Virtual Forum Speakers
Ignite Speakers

Calvin Chou
Professor of Medicine
University of California, San Francisco
Calvin Chou, MD, PhD is Professor of Medicine at UCSF, and staff physician at the VA in San Francisco. As faculty with the Academy of Communication in Healthcare, he leads workshops in relationship-centered communication, feedback, conflict, and remediation in health professions education. He was a fellow of the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement in 2025-26. He is co-editor of the books Remediation in Medical Education: A Midcourse Correction; Communication Rx: Transforming Healthcare Through Relationship-Centered Communication; and Spiritual Care and Clinical Practice Transformed: At the Intersection of Vulnerability & Awe.

Laurah Turner
Associate Dean for Artificial Intelligence and Educational Informatics
University of Cincinnati
Dr. Laurah Turner, PhD, is the Associate Dean for Artificial Intelligence and Educational Informatics and Associate Professor of Biostatistics, Health Informatics and Data Sciences, and Medical Education at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She is also co-founder of 2-Sigma, an educational technology company developing AI-powered platforms for personalized learning in healthcare.
An interdisciplinary scholar with expertise in artificial intelligence, natural language processing, fuzzy logic, and educational informatics, Dr. Turner leads national and international initiatives to integrate AI responsibly into medical education. Her work focuses on leveraging multi-agent architectures, learning analytics, and adaptive assessment systems to advance precision medical education and reduce disparities in training.
She has secured multiple competitive grants, holds several patents pending on AI-driven educational platforms, and has been invited to contribute to advisory committees for the AAMC, AMA, ABMS, and the International Advisory Committee on AI in Health Professions Education.
Widely recognized as a thought leader, Dr. Turner has delivered invited keynotes, grand rounds, and workshops at leading institutions around the world. Her vision is to democratize access to individualized, mastery-based medical training by harnessing AI to scale feedback, foster equity, and capture the richness of clinical reasoning.

Ronald Epstein
Professor of Family Medicine, Oncology and Medicine
University of Rochester
Ronald Epstein MD is a family physician, teacher, researcher and writer who has devoted his career to understanding and improving patient-physician communication and clinician self-awareness and well-being. His groundbreaking research on communication in medical settings and innovative educational programs have been among the most widely cited in the literature and have had a major impact on thousands of medical practitioners and trainees. His seminal writings on physician self-awareness and clinical practice include a 1999 JAMA article, “Mindful Practice,” and his book, Attending: Medicine, Mindfulness and Humanity, which received wide critical acclaim. With Mick Krasner, he created Mindful Practice in Medicine at the University of Rochester (New York, USA), which offers Flourishing in Medicine workshops which have helped clinicians worldwide experience greater self-awareness, resilience, joy and effectiveness in practice. In addition, Dr. Epstein co-directs the Center for Communication and Disparities Research where he is Professor of Family Medicine, Oncology and Medicine (Palliative Care). A graduate of Harvard Medical School, he is recipient of numerous lifetime achievement awards relating to communication and humanism, a Fulbright fellowship in Barcelona, fellowships at the University of Sydney and the Brocher Institute in Switzerland, and, in 2018, the American Cancer Society’s highest award, the Clinical Research Professorship. He has published over 300 articles and book chapters. For further information about Dr. Epstein, please go to www.ronaldepstein.com.
Lightning Talk Speakers