On January 29, 2026, The NIH Council of Councils approved the Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI) program to continue to its next stage.
The new stage will focus on accelerating health-related research by creating reliable tools and resources that are specifically designed to work well with AI systems used in scientific research. In its first stage, the Bridge2AI program created new, large multimodal datasets in which different types of biomedical and behavioral data are combined and can be used with AI tools. The aim for Bridge2AI Stage 2 is to build upon the resources from the first four years of the program — datasets, tools, and AI best practices — to deliver trusted solutions that address major health challenges.
This second stage of Bridge2AI will support two initiatives to propel AI health research:
- Innovation Funnels – Using AI-ready datasets (including datasets from Bridge2AI Stage1), the innovation funnels will create tools, devices, and novel insights that use AI to improve health.
- Network for AI Health Science - The program will create a network for AI health science that will bring together a network of scientific experts to develop safety measures for responsible AI use and research. This network will also build a framework to inform future AI health sciences research.
Together, the Innovation Funnels and Research Network will generate an ecosystem of research teams that will use AI-enabled tools and solutions to address key health challenges. By improving health and promoting responsible use of AI in medicine, the program aims to build public trust in AI-informed health research and care.
Bridge2AI is an NIH Common Fund program. The NIH Common Fund supports cross-cutting programs expected to have exceptionally high impact.
To learn more, visit the Bridge2AI program website and the Council of Councils meeting agenda for presentation slides and a Stage 2 program summary.
Stay up to date on new Bridge2AI activities and announcements by joining the Bridge2AI listserv.
