HELD to the LIGHT Summit

COLLABORATIVE TO END
RACE-BASED MEDICINE

DETROIT

CERM Detroit Upcoming Event

Held to the Light:

Race, Code & Consequence in the Age of AI - Virtual Summit
Beyond the algorithm: confronting race-based medicine, exposing encoded bias, and building a scientifically just, community-accountable future.

LOCATION:
Virtual Summit
DATE and TIME:
Thursday, October 29th, 2026, 3-5pm ET.

Summit Agenda

3–3:10 p.m. - 10 minutes

Welcome & Topic Overview

Opening welcome and framing of the summit’s purpose.

3:10–3:35 p.m. - 25 minutes

Keynote

Keynote address by Jameila “Meme” Styles.

3:35–4:25 p.m. - 50 minutes

Panel

Moderated conversation with four panelists.

4:25–4:40 p.m. - 15 minutes

Audience Q&A

Questions and reflections with the keynote speaker and panelists.

4:40–4:50 p.m. - 10 minutes

Performance Art

Song, poetry, and/or rap and hip-hop performance.

4:50–5 p.m. - 10 minutes

Call to Action & Adjourn

Close with actionable next steps and an invitation to continued engagement.

Distinguished Speaker List

Dr. Donyale Padgett
Vice Provost of Inclusive Excellence · Wayne State University
Co-hosting the summit with CERM-D through Wayne State University’s Office of Inclusive Excellence.

Jameila “Meme” Styles
MPA · President & Founder, MEASURE
A social innovator integrating anti-racist technology and data-justice frameworks to support BIPOC communities.

Dr. Ijeoma Nnodim Opara
MD, FAAP, FAIM · Physician-Scientist · Founder & Co-Chair, CERM-D
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Wayne State University, double board-certified clinician, implementation researcher, and responsible-AI leader. Her work advances the dismantling of race-based clinical algorithms and community-engaged AI in health.

Expert and Community Dialogue
Panelists
Four perspectives spanning health policy, clinical AI, trustworthy systems, and data justice.

Dr. Seun Ross
DNP, CRNP · Founder, IMBUE Health Strategies
A health policy and implementation science expert focused on eliminating algorithmic bias and structural barriers to health.

Dr. Judy Wawira Gichoya
MD · Associate Professor of Radiology, Emory University · HTI Lab
Leads research on AI bias, dataset diversity, and real-world evaluation of machine learning in healthcare.

Lori Perine
MS · Doctoral Candidate & Guest Researcher in AI and Bias, NIST
Focuses on trustworthy AI design, sociotechnical systems, data privacy, and inclusive digital collections.

Lana James
PhD · AI, Medicine and Data Justice Postdoctoral Fellow, Queen’s University
Examines how AI is reshaping healthcare practice, public health, law, and human rights.

The Summit Objectives

01 Describe how historical and contemporary medical and scientific racism shapes the data, assumptions, and systems used in artificial intelligence.

02 Analyze how AI can reproduce, amplify, or obscure racial bias and race-based medicine across research, education, and clinical care.

03 Critically evaluate AI-enabled tools for scientific validity, equity, transparency, and potential harm.

04 Explain the importance of community leadership, lived experience, and accountability in the design and governance of health AI.

05 Identify actionable strategies to challenge encoded bias and advance scientifically rigorous, equitable, and community-accountable AI.

Who shapes the code?

This virtual summit brings together healthcare professionals, researchers, technology experts, institutional leaders, and community advocates to examine how artificial intelligence may reproduce or amplify medical and scientific racism. Hosted by the Collaborative to End Race-Based Medicine–Detroit (CERM-D) and the Wayne State University Office of Inclusive Excellence, the summit will explore encoded bias, race-based medicine, and actionable pathways toward scientifically rigorous, equitable, and community-accountable AI.
A cross-disciplinary conversation about race-based medicine, data justice, implementation, policy, and shared accountability.
Questions guiding the conversation
Our shared inquiry moves from systems and consequences toward leadership and action.