Dmitry “Dima” Strakovsky is fostering collaborations between creative disciplines and health care through an innovative initiative at the University of Kentucky.

Creative Link for Advancing Digital Health (Creative Link) brings together multidisciplinary teams to take on big challenges in STEM + H Education (science, technology, engineering, math and health sciences) and supports commercialization efforts aimed at making real differences in health care in Kentucky and across the country.

“Creative Link is a way to get the creatives from one side of campus to talk to the health care side of campus,” said Strakovsky, associate professor in the School of Art and Visual Studies in UK’s College of Fine Arts. “We try to define creatives in the most open way possible, spanning a number of different colleges and units.”

Some of the UK colleges and units collaborating with Creative Link include the UK College of Nursing, College of Medicine, the IBI Center for Artificial Intelligence and the Center for Innovation in Population Health.

The initiative has already launched groundbreaking projects by tapping into the expertise of its cross-disciplinary teams on campus with focuses on conversational AI, adaptive device prototyping and digital tooling.

“We often generate training data sets for our large language models, with guidance, for example, from the College of Public Health or the College of Medicine,” Strakovsky said. “These experts bring real experience with patients and clients allowing us to address specific gaps.”

Large language models are machine learning models that can comprehend and generate human language text. 

Strakovsky emphasizes that quick prototyping of potential solutions has been instrumental in the success of Creative Link.

“We can prototype incredibly fast. When I say fast, I quite literally mean days to weeks, not months.”

One of the initiative’s standout efforts is a project from the College of Health Sciences. Toys with a Purpose focuses on working with families and children of all abilities to develop adaptive solutions for toys. The goal is to ensure that every child, regardless of their ability, can play alongside their classmates and siblings.

“Very often, this means adapting a toy. For example, a child can press a switch to interact and fully engage in play with others,” Strakovsky said.

Strakovsky says the project’s collaborative approach is grounded in its dedication to creating meaningful, practical solutions.

“People often come to the creative side of campus with a specific request, like, ‘Can you make this?’” Strakovsky said. “We respond with, ‘Yes, but wouldn’t it be more interesting to collaborate and tap into what we know about design, art and cultural processes?’”

Creative Link’s reach is expanding through internal support from the Office of the Vice President for Research’s Emerging Themes Program, part of the Research Leadership Academy, which Strakovsky says has opened doors to new connections across campus.

“Before submitting our proposal, I spoke to over 40 people across campus,” Strakovsky said. “Some of those conversations directly parlayed into projects we are doing now.

“Also, frankly, for someone who is coming from a fine arts background, it was really interesting to get an introduction to how folks from more science and health science backgrounds function.”

About Creative Link for Advancing Digital Health

Creative Link for Advancing Digital Health brings together investigators from the arts, humanities and other creative disciplines with biomedical researchers and providers to identify gaps in health care and develop innovative digital solutions. Learn more about Creative Link here.  

About the Emerging Themes for Research program
Strakovsky is one of six UK researchers participating in the Research Leadership Academy’s Emerging Themes for Research program. The purpose of the program is to support emerging research that creates, grows and sustains a healthier, wealthier and wiser Kentucky. Learn more about Emerging Themes for Research here.