Downstate/UAlbany Debut AI Mental Health Tools at Global Summit
By Office of the President | Oct 7, 2025
On September 19, Downstate joined prestigious partners at the SUNY Global Center in
Manhattan for the inaugural Annual Summit of the Global Center for AI in Mental Health (GCAIMH), titled “Resilient Innovation in Mental Health Through AI and Global Partnerships.” The event brought together SUNY colleagues, international collaborators, and leaders
from IBM, Google, Amazon, the United Nations, and McKinsey to showcase how artificial
intelligence is transforming mental health care and moving solutions from research
labs into practice.
David Christini, Ph.D., Senior Vice President for Research and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, opened the program alongside GCAIMH co-founders Kesh Kesavadas, Ph.D., of the University at Albany (UAlbany), and Pradeep Kakkattil of the Health Innovation Exchange (HIEx), emphasizing the Center’s collaborative foundation. Salvador Dura-Bernal, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Physiology & Pharmacology at Downstate and Director of GCAIMH, followed with an overview, and a later panel unveiled prototypes, sparking discussion.
Speakers throughout the day highlighted practical innovations. Dr. Dura-Bernal and colleagues presented two generative AI prototypes developed in collaboration with IBM and Google: one designed to deliver psychological first aid in disaster zones and another to provide psychotherapists with real-time, evidence-based guidance. Partners from Grand Challenges Canada, the McKinsey Health Institute, and Google also introduced a new Field Guide on AI and Mental Health, offering participants a practical playbook for responsible innovation.
The program also featured United Nations representatives, Emily Knowles, program manager of the Global Victims of Terrorism Support Programme, and Zeinab Hijazi, Global Mental Health Lead at UNICEF, who emphasized the importance of rights and equity in AI applications—particularly those designed for children and adolescents. Poster sessions and startup booths kept energy high, with demonstrations of emerging neurotech and AI tools tailored for resource-limited communities.
Seed funding from Governor Hochul’s SUNY-STRIVE Artificial Intelligence Strategic Plan made GCAIMH possible, and the Summit fulfilled a key promise of that support. Early milestones include installing high-performance computing resources for Center members, affiliating 30 Downstate faculty across psychiatry, neurology, genomics, physiology, pharmacology, and public health, launching cross-disciplinary research projects, designing an Advanced Certificate in AI, Society, and Mental Health, and expanding partnerships with academic, industry, and humanitarian organizations worldwide.
GCAIMH also presented its work on a global stage earlier this year, participating in a panel at the World Health Organization in Geneva. With strong backing from UAlbany and HIEx, and rooted at Brooklyn’s only health sciences university, GCAIMH advances bold ideas into deployable AI solutions while positioning Downstate and SUNY as leaders in ethical, impact-driven mental health innovation.
Thanks go to Downstate faculty, students, and staff, including Tarek Khashan, Ayesha Joshi, Ph.D., Tirtha Ratnam, and Rose Jackman, MPH, whose commitment made this inaugural conference an outstanding success. Their contributions helped shape an exceptional event and advanced the shared mission of bringing innovation and equity to global mental healthcare.
Videos from the Summit can be accessed here (Part 1 and 2) and here (Part 3). Please see the gallery below for photo coverage.
