Karthik V. Sarma MD PhD FAMIA

I am a physician and computational health scientist at the University of California, San Francisco, where I am affiliated with the Psychiatry RRTP and the Clinical Informatics Fellowship. I founded the UCSF AI in Mental Health Research Group (AIMHealth). I am also co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at SimX. Previously, I was mentored by Atul Butte at UCSF and by Corey Arnold at UCLA. At UCSF, I work with the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, and the Division of Clinical Informatics and Digital Transformation.

At UCSF, my research focuses on the development of novel artificial intelligence techniques for clinical applications, with a focus on using large language models to interpret patient and clinical text, perform clinical reasoning, and assist in the delivery of clinical care. I am also studying how the use of consumer-facing AI chatbots interactions with mental illness, with a particular interest in the phenomenon described in the media as “AI-associated psychosis.” In collaboration with colleagues at the Stanford Brainstorm group, I’m working to develop methods for measuring and simulating these interactions.

At SimX, I lead technology strategy. Previously, I led the company’s advanced development division, which focused on next-generation technology projects in artificial intelligence and extended reality. I also founded our internal modeling and simulation research laboratory, the Virtual Advancement of Learning for Operational Readiness (VALOR) Program. Prior to the acquisition of the company by Madison Industries, I served as Principal Investigator for our $20M+ extramurally funded research program aimed at improving the art and science of virtual medical simulation training.

I am also a member of the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association (AMA), where I represent the American Psychiatric Association and am co-chair of the Informatics Caucus. I am also a member of the House of Delegates of the California Medical Association ( CMA) and its Councils on Medical Service and Legislation. Previously, I was a member of the Board of Trustees of the AMA and CMA, the Butte Lab at UCSF, and the UCLA Biomedical AI Research Lab. I am a Fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association.

I received my MD PhD from UCLA, and my BS (Hons) from the California Institute of Technology. I currently live in San Francisco, CA and am a native of Chicago, IL.