AIM-AHEAD CLINAQ Fellowship Program

AIM-AHEAD CLINAQ Fellowship — Cohort 2

Supports clinicians at participating institutions with one-year fellowships to build AI improvement expertise.

The AIM-AHEAD CLINAQ Fellowship — Cohort 2 is a one-year, NIH-funded program running September 2, 2025 through August 31, 2026 as part of the AIM-AHEAD consortium's North Star I workforce development pillar. CLINAQ stands for Clinicians Leading Ingenuity IN AI Quality. The program trains practicing clinicians to develop AI/ML skills for health quality improvement work at AIM-AHEAD member institutions. Cohort 2 enrolled 13 fellows, selected from the Year 4 award cycle announced in January 2026.

Fellow projects in Cohort 2 include integrating electronic health records with dental records and building AI-based risk models for missed appointments at community health centers — examples that reflect CLINAQ's focus on real-world clinical workflow improvement rather than basic research. Fellows hold primary affiliations with AIM-AHEAD member institutions, and the program is categorized as a workforce development fellowship under the AIM-AHEAD Other Transactions Award (OT2OD032581). Stipend and award amounts are not published on public-facing pages; institutional affiliation with an AIM-AHEAD member organization is a prerequisite for participation.

Cohort 2 is fully active through August 31, 2026. A Cohort 3 ROA had not been posted as of May 2026, so prospective applicants — clinicians at AIM-AHEAD member institutions seeking to build AI/ML quality-improvement expertise — should watch aim-ahead.net and the coordinating center's ROA announcements for the next cohort opening. Selection follows the standard AIM-AHEAD ROA review process rather than NIH peer review.