This project brings together a multidisciplinary team committed to advancing equitable access to digital health education and lifelong learning through global collaboration. The Chair aims to reduce health disparities by leveraging cutting-edge technologies, data-driven research, and cross-sector partnerships. Led by educators and researchers in the interdisciplinary fields of biomedical informatics, machine learning, maternal and child health, global public health, and ethical AI, the Chair will:  

• Develop and disseminate open-access educational programs tailored to underserved communities; 

• Design scalable wellness protocols through digital health interventions that are culturally responsive and globally adaptable; 

• Build international capacity through mentorship, training, and professional development for the health and education workforce; 

• Inform global policy through evidence-based advocacy and strategic engagement with UNESCO, WHO, and other stakeholders. 

This Chair embodies UNESCO’s mission to foster inclusive knowledge societies by ensuring that digital health and education are accessible, ethical, and sustainable for all, with a focus on women, youth, and marginalized populations. The establishment of the UNESCO Chair in Global Partnerships for Digital Health and Lifelong Education at the University of Pittsburgh will drive innovation in digital health and education worldwide. By leveraging cross-institutional expertise and global collaborations, this initiative will create sustainable solutions that bridge the digital divide and enhance healthcare and education accessibility for all. Focusing on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, and 17), this initiative will foster international collaboration in digital health, health analytics, and lifelong learning, ensuring equitable access to high-quality healthcare education and digital health solutions worldwide. The chair will align with the research, training, and service initiatives of the Vijayalakshmi Innovation Center in Women's Health Analytics and Research (VIHAR) established in December 2024 at the University of Pittsburgh to help reduce global health disparities for women and girls. 

About Our SDG Team

 "Accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, 5, 9, 10 and 17"

Vanathi Gopalakrishnan, PhD :  Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Bioengineering, Clinical and Translational Science, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Ganesh Mani, PhD, MBA:  Adjunct faculty, Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Edith Luhanga, PhD:  Assistant research professor, Department of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University-Africa, Rwanda, Africa.

Colleen Kraft, MD, MBA:  Professor of Pediatric Medicine, University of Southern California and Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

Rita Luthra, MD (OB/GYN): Founder, Women's Health and Education Center (WHEC)

Dr. Vanathi Gopalakrishnan, VIHAR Founding Director will partner with Professors at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU): Ganesh Mani, CMU-Africa: Edith Luhanga, and University of Southern California/ Pediatrics Medicine in Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA): Colleen Kraft as co-chairs for this UNESCO project. Together, they will collaborate with Dr. Rita Luthra and her team at the NGO, Women's Health and Education Center (WHEC) to establish and sustain global partnerships for digital health innovations and lifelong learning. Based on strategic guidance from Dr. Anantha Shekhar (Dean of School of Medicine, and Senior Vice Chancellor of the Health Sciences) and Joan Gabel, Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh whose office will communicate with UNESCO officially, this chair will establish the goals of this project. Our team member, Dr. Jennifer Adibi, who serves as a VIHAR Affiliate for Global Partnerships in Public Health, will continue to establish links with Universities of Higher Education in Brazil and Finland to further Women’s wellness.