Degui Zhi

Degui Zhi serves as Glassell Family Professor and founding Chair of the Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine at UTHealth Houston's McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics (MSBMI), where he also directs the Center for AI and Genome Informatics (AIGI). Previously a tenured associate professor of statistical genetics at University of Alabama at Birmingham, he leads one of the nation's first dedicated bioinformatics departments.

His educational credentials include:

• PhD in Bioinformatics, University of California, San Diego (2006)
• MS in Computer Science, National University of Singapore (1999)
• BS in Computer Science, Beijing University (1997)

Dr. Zhi pioneers AI methodologies for biomedical data at scale, developing frameworks like Med-BERT for clinical data, gene2vec for genomic embeddings, and unsupervised models for imaging genetics. His research bridges deep learning with population genomics through PBWT-based algorithms, recently expanding into generative AI applications for scientific discovery in biobank-scale datasets.

Key recognitions include:

• Elected Fellow, American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI)

With over $20 million in active PI/MPI grants, his lab drives innovations in AI-powered brain/retina imaging genetics, EHR predictive modeling, and population informatics. As educator, he launched the Texas Medical Center's first deep learning course in 2018, shaping next-generation biomedical data scientists through hands-on AI training. The Center for AI and Genome Informatics (AIGI) functions as his primary research engine, fostering collaborations across clinical departments for translational AI development.