GURI Award Helps UT Recruit Charles Taylor, Global Leader in AI Health Care Technology

AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Texas at Austin has been awarded a 2025 Governor's University Research Initiative (GURI) grant to recruit the director of its new Center for Computational Medicine. Charles A. Taylor, a globally recognized leader in applying artificial intelligence to health care technology to dramatically improve cardiovascular disease diagnosis, joined UT earlier this year with a vision to make Austin a hub for digital health care innovation.

The Center for Computational Medicine is a collaboration between UT's Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences and Dell Medical School, anchor of the University of Texas Medical Center. The Center for Computational Medicine will develop innovative medical applications and modeling to simulate disease progression, predict outcomes and individualize care. This pioneering computational approach is foundational to the world-class, integrated academic health system taking shape at UT.

"Texas leads the nation for Tier One research universities and is home to some of the brightest minds whose advancements in research and innovative new technologies are changing the world," said Gov. Greg Abbott. "I congratulate Dr. Charles Taylor, a distinguished researcher and member of the National Academy of Engineering, on his award from the Governor's University Research Initiative to lead the new Center for Computational Medicine at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Taylor is an internationally recognized leader in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and digital twin technology. Through his world-class knowledge, he will further develop advanced medical applications leveraging artificial intelligence. Texas will continue to invest in higher education research by attracting top-tier researchers from around the world through the GURI program, improving the lives of Texans for generations."

"The excellence of UT is built on world-class faculty like Dr. Taylor and sustained by the support of Gov. Greg Abbott and the UT System Board of Regents," said UT President Jim Davis. "We are incredibly grateful to our state leaders for their support through the Governor's University Research Initiative."

As the founder of Heartflow, Taylor developed a noninvasive tool that uses imaging to simulate and assess blood flow through the coronary arteries - the first AI-enabled technology to be included in cardiology clinical practice guidelines. In 2023, The New England Journal of Medicine AI recognized it as the most widely adopted artificial intelligence technology in U.S. health care.

In addition to being a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, Taylor was elected to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2007. He received a Ph.D in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. Taylor holds the W.A. "Tex" Moncrief, Jr. Chair in Computational Medicine at the Oden Institute and is a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Dell Med.

Taylor is the third UT recipient of the GURI grant program since it was enacted by Abbott in 2015. The matching grant program assists eligible higher education institutions in the state in recruiting distinguished researchers, with the goal to bring world-class researchers to Texas universities to spur innovation and economic activity.