PhD Student and CDHI member Marinja Principe recently had the opportunity to participate in two important events: the HealthDARES, organized by ETH Zürich, and the Swiss Implementation Science Conference IMPACT focused on strengthening implementation science in Switzerland.  Here, she shares her reflections on what she learned during these events, and how she’ll be applying her learnings moving forward.

“At Health DARES, discussions centered on moving beyond technological enthusiasm toward establishing robust regulatory, ethical, and methodological guardrails for AI in healthcare. Exchanges with leading researchers, representatives of regulatory bodies, and industry partners converged around a central theme: innovation must be aligned with accountability. AI systems should not only be technically advanced but also clinically meaningful, safe, and transparently evaluated.

The IMPACT Conference highlighted a complementary challenge: even the most robust evidence-based interventions often fail to reach routine clinical practice. With only a small proportion of proven interventions implemented, and an average lag of over a decade, the discussion underscored the urgency of integrating implementation science principles early in the development of digital and AI-driven tools.

Together, both events reinforced a key message: responsible AI innovation must go hand in hand with implementation strategy and genuine interdisciplinary collaboration. Bringing together perspectives from academia, regulatory authorities, industry, and clinical practice highlighted that meaningful progress in digital health requires alignment across sectors. Without structured pathways to translation and cross-disciplinary coordination, even the most promising digital therapeutics risk contributing to research waste rather than improving patient care.”