On January 15, students leaned forward in their seats with infectious enthusiasm as Dr. Jared Parrish shared his insights on applying AI to data science in public health.
A former BYU alumnus turned maternal health epidemiologist, Parrish’s mission as a medical practitioner is to improve real-world health outcomes. By integrating data science with public health practice, he aims to address complex health challenges in innovative ways. To introduce this new approach, Parrish shared a harrowing yet ultimately inspiring historical event.
“In 1925, the community of Nome, Alaska, was in dire straits,” Parrish said, gesturing to an image of the snowy Alaskan territory. “They were experiencing a dangerous diphtheria outbreak, but their isolation made it impossible to receive the anti-toxins they needed to survive.” Parrish explained that due to the harsh weather conditions, rescuers couldn’t reach the community by boat or plane. High mortality rates, especially among the community's young children, seemed likely. And then: a miracle. “A group of people from different disciplines came together and performed a sort of relay race to get this anti-toxin to this community,” Parrish recounted. “They traveled the 674 miles from Nenana to Nome in six days under extreme arctic conditions. When no path seemed available to them, they worked together to forge a new one.”
Inspired by this story, Parrish made it his life’s work to forge a similar path in science. Drawing on his training across multiple disciplines, he applies data science and large language models to support and serve underprivileged mothers and children. By bringing these fields together, Parrish is able to chart new routes forward, much like those who once united to save Nome.
“Data science has really cool computational methods that are excellent at identifying patterns, while public health is really good at approaching things ideologically,” Parrish explained. “Bringing these two together, I developed what's called the Alaska Longitudinal Child Abuse and Neglect linkage project.” The project uses the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) survey, administered both directly after birth and three years post-birth. The survey questions include queries about pre-birth household challenges like illicit drug use in the home, mental illness, incarceration of a relative, and job instability. Bringing these surveys together, Parrish and his team are able to study the accumulation of pre-birth and post-birth adversities and their effect on children.
“We found that the number of pre-birth household challenges were associated with an increase in child welfare contacts,” Parrish shared. “And yet, if you decrease the adversity, the probability of contact with Child Protective Services goes down.” Encouraged by this data, Parrish began developing an app that screens for early risk factors in pregnant mothers and delivers insights directly to clinical providers. Administered on a tablet, the screener guides individuals through a brief questionnaire, beginning with basic patient information and followed by a series of yes-or-no questions.
Hannah Tran (MS ’26, BIO), an attendee at the seminar, spoke eagerly about the relevance of Parrish’s work, pointing out that, “This kind of research is what AI is going to be great for. I'm hopeful that it will be used to help us improve the quality of care we give to the general public.”
Parrish, who is intimately aware of how often pregnant mothers encounter adversity without support, has brought to fruition the transformative research Tran hopes for—he uses his screener to identify risk early and connect individuals with targeted support. Once a clinician has access to this information, they can connect expectant mothers to social services, mental health resources, substance-use counseling, or community-based programs tailored to their specific needs. Rather than reacting after harm has occurred, providers can prevent issues from developing.
Parrish ended his remarks with a reminder that forging new paths requires both courage and faith. “Inspiration often comes after I make a decision and act upon it,” he shared. “If you follow and trust in Jesus Christ, He will direct you.” Embodying the spirit of the Nome relay rescuers, Parrish illustrates how health professionals can protect and uplift vulnerable communities. Students left the seminar with a renewed sense of empowerment and a desire to bring diverse disciplines like AI and epidemiology together in their own research as boldly as Parrish did.