As part of National Public Health Week, NYU GPH hosted an insightful lecture titled "AI in Health Care: From Hype to Harm Reduction," presented by distinguished alumnus Dr. Humayun "Hank" Chaudhry, DO, MS, MACP, FRCP (WSC '86, GSAS '89). As the President and CEO of the Federation of State Medical Boards, Dr. Chaudhry addressed the transition of artificial intelligence toward practical health solutions, focusing on the critical "maldistribution" of the 1.08 million physicians practicing in the U.S.. He discussed how AI and innovative licensing pathways—such as the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact—can mitigate workforce shortages and improve healthcare access. Beyond clinical benefits, the lecture highlighted the massive environmental footprint of AI infrastructure, noting that a single large data center can consume energy equivalent to half a state’s needs while generating significant noise and water pollution. Ultimately, Dr. Chaudhry emphasized that the future of public health requires mastering the "art of persuasion" to effectively combat medical misinformation.
About the Speaker:
Since 2009, Dr. Humayun "Hank" Chaudhry has served as the President and CEO of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), which co-manages the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and represents the nation’s 69 state and territorial medical and osteopathic licensing boards. He is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC. In 2022, and again in 2023, Modern Healthcare recognized him as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare. Born in Pakistan and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Chaudhry is a graduate of NYU, the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at NYU Langone Long Island Hospital, where he was Chief Resident. He served as a DIO at Long Beach Medical Center, New York, for five years, and then spent six years as Assistant Dean and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine. In 2007, he was nominated by Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and unanimously confirmed by the Suffolk County Legislature to serve as the Health Commissioner for Suffolk County, New York, overseeing the ninth largest public health department in the United States. Recipient of a number of national awards and honorary degrees, Dr. Chaudhry is Past President of the American College of Osteopathic Internists, a Master of the American College of Physicians, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London and Edinburgh). Dr. Chaudhry served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves from 1999 to 2013, rising to the rank of Major and serving as a flight surgeon at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. He is the author or co-author of more than 90 peer-reviewed articles in the medical literature, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA, and Academic Medicine, and co-author of two books. He is Secretary and Past Chair of the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities (IAMRA), which represents 49 nations.
