A Conversation With an Oncology Legend

Lita Sands, Managing Director of Life Sciences at Deloitte, is passionate about how people and technology come together to create a healthier future.   In this episode, Sands explains to Host Alex Maiersperger why life sciences organizations must strengthen their relationships with health care and ensure data and analytics form the backbone of their companies. According to Sands, technology is easy, while change management and the partnership between business and IT represent critical challenges.   When it comes to generative AI, Sands advises life sciences organizations to focus on what she calls “no regrets bets,” emphasizing the importance of a person in the loop. Tune in to learn more.

Dr. James Hildreth, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Meharry Medical College, is a passionate leader speaking about health equity, the power of AI in medicine and how aspiring physicians can be supported throughout their studies.  In this episode, Hildreth speaks about the influence of social determinants of health-on-health equity and offers advice on reducing inequities. Host Alex Maiersperger and Hildreth discuss impactful AI use cases in health care, such as the documentation of notes from patient and physician interactions, so that physicians can focus their time on the patient. Hildreth explains that AI can accelerate the discovery of disease causes, drugs and new interventions and that representation matters so that the data sets from genome sequencing also include people of African ancestry to ensure discoveries are representative of the diverse population and interventions are working. Lastly, Hildreth shares his leadership experience in making medical school more affordable for aspiring doctors and the importance of exposure to technology and AI from an early age.

Dr. Onyi Daniel, Sinai Health System Board Member and former Vice President for Data and Analytics Strategy at Highmark Health, is a passionate health tech leader who speaks about change management, AI use cases, health equity and the importance of responsible AI.In this episode, Daniel shares her leadership experience and explains why it is incremental that health care leadership can articulate the vision for technological change and define the associated value. Host Alex Maiersperger and Daniel discuss emerging AI use cases in the health care industry, such as ambient listening or code generation, which can improve productivity and experience and reduce burnout. Despite the infinite opportunities that new technologies bring, Daniel emphasizes the importance of upstream data collection, data quality, governance and inclusion, ensuring models and outcomes represent diverse populations to enhance health equity.

Artificial intelligence holds tremendous potential for advancing clinical research. On this episode of The Health Pulse podcast, host Alex Maiersperger connects with Dr. Greg Goldmacher, Associate Vice President for Clinical Research and Head of Clinical Imaging and Pathology at Merck. Goldmacher identifies AI’s ability to automate advanced image measurements and improve insight into disease biology to support clinical development. From a clinical radiology perspective, AI has the potential to improve diagnosis and opportunistic screening for earlier disease detection. Goldmacher leaves us with his thoughts on the synergies needed within life sciences organizations to bring clinical development and data science teams together and move AI projects from idea to execution.

In a world where your zip code can have as great an impact on your health as your genetic code, how can we create a healthier future for everyone? On this episode of The Health Pulse, we hear from Dr. Joyonna Gamble-George, a neuroscientist at the Yale School of Public Health, and Dr. Karriem Watson, Chief Engagement Officer of the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program, about how the All of Us program deepens our understanding of social determinants of health and addresses health care disparities.   The All of Us Research Program is a diverse, representative database composed of health data from more than 1 million people. The program has 10,000 registered users of different backgrounds and skill sets and helps them better understand and solve health challenges. Tune in to hear these health care research leaders reflect on the impact of precision medicine and how AI and other cutting-edge technology are advancing research and closing the digital divide. 

Dr. Otis Brawley, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of oncology and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, is passionate about cancer research, prevention and high-quality cancer care. He served as Chief Medical and Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of the American Cancer Society from 2007 to 2018 and has published over 200 scientific articles.   In this episode, Dr. Brawley speaks about the impact of socioeconomic factors on cancer rates. Smoking, obesity and poverty are leading causes of cancer in the United States. With cancer rates rising, Dr. Brawley emphasizes the importance of prevention and risk reduction, including healthy lifestyle choices such as regular exercise and a healthy diet. Dr. Brawley is passionate about reducing cancer care disparities and saving lives with accessible, high-quality care, including appropriate screening, diagnostics and treatments. Having the correct data and technology in place can help to identify high-risk individuals and plan interventions early to prevent diseases. Lastly, Dr. Brawley shares valuable insights on carcinogens and practical tips on how to prevent cancer.

Dr. Maya Said, Founder and CEO of Outcomes4Me, aims to empower cancer patients worldwide to be proactive about their care with information and technology. On this episode of The Health Pulse podcast, Said shares how a personal health scare illuminated for her how overwhelmed cancer patients feel when they face understanding their diagnosis and treatment options, finding the best providers and clinical trials, managing treatments and costs, and navigating their lives and relationships during treatment. The experience inspired her to launch the platform Outcomes4Me, which uses data and AI to help cancer patients become more informed and connected to improve their outcomes – at no cost.  Tune in to learn more about the role of data in addressing disparities in cancer care and how generative AI is poised to revolutionize treatment.

Dr. Michael von Wagner, Chief Medical Informatics Officer at University Hospital Frankfurt and a pioneer in interoperability, speaks about the importance of a seamless data exchange for personalized patient treatments and efficient health care systems. On this episode, Dr. von Wagner joins Alex Maiersperger to discuss health data standardization, new regulations, and two pioneering data and AI projects at University Hospital Frankfurt. A team of experts came together at the hospital to integrate data from different sources into a dashboard that monitors trends in the development of antibiotic resistance, enabling optimization of treatments. In another project, they collaborate with another major university hospital and general practitioners to combine research and clinical data on rare diseases to help GPs with evidence-based diagnoses.Dr. von Wagner is optimistic about the future of health care with AI-based solutions for clinical decision support, but also explains why risks and opportunities need to be evaluated carefully. He emphasizes that the interoperability, flexibility and scalability of AI-based solutions are key to a successful future.

GenAI is rapidly making the once impossible possible. On this episode of The Health Pulse, SAS’ AI Product Strategy Advisor Marinela Profi chats with Host Alex Maiersperger about just how fast the needle is moving and what we can and cannot likely expect large language models (LLMs) to solve anytime soon. Some of the GenAI use cases Profi is most excited about are in the health care space, helping providers accelerate tasks and glean valuable information for diagnostic and care decisions. She shares a balanced perspective on the possibilities and caution required when applying generative technology in health care and life sciences, highlighting the importance of explainable AI and a human in the loop.

There is no shortage of interest around large language models (LLMs) in the health care and life sciences space. Are organizations able to successfully operationalize LLMs in a cost-efficient, regulatory-compliant and ethical manner?On this episode of The Health Pulse podcast, SAS Global Medical Director Dr. Steve Kearney and host Alex Maiersperger discuss key considerations around the application of LLMs. Explore how organizations are improving data interoperability and converging across health care and life sciences – thus positively impacting patient outcomes and experiences.