Dr. Leonardo Bonilha is a physician-scientist and professor of neurology with over two decades of clinical and research experience. He currently serves as Clinical Director for USC Brain Health, Senior Associate Dean for Research at the USC School of Medicine in Columbia (SOMC), and Associate Vice President for Health Sciences at USC. He also co-leads the AI in Medicine Extracurricular Track at SOMC. Board-certified in Neurology, Epilepsy, and Clinical Neurophysiology, Dr. Bonilha’s research centers on brain network adaptations to injury, with a focus on language recovery after stroke and neural mechanisms in epilepsy. He has authored more than 290 peer-reviewed publications and has led multiple clinical trials advancing the understanding of brain function and rehabilitation.

Shannon A. Bowen, Ph.D., is a leading scholar and professor in communication and organizational ethics at USC. She serves as Chair of the AI Ethics Advisory Board (AI EAB) and faculty affiliate of the USC AI Institute. She is Executive Director of the Global Strategic Communication Consortium, a non-profit of leading scholars focused on futurism and ethics. Her 2025 Handbook is titled, ”Innovations in Strategic Communication: AI, Futures and Directions” (Edward Elgar Publishers). Bowen’s research focuses on ethical decision-making in organizations, with extensive work on public relations, stakeholder engagement, and digital ethics. She is a Page Legacy Scholar, recipient of the College of Information and Communications Leadership in Scholarship Award, and was editor of Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. Bowen earned her Ph.D. in Communication and Mass Communication from the University of Maryland, an M.A. from USC, and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Charles “Chuck” Carter, MD, is Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Vice Chair for Academics at the USC SOMC, and serves as GME Executive and Designated Institutional Official for Prisma Health Midlands. He is a clinical professor of family medicine at USC. Dr. Carter earned his MD from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine and completed the family medicine residency at Palmetto Health Richland, serving as chief resident. He also completed a faculty development fellowship at Georgetown University School of Medicine and is board-certified. His career focuses on graduate medical education, cardiovascular disease prevention, migraine management, diabetes care, and professional development for family medicine specialists. Awards include the USC SOM Distinguished Young Physician Alumni Award, the Clinical Practice Teaching Award, and the SC AHEC Halford Award.

Anthony D’Elia is an Adjunct Professor at the USC Joseph F. Rice School of Law, where he serves on the Advisory Board for the TechInLaw Collaborative. His work focuses on the intersection of technology, privacy, and law, advising on data privacy, incident response, and IT policy.  He previously served as South Carolina’s Chief Privacy Officer and before that, served as Data Privacy and Cyber Counsel at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and as Chief Information Security Officer and Assistant General Counsel for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. A former clerk for Chief Judge James E. Lockemy of the S.C. Court of Appeals and a combat veteran of Afghanistan, D’Elia is also a frequent speaker on ethical and professional issues in technology and artificial intelligence.

Professor Jacqueline Fox teaches law at the Joseph F. Rice School of Law at USC, focusing on healthcare law, bioethics, and the intersection of law and healthcare financing. She earned her J.D. and LL.M. from Georgetown University, completed a postdoctoral Greenwall Fellowship at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown, and was a Donaghue Visiting Scholar at Yale University. She recently completed a Fulbright Global Scholar fellowship at Oxford University’s Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and Melbourne Law School. Professor Fox’s research examines how healthcare financing methods impact patient care and equity, and she has published extensively in leading law and bioethics journals. She teaches Torts, Public Health Law, Health Law & Policy, and Bioethics.

Jonathan L. Gleason, M.D., is Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer for Prisma Health, South Carolina’s largest healthcare system, where he oversees clinical strategy, care transformation, the Prisma Health Medical Group, and the academic enterprise. He is the architect of the Pulse Program, a platform-enabled clinical operating system driving measurable improvements in quality, safety, efficiency, and patient experience. He has been recognized as a Becker’s Top CMO (2022–2024) and HLTH Hall of Fame inductee (2023). He also serves as board trustee at Furman University, advisor to Genial Care, and clinical professor at USC School of Medicine, Greenville, Clemson University, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Previously, Dr. Gleason served as Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer at Jefferson Health, leading clinical quality and integration across a major academic health system. His work focuses on healthcare improvement, patient safety, health equity, and care for people with disabilities. He earned his M.D. from the Medical College of Georgia and completed residency and fellowship training in OB/GYN and Female Pelvic Medicine.

Randall (“Randy”) Hood is a founding partner at McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips, LLC, where he has spent more than 25 years advocating for individuals and families affected by serious injury or wrongful death. A certified specialist in Medical Malpractice Law by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys, Randy has been recognized as a Super Lawyer ten times over the past decade. A former President of the South Carolina Association for Justice, he is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), the American Association for Justice, the Melvin Belli Society, and the National Trial Lawyers Association. In 2021, Randy helped secure a historic $88 million settlement for the Charleston Nine, one of the largest civil rights settlements for individual cases in U.S. history.

Bobby Miller is the Senior Assistant Dean for Education Projects and Executive Director for Medical Educational Continuous Quality Improvement at the USC SOMC, joining in September 2024. He previously served as Vice Dean for Medical Education at Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, where he also held interim dean responsibilities and contributed to LCME accreditation, international partnerships, and development of the Physician Assistant program. Dr. Miller earned his undergraduate and M.D. degrees from Marshall University, completed a dual internal medicine and pediatrics residency, and a neonatal/perinatal medicine fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine. A recognized leader in medical education and quality improvement, he has received multiple honors, serves on the LCME, and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications.

Gary Moore has served as the Assistant Dean for Academic Technology at the USC Joseph F. Rice School of Law since 2012, where he leads the school’s technology strategy to enhance teaching, learning, and scholarship. He is also the Executive Director of the TechInLaw Collaborative, overseeing its symposia and the LegalTech CLE Seminar Series. Moore is a member of the University Division of IT’s Technical Review Board (TRB), which evaluates and approves technology projects and investments, and he co-chairs the University’s Information Technology Community (ITC), fostering collaboration and shared governance across IT teams. A member of multiple university-wide IT committees and co-chair of the University Division of IT unITe working group, Gary plays a key role in advancing interdisciplinary innovation in legal education. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Hofstra University and is a member of IEEE and IAPP.

Zoe Niesel is a Professor of Law at the USC Joseph F. Rice School of Law, where she teaches Civil Procedure, Legal and Equitable Remedies, and Drafting with Generative AI. Her scholarship explores the intersections of law and technology, civil procedure, federal courts, administrative law, and innovations in legal education, with recent work focusing on AI in judicial review and complex federal jurisdictional issues. She has published in journals including Alabama Law Review, Indiana Law Journal, Tulane Law Review, and SMU Law Review, and is co-author of Legal Research Guide: Patterns and Practice (Carolina Academic Press, 8th ed. 2019; 9th ed. forthcoming 2026), integrating AI into legal research. An active contributor to legal education, Professor Niesel has presented nationally and internationally on civil and administrative procedure, AI in the legal profession, and pedagogy. Prior to joining USC, she served as the Albert Herrmann Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at St. Mary’s University School of Law. She earned her J.D., summa cum laude, from Wake Forest University School of Law and a B.A., magna cum laude, from Southern Methodist University.

The Patient Engagement Studio (PES), affiliated with USC School of Medicine Greenville, is dedicated to transforming science so that it truly serves patients. Through collaborative, patient-centered projects, the studio connects researchers, clinicians, and community members to develop meaningful health solutions. Recent initiatives have engaged patients with diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and breast cancer from both urban and rural communities, as well as launched the Virtual Patient Engagement Studio to reach underserved populations through technology. Led by a core team of patients, scientific experts, and a director, PES supports the design and implementation of research studies, health products, and services across the Academic Health Sciences Center. Guided by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the studio ensures that patients and community voices inform every stage of research—helping bridge the gap between discovery, care, and real-world impact.

Professor David Sella-Villa joined the USC Joseph F. Rice School of Law in 2024, where he teaches and researches law and technology, privacy, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. He previously served as South Carolina’s Chief Privacy Officer and held legal roles in both government and the private sector. A Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP), his scholarship has appeared in leading law journals, and he is active in the Sedona Conference Working Group on Data Security and Privacy Liability. He holds a J.D. from William & Mary Law School and an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics.

Elizabeth (“Liz”) Shirkey is the Executive Director of IT Service and Customer Engagement and Associate Vice President for IT Transformation at USC. A strategic and innovative IT leader, she focuses on transforming people, processes, and technology to drive better outcomes. Liz has overseen initiatives including the Garnet AI Foundry and USC’s partnership with OpenAI/ChatGPT, and she co-leads Women in IT, supporting mentorship, coaching, and networking across campus. She brings expertise in ServiceNow implementations, Agile and business transformation, strategic planning, and organizational change management.

Homayoun Valafar, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of Computer Science and Engineering at USC, Director of the USC AI Institute, and Director of the Bioinformatics Core for the INBRE Project. He also co-leads the AI in Medicine Extracurricular Track at USC SOMC. His research bridges AI, machine learning, computational biology, and medical informatics, with a focus on protein folding and molecular interactions. Since 2004, he has led multi-million-dollar projects, securing nearly $100M in funding, and has mentored numerous postdoctoral fellows, Ph.D., M.S., and undergraduate students. Valafar has authored over 165 peer-reviewed publications, holds patents, and is recognized internationally for his contributions to computational medicine and bioinformatics.

Bryant Walker Smith is an associate professor in the School of Law and (by courtesy) the School of Engineering at the University of South Carolina, as well as an affiliate scholar at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School.

Trained as a lawyer and an engineer, Smith advises cities, states, countries, and the United Nations on emerging transport technologies. He coauthored the globally influential levels of driving automation, drafted a model law for automated driving, and taught the first legal course dedicated to automated driving [pdf] (in 2012). Smith is currently writing on what it means for a company to be trustworthy. His publications are available at newlypossible.org.

Before joining the University of South Carolina, Smith led the legal aspects of automated driving program at Stanford University, clerked for the Hon. Evan J. Wallach at the United States Court of International Trade, and worked as a fellow at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He holds both an LL.M. in International Legal Studies and a J.D. (cum laude) from New York University School of Law and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin. Prior to his legal career, Smith worked as a transportation engineer.

Patrice Weiss is a board-certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist and serves as Chief Medical Officer for Prisma Health Medical Group, Midlands, and Chief Academic Officer for Prisma Health. She is a Clinical Professor of Ob/Gyn at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, USC SOMC, and the Clemson University School of Health Research. A recognized leader in physician leadership, patient safety, medical education, and academic integration, Dr. Weiss has held executive roles at Carilion Clinic and Lehigh Valley Hospital, chaired the ACOG Committee on Patient Safety and Quality Improvement, and served as an oral board examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She earned her M.D. from Hahnemann University (Drexel) and completed her residency at Lehigh Valley Hospital.