Harnessing the power of data to advance clinical research

As an attending physician, principal investigator and academic publisher, Dr. Ashita Batavia has a deep appreciation for the importance of data in clinical development. In her role as Head of Hematology and Oncology Data Sciences, R&D, at Johnson & Johnson, she’s helping shape the future of clinical trials.In this podcast episode, Dr. Batavia shares her ideas for improving clinical trials and delivering better therapies to patients. She is particularly interested in pragmatic trial designs where data and AI help reduce the burden of trial participation for patients and providers without compromising the collection of safety and efficacy data.Dr. Batavia leaves us with her belief that bringing together multimodal health data is key to fully unlocking advanced analytics capabilities in clinical research and explains why achieving a first win is the springboard to building a culture of data-driven innovation.

Stacy Hurt has found her dream job as Chief Patient Officer at Parexel. On this episode of The Health Pulse, Hurt shares how her 25-year career in health care, along with personal experiences as a caregiver and Stage 4 cancer survivor, fuel her passion for patient advocacy. From AI’s clinical applications to patient data ownership, Hurt sees all innovations through the lens of patient empowerment – offering time, information, resources and hope. Tune in for her insights and inspirations for organizations and patients alike.

The work of delivering innovative therapies to patients must be done well and quickly. This became the leadership mantra for Nevine Zariffa, former Head of Biometrics and Information Sciences at AstraZeneca, following her personal battle with cancer. Diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) at 33, Zariffa's cancer has been in remission for 25 years thanks to an investigational drug she received through a compassionate use clinical trial.In this episode, Zariffa joins Alex to discuss the evolution of AI in the pharmaceutical industry. She emphasizes the importance of a strong connection between business leaders and data scientists in scaling AI projects. Tune in to discover Zariffa’s formula for effective change management and her insights on the future of AI in pharma and health tech.

What is a learning health care system, and how close are we to achieving it? According to Dr. Marc Berger, we have a long way to go, but there’s plenty of cause for optimism. Berger is a physician, scientist and researcher who spent much of his career in clinical and outcomes research in the pharmaceutical industry.Now semiretired and consulting, Berger recently joined host Alex Maiersperger on the podcast. He explained that a true learning health care system removes the barriers between research and patient care. This goal requires digitization and integration of all health care data in a responsible way to better inform decision making, and it will need computing and analysis power the world has yet to master. It’s a big task, but Berger’s message is clear: If we continue to make progress, stay humble about what we don’t yet know and are kind to one another, we’ll get there.

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.