NEWS
NORMAN, Okla. – The University of Oklahoma welcomed Siddhartha Mukherjee to campus for the Presidential Speakers Series dinner on the evening of Sept. 9 at the Oklahoma Memorial Union. Mukherjee — an oncologist, entrepreneur and Pulitzer Prize-winning author — delivered a talk titled “Research and the Future of Medicine.”
His visit comes at a pivotal time for OU, as the university accelerates its research ambitions and builds on the growing strength of its academic health system to advance discovery and improve health.
“When we talk about what an academic health system does and how it operates and what matters, the high watermark of that is [Siddhartha Mukherjee],” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. during his welcome remarks. “He’s the embodiment of what an academic health system and a physician-scientist does.”
To set the stage for the evening, Harroz highlighted the university's remarkable growth and success, with a particular focus on the academic health system.
In his keynote address, Mukherjee, a leader in applying AI-based algorithms to human medicine and clinical development, explained the cognitive age and the leaps artificial intelligence is making possible in healthcare. He shared insights into changes already underway, such as major reductions in medical research timelines, and what leaps could be possible in the future. The talk highlighted medicine design and how AI can propel advances in medicine development for the betterment of humankind.
Mukherjee is the co-founder and CEO of Manas AI, a biotechnology company pioneering advanced AI and machine-learning-driven platforms to accelerate the discovery and development of new medicines. He is an associate professor of medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. His medical research has helped reshape the understanding of cancer biology and enabled the development of novel biological and cellular therapies. He was among the earliest leaders to apply AI-based algorithms to discover human medicines and to translate these computational insights into clinical development. He is also a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
His book “The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer” won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and was named among Time magazine’s and The New York Times’ 100 best nonfiction books of the past century. He also wrote the bestseller “The Gene: An Intimate History,” which The Washington Post and The New York Times named one of the most influential books of 2016. Filmmaker Ken Burns adapted both books into a PBS documentary series.
OU Health sponsored the event, and over 700 people attended.
During his visit to OU, Mukherjee joined President Harroz for an episode of “Conversations with the President,” where they explored the future of medicine, the rapidly evolving role of AI in research and healthcare and the discoveries that could shape what comes next. Listen to the podcast here.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and healthcare needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
Jensen Moore, Ph.D., an associate professor of public relations at the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, has been elected to a three-year term on the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s Standing Committee on Professional Freedom and Responsibility.
The OU Water Technologies for Emerging Regions (WaTER) Center has awarded Barbara Evans, a leader in public health engineering and urban sanitation, with the ninth International Water Prize. Her selection was announced at the 2026 OU WaTER Symoposium.
A newly funded study at the University of Oklahoma aims to increase prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening among Black men in Oklahoma, who die from prostate cancer at rates two to four times higher than other racial groups.
