Chief Medical Education Officer & Board Chairman, SchoolMe Assistant Dean for Simulation in Medical Education, Vanderbilt University Medical Center Director, Center for Experiential Learning and Assessment (CELA) Professor of Medicine and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University Director, Science and Technology of Robotics in Medicine (STORM) Lab USA
ORCID: 0000-0001-8654-7290 • LinkedIn • STORM Lab • Vanderbilt Profile
Bio
Keith Obstein is a gastroenterologist, medical device inventor, and medical education scientist who sits at the rare intersection of clinical medicine, mechanical engineering, and adult learning theory. He was recruited to Vanderbilt in 2010 to develop an endoscopic technologies program and now holds primary appointments in both Medicine and Mechanical Engineering.
As Director of the STORM Lab, Keith leads one of the world’s premier programs in robotic and magnetic endoscopy. His team developed the magnetic flexible endoscope — a first-in-human technology for performing colonoscopy without traditional insertion, designed to make the procedure more acceptable, accessible, and safer for patients, especially those with inflammatory bowel disease.
As Director of CELA and Assistant Dean for Simulation in Medical Education, Keith oversees Vanderbilt’s enterprise simulation infrastructure — the operational backbone for trauma-related educational programs including ATLS, ASSET, and multidisciplinary acute care, surgical, and trauma courses across the health system.
Entrepreneurial & Innovation Track Record
- Co-Founder, Board Chairman & Chief Medical Education Officer, SchoolMe — AI-enabled, competency-based educational platform that applies ACGME milestone frameworks to identify and close learner gaps across cognitive, technical, and professional domains.
- Magnetic Flexible Endoscope — First-in-human clinical trial completed 2025. (Obstein et al, Am J Gastroenterol, 2025)
- Innovator of the Year Award, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2023)
- Medica KUKA Innovation Award (2019)
- Overall Winner & Best Application Prize, Surgical Robot Challenge, Hamlyn Symposium (2016)
Research Program
Keith’s research spans robotic and advanced endoscopy, medical device development, simulation-based training, AI-enabled education, and healthcare quality improvement. He is Principal Investigator on an NIH R01 focused on magnetic endoscopy for patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
He leads the gastroenterology component of the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering (VISE).
Selected Publications
- Obstein KL, Landewee CA, Martin J, et al. The Magnetic Flexible Endoscope: Phase 1 First-in-Human Clinical Trial. Am J Gastroenterol. 2025.
- Mamunes AP, Campisano F, Martin J, Scaglioni B, Mazomenos E, Valdastri P, Obstein KL. Magnetic flexible endoscope for colonoscopy: an initial learning curve analysis. Endosc Int Open. 2021.
- Shah BJ, Onken JE, Edgar L, et al (incl. Obstein KL). Development of Gastroenterology and Transplant Hepatology Milestones 2.0. Gastroenterology. 2021.
- Obstein KL, et al. Evaluation of colonoscopy technical skill levels by use of an objective kinematic-based system. Gastrointest Endosc. 2011.
Full list on PubMed.
National Leadership
- Chair, Gastroenterology Training Exam Committee, American Gastroenterological Association (AGA)
- Education Council, American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE)
- Fellow, AGA, American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), and ASGE
Academic Credentials
- MPH — Harvard School of Public Health (Clinical Effectiveness), 2010
- Fellowship, Gastroenterology — Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 2010
- Residency, Internal Medicine — Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2007
- MD — Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 2004
- BS, Biomedical Engineering — Johns Hopkins University, 2000
Board Certification
- Gastroenterology, American Board of Internal Medicine (2011 – present)
Role in the KEV.AI Lab
Keith leads the lab’s work on competency-based AI educational frameworks — mapping learner performance to ACGME milestone domains, designing adaptive curriculum pipelines, and building AI-enabled structured coaching and debriefing systems. His combined expertise in medical education science, robotics, and assessment is foundational to the lab’s AI-for-education research program.