Revolutionising Health with AI-powered Solutions: Dr. Leesa Lin’s Vision for a Healthier Future

Dr. Leesa Lin, Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), is reshaping global health innovation through a transformative integration of advanced AI, behavioral science, and community insights. As Co-Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project and head of the Digital and Behavioral Innovations Group, she leads a multidisciplinary team that uses AI, big data, and digital tools to anticipate and respond to global public health threats. Her visionary programs aim to strengthen vaccine confidence, build societal preparedness and resilience, enhance mental well-being, and improve maternal and child health outcomes through innovative, data-driven interventions. Her blend of academic rigor and innovative vision positions her to pioneer transformative AI solutions in global health. Central to her recent work is the Moonrise Initiative, an AI-powered innovative platform designed explicitly to empower women at every stage of their lives.

“Women’s health is the cornerstone of community wellness,” Dr. Lin emphasizes. “By supporting women across every stage of life, we build stronger, more resilient societies.”

From Behavioral Science to Global Systems Change

Dr. Lin’s professional journey began with studies in psychology, decision-making, and cultural dynamics at the University of British Columbia, followed by extensive research at Harvard University, where she deepened her focus on health communication and emotional well-being in both everyday and crisis contexts. These experiences solidified her belief in the significant role emotions and perceptions play in health decisions At LSHTM, she has led global initiatives such as the Vaccine Confidence Project and founded the Moonrise Initiative, which champions women’s wellness through culturally sensitive, evidence-informed strategies. Her work embodies a “Grounded Awakening”— a commitment to simplicity, clarity, and balance in navigating life’s complexities and diverse responsibilities.

AI Meets Empathy: Scaling Support through Technology

Dr. Lin’s fascination for behavioral sciences, global health, and AI stems from her understanding of the profound impact of emotions and behaviors on health outcomes. Through her work at the Vaccine Confidence Project, she recognized the importance of emotional trust, self-awareness, and personalized support in shaping meaningful health. By integrating responsible AI into these behavioral interventions, Dr. Lin’s team has diverse, empathetic, individualized support at scale, empowering individuals and improving health outcomes. These AI-powered chatbots provide real-time guidance on vaccine confidence and maternal wellness, demonstrating the potential of behavioral insights and AI to drive positive change.

A Multidisciplinary and Holistic Approach

With academic roots deeply planted in psychology, epidemiology, and implementation science, Dr. Lin ensures every technological intervention she develops is scientifically rigorous, emotionally resonant, and practically effective. This comprehensive approach is exemplified in the Moonrise Initiative, which delivers targeted support to women during different phases, acknowledging and preparing for the natural fluctuations in their health and energy levels. By doing so, the initiatives provide proactive support, promoting clarity, wellness, and balance in women’s lives.

Key Influences in Dr. Lin’s Career

Professor Heidi Larson’s pioneering research on trust, emotions, and decision-making in global health profoundly influenced Dr. Lin’s career, highlighting the significance of understanding people’s fears, hopes, and motivations. Larson’s mentorship instilled a focus on trust-building and behavioral science principles that Dr. Lin applies to her work, including the Moonrise initiative. A decade at Harvard also shaped Dr. Lin’s thinking on proactive approaches to health challenges, emphasizing foresight and early intervention. These insights converged in research on maternal and childhood vaccination behaviors, inspiring the development of Moonrise’s integrated approach to women’s holistic wellness and decision-making, which anticipated evolving needs and provides personalized support.

Tackling Urgent Global Health Challenges

At the Vaccine Confidence Project, Dr. Lin employs advanced global listening tools and predictive analytics to identify emerging health threats swiftly. Her data-driven approach balances urgency, equity, and long-term public health goals, ensuring that marginalized populations, in particular, benefit from accessible and effective health solutions.

“Pandemic preparedness is continuous,” Dr. Lin cautions. “We must embed preparedness into everyday health systems, ensuring communities are ready, resilient, and supported long before the next crisis emerges.”

Leading with Purpose

Dr. Lin leads interdisciplinary teams with the guiding principle of high standards, support, autonomy, and trust. She builds people-centered teams, unified by a strong, shared purpose, and aligns them around clear, measurable objectives. By recognizing and nurturing each member’s unique talents and contributions, Dr. Lin fosters a culture of ethics, empathy, and continuous learning. Through regular cross-disciplinary collaboration and iterative feedback, diverse specialists work together towards common goals like enhancing ethical AI use or maternal wellness. By highlighting the real-world impact of their solutions, Dr. Lin strengthens her team’s shared purpose and commitment.

Equity and Innovation by Design

Dr. Lin integrates equity deeply into her projects—from inclusive co-design with diverse communities to rigorous validation frameworks and equity metrics in AI trials. Her innovations prioritize relevance, accessibility, and cultural sensitivity, ensuring sustained, meaningful improvements in health outcomes for diverse and underserved populations.

The Moonrise Vision: A Life-Course System for Women’s Health

Through the Moonrise Initiative, Dr. Lin is developing a next-generation AI-supported wellness platform tailored specifically for women. Moonrise aims to serve as an empathetic companion, responsive to cultural contexts and committed to continuous engagement, encapsulating Dr. Lin’s broader vision of human-centered digital health.

Recognizing that women’s wellness needs evolve significantly throughout life, the initiative proactively supports women through various life stages, from puberty to healthy aging. By prioritizing anticipatory, personalized, and iterative solutions, Moonrise remains relevant and meaningful throughout each user’s wellness journey. With a commitment to equity, the initiative addresses barriers and disparities faced by underserved groups, promoting sustained, positive health outcomes for women worldwide.

Addressing Post-COVID Public Health Challenges

Recognizing that post-pandemic public health challenges are increasingly behavioral and informational, Dr. Lin advocates for proactive, personalized solutions combining behavioral science and advanced analytics. Her approach addresses escalating mental health concerns and institutional mistrust, deploying emotion-aware AI tools that provide contextually appropriate and empathetic responses to real community fears and lived experiences.

Designing for Equity, Cultural Fit, and Global Scale

Dr. Lin emphasizes cultural adaptability as foundational to her digital tools, ensuring they resonate with diverse communities from the outset. Her approach involves proactive co-design with local populations and utilizes deep cultural insights to foster genuine adoption. Continuous feedback loops and rigorous testing enable rapid refinement, promoting sustained user engagement across global markets. By aligning digital health tools directly with users’ real-world experiences and beliefs, powerful adoption pathways are unlocked, accelerating global scalability and ensuring lasting impact.

A Vision for the Future of AI in Public Health

Dr. Lin’s vision is of an AI ecosystem that amplifies public good: one that supports, not replaces; that listens, not dictates; and that builds trust rather than eroding it.

She believes that academia, funders, and global organizations must work in concert to ensure AI’s benefits are equitable and transparent. She calls for strong ethical oversight, open infrastructure, and responsible innovation—especially in how academic research powers commercial technologies.

Confronting Misinformation with Contextual Intelligence

As misinformation becomes increasingly sophisticated and emotionally compelling—particularly with the rise of generative AI—Dr. Lin is creating nuanced AI tools that proactively identify and address false narratives. Rather than merely providing factual corrections, her approach emphasizes building trust through empathetic, timely, and culturally relevant responses. By strategically employing AI to rapidly detect misinformation, her interventions deliver accurate health messaging that effectively prevents misinformation from taking root.

Guiding the Next Generation of Innovators

Dr. Lin advises emerging global health researchers to remain curious, grounded, and interdisciplinary, advocating for a deep engagement with both people and health challenges. She highlights the importance of emotional intelligence alongside technical expertise, emphasizing that meaningful AI innovation starts by profoundly understanding the human narratives behind the data.