Analytics Exchange: Podcasts from SAS

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Curious about how analytics, AI and machine learning are impacting your business, industry, function or organization? Or how to operationalize your analytics to get better insights and more value from your data and investments? Then tune in to the SAS Analytics Exchange as we exchange ideas ranging from computer vision to smart cities to AI & data for good and beyond.

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    • Jun 24, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 24m AVG DURATION
    • 81 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Analytics Exchange: Podcasts from SAS

    What everyone in health care can learn from a Chief Patient Officer

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2025 25:38


    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.

    Scaling AI projects for life-changing impact in pharma

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2025 22:28


    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.

    From Research to Patient Care: Bridging the Gap

    Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2025 34:47


    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.

    People, Technology and the Journey to a Healthier Tomorrow

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2024 26:17


    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.

    Teaching Medical Students About Equity and AI

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2024 28:36


    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.

    Unlocking the Potential of AI in Health Care: A Vision for Change

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2024 28:32


    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.

    AI, Imaging and the Race to Develop Therapies

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 20, 2024 27:02


    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.

    Improving Health for All of Us

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2024 24:28


    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. 

    A Conversation With an Oncology Legend

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2024 33:01


    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.

    Empowering Cancer Patients With Lifesaving Information

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2024 21:56


    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.

    Health Care Interoperability and AI in Action

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2024 22:37


    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.

    What to Really Expect From Generative AI

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2024 33:08


    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.

    LLMs for everyone in health and life sciences?

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2024 17:28


    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.

    Health Pulse S4E10: Accelerating Health Equity With Technology and Trust

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2023 18:39


    Health equity is a hot topic in health care, and Dr. Pooja Mittal speaks about key success components, including the importance of trust, technology and strong relationships with communities.  Bringing health stakeholders and community members together is crucial to building trust and providing culturally relevant care that drives better health outcomes. From a young age, Dr. Mittal realized that health care is not equitable, and challenging environmental conditions cause higher disease rates. With a mission to reduce health disparities, Dr. Mittal became a physician and Chief Health Equity Officer at Health Net.  She believes technology is key to making care more equitable and supporting patients from historically disadvantaged communities, as it enables access to data to better understand needs, access to telehealth, enabling patients to receive care remotely and access to culturally sensitive technology, supporting unique needs.

    Health Pulse S4E9:  SAS opens up about open source in life sciences

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2023 20:14


    There's no such thing as a free lunch, but there are many benefits to a balanced diet. That's SAS' philosophy around embracing and extending open source as explained by life sciences leaders Mark Lambrecht and Matt Becker on this episode of the Health Pulse Podcast. To keep up with the staggering pace of change, life sciences organizations need cutting-edge analytics and the flexibility to use different programming languages. Tune in for a candid conversation about the pros and cons of open source and commercial software and the importance of the statistical computing environment (SCE) in clinical research.

    Health Pulse S4E8: The Impact of Diagnostics on Health Care

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2023 22:23


    Bryan Vaughn is passionate about bending the cost curve in health care. As Senior Vice President, Hospitals and Health Systems at Labcorp, he focuses on the role of diagnostics in delivering better, more affordable care. On this episode, Vaughn notes that impactful partnerships across the health care ecosystem can help drive the cost of critical diagnostics down, creating a win for all stakeholders. When it comes to analytics, he is excited to see Labcorp's wealth of health data empowering and informing patients and their doctors today—as well as the potential for predictive analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve health outcomes in the future.

    Health Pulse S4E7: Real-world data and the bigger picture of health

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2023 25:20


    Krishna Tangirala is an expert at uncovering insights about pharmaceutical products in the real world. He is Head of Data Analytics and Director of Field Outcomes Research at Organon Pharmaceuticals. In the first part of this episode, Tangirala talks to Alex about how stakeholders use health economics and outcomes research throughout the pharmaceutical life cycle to better understand the value, potential and safety of drug products. He also discusses new and emerging applications for real-world data (RWD) in pharma, including external control arms and digital twins and the potential for technology to solve challenges around managing, analyzing and visualizing data insights from RWD. Next, Sherrine Eid, Global Lead for Real-World Evidence and Epidemiologist at SAS, joins Alex. Eid is passionate about mathematically modeling disease patterns and finding ways to intervene and improve outcomes. For her, it's all about using the best tools at her disposal to help people live their healthiest, best lives. Eid discusses the role of RWD and connected devices to enable personalized medicine and shares her perspective on the value of personalized health information as a diabetes patient.

    Health Pulse S4E6: Modernizing public health with population health analytics

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2023 30:11


    Dr. Iulia Vann, Public Health Director in Guildford County, NC, is passionate about public health and data-driven decision making.On this episode of the Health Pulse Podcast, Dr. Vann discusses the importance of prevention, the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, lessons learned about closing gaps in data and analytics and resiliency.Dr. Vann explains that effective public health strategies include strong relationships with local partners, communication and planning for health equity measures, like putting 40% of vaccines aside for historically marginalized communities. Data modernization is another crucial element for health organizations to serve their communities better. Requiring agencies to integrate data from different systems and ensuring the data is transparent and reliable is essential in making data-driven decisions as a public health agency. She explains how Guilford County partnered with SAS to create dashboards to monitor program performance and public health areas of focus, such as chronic diseases, cancer and environmental health, to make the best possible decisions for their community.

    Health Pulse S4E5: The promise of AI in pharmaceutical manufacturing

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2023 13:21


    SAS' Andy Bayliss works with life sciences manufacturers, applying AI and machine learning to improve their processes at scale. On this episode of the Health Pulse Podcast, he tells Alex that pharmaceutical manufacturers are experts at reliably delivering high-quality products. They must be because it's a highly regulated industry with a patient at the end of every product.   The opportunity to utilize technology energizes Bayliss. Technology like sensors and computer vision allows continuous monitoring to spot trends and potential deviations earlier in pharmaceutical manufacturing. It's about giving the human expert additional insight to create meaningful action.

    Health Pulse Podcast S4E4: Is ethical AI the future of health care?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2023 10:39


    Dr. Michel van Genderen, physician, AI leader and founder of the Datahub at Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, shares his passion for ethical AI in hospitals.  Could AI be a game-changer for the health care industry? Dr. van Genderen thinks so, and explains the two biggest global health care challenges are the shortage of personnel and an increasing health care demand. He believes trustworthy AI could alleviate these pressures and solve clinical challenges faster. For example, Erasmus Medical Center developed an AI model used in the intensive care unit that decreases the administrative workload for nurses.  Using AI in a responsible, ethical and sustainable manner is crucial to its adoption in clinical settings so that health care professionals trust AI when they use it at the bedside. To develop and deploy AI models in clinical settings, a group of multidisciplinary teams comes together, including data scientists, data engineers, physicians, nurses, patients and more, which is the remit of the Datahub at Erasmus Medical Center. Adhering to ethical guidelines is crucial when teams develop models, monitor their performance and adopt them in clinical or operational settings. Dr. van Genderen is optimistic that all industries will be able to benefit from AI, as long as decisions made with analytics and AI are ethical, trustworthy, explainable and fair.

    The Health Pulse S4E3: Balancing data, analysis and speed in business decision making

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2023 27:11


    Steven Lehmann is passionate about the impact of data science in business. He is Head of Data Science and Analytics Strategy for Johnson & Johnson in EMEA. He also wrote the book Digital Jackpot on what it really takes to make data driven decisions that matter in business. Hint, the answer often isn't more data. On this episode of the Health Pulse Podcast, he talks with Alex about the importance of telling the right story with data so that people will listen. He introduces the concept of data elasticity in finding the right balance between enough data and the speed at which you need to make business decisions in order to solve real-world problems. Data elasticity allows data scientists and business leaders to make strong recommendations with imperfect data, knowing that their recommendations would still hold within a reasonable margin of error in the data.  When it comes to the explosion of data, AI and advanced analytics, he reminds us that these are excellent tools, but the individuals and organizations who can make the best use of them to drive impact will ultimately succeed.

    The Health Pulse S4E2: Could the bird flu cause the next pandemic?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2023 21:58


    Dr. Meg Schaeffer, an Epidemiologist and Public Health Advisor at SAS and an elite athlete and champion for health equity, is a perfect example of what passion for public health looks like.In this episode, Dr. Schaeffer speaks about the evolution of the bird flu and explains that North America, Europe, Asia and some African countries are in the midst of the largest bird flu outbreak, with millions of birds culled. Monitoring outbreaks is crucial to predict the future of health care and to prevent a human pandemic. She also talks about health equity and the importance of combining quantitative with qualitative data to understand population needs and challenges. This helps design effective programs that reduce inequities. There is currently a lack of qualitative data, leading to resource misalignments, Schaeffer explains. Combining interviews, focus groups and text data with advanced analytics could be the key to currently overlooked insights. Despite challenges the health care industry is facing, being an elite, world-ranked triathlete has taught Dr. Schaeffer there is always a way – that temporary discomfort leads to success. She is optimistic about the future of health care with the dedication of the public health workforce and cutting-edge software, supporting decision-making processes.

    The Health Pulse S4E1: The right tools for the right questions to fight cancer

    Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2023 18:49


    Dr. Richardus Vonk, VP, Head of Oncology Statistics and Data Management at Bayer, wants to see cancer become a manageable disease in his lifetime. With as many as one in two people getting cancer at some point in their lives, the goal to better treat and eventually prevent and cure cancer is incredibly impactful. On this episode of the Health Pulse Podcast, Vonk sits down with host Alex Maiersperger to discuss the role of data, analytics, AI and automation in advancing cancer research and drug development. He explains that AI is playing an important role in early detection of cancer but has yet to find widespread adoption in drug development. Automation is important because it frees up time at the end of clinical trials to explore the science and uncover valuable insights to inform care. When it comes to analytics software, Vonk thinks the future is a mix of commercial and open source. What's more important according to Vonk, is expanding access and ability to share data, while protecting patient privacy, and using the right tool to answer the right questions.

    Health Pulse Podcast S3E12: From radical to routine: The use of Bayesian statistics in clinical trials

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2022 14:25


    More than a decade ago, Bruno Boulanger made a big bet on applying Bayesian statistics in clinical trials. At the time, very few in the industry thought the method, which applies probabilities to statistical problems, had a place in clinical development. Boulanger saw an opportunity, founding a company that quickly grew and was acquired by CRO PharmaLex in 2018, where he now serves as global head of statistics and data science.In this episode, Boulanger explains how Bayesian statistics uses probability and prediction to solve challenges in the increasingly complex world of clinical research and clinical trial design. Bayesian statistics allows researchers to expand decision making for clinical trials beyond its participants, which is imperative for trials targeting rare diseases. Looking forward, Boulanger is optimistic about the expansion of therapeutic innovation combined with digitalization and data science to meet the unmet needs of patients. All presentations represent the opinions of the presenter and do not represent the position or the opinion of SAS.

    The Health Pulse S3E11: Is Value-Based Care Failing?

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2022 21:55


    What makes value-based care work? Bryony Winn shares her views on key enablers, implementation challenges and how they can be overcome. Winn is President of Health Solutions at Elevance Health. Being born and raised in Africa, educated in the UK, having worked in Europe as a consultant and moved to the United Stated, Bryony Winn has a truly international career path and a wealth of knowledge of different health care systems. On this episode, host Alex Maiersperger and Winn talk about the role technology plays in integrating care systems. She tells us a big challenge is patients are often treated for conditions in isolation, without taking a whole-person approach. Data integration and deep partnerships across different health and social care providers are crucial for full transparency and insights into a person's whole health, enabling providers and payers to make value-based care work and tailor care more effectively.Simultaneously, Winn addresses some criticism value-based care models have received, as some don't believe the concept is working. She explains the industry's initial narrow view, believing the shift to value-based care is only a change of payment models. Winn emphasizes data integration and infrastructure around payment models are needed. Despite some of the challenges and criticism, she remains optimistic about value-based care models and their role in affordability, high quality care and high experience scores. All presentations represent the opinions of the presenter and do not represent the position or the opinion of SAS.

    The Health Pulse S3E10: Are Genomics the Key to Placebo-Free Clinical Trials?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2022 21:46


    Are placebo-free clinical trials the next normal? Nino da Silva thinks so. In this episode, he shares his views on trends in drug development and clinical research, including the integration of genetic data into drug development with synthetic control arms and the importance of data protection.Da Silva is an international leader in medical informatics, health care and business strategy. He is currently Deputy Managing Director at BC Platforms, a Singapore-based global data science solutions leader in personalized health, drug discovery and life sciences research.Guest host Antonio De Castro talks with da Silva about advancements in drug discovery and development by combining genetic data with phenotypic data. For example, synthetic control arms incorporate external health data into clinical trials to speed up drug development, reduce trial costs and address ethical concerns. Improved access to data from many research fields and the real world make the adoption of synthetic control arms possible. Da Silva explains the importance of trusted research environments (TRE) and trusted collaboration environments (TCE) in enabling highly dynamic research with analytics, while protecting citizens' data privacy. Also critical to this work is the ability to harmonize and make comparable data from multiple sources and geographies. Da Silva leaves us with his thoughts on the importance of diversity and representation in clinical trials and the role of the Asia Pacific region as a growing R&D hub for life sciences.All presentations represent the opinions of the presenter and do not represent the position or the opinion of SAS.

    The Health Pulse S3E9: Using Genetic Information to Improve Patient and Population Health

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 21:18


    Levana Sani is co-founder and CEO of NalaGenetics, a company bringing individual genetic information to patients and health care settings in Southeast Asia.On this episode, Sani talks with SAS' Antonio De Castro about the importance of ethnic diversity in genetic research. She explains that polygenetic risk scores, which calculate a single score for many variants in the human genome, are greatly improved when genetic samples from multiple ethnic groups are included. Sani and De Castro also discuss a range of considerations around making individual genetic information available to patients, providers and payers, including health data privacy, delivering practical recommendations to patients based on their genetics, and delivering the right information at the right time to improve health outcomes for individuals and the population.All presentations represent the opinions of the presenter and do not represent the position or the opinion of SAS.

    The Health Pulse S3E8: Is The Great Pandemic Yet to Come?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2022 38:23


    Could the bird flu cause the next pandemic? Dr. Robert Redfield thinks so, and shares his views on the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and lessons to prepare for new infectious diseases. Redfield is a virologist and former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Advisor to the Governor of Maryland and Senior Medical Advisor at PERSOWN.  Dr. Redfield joins host Alex Maiersperger to speak about public health measures against the COVID-19 pandemic and shares insights into what has worked, what hasn't, and what learnings decision makers could apply in the future. The main challenge, in the United States, he explains, is that the public health infrastructure is extremely underfunded, leading to a lack of resources, including the workforce, equipment and funding for a modern data infrastructure. Building public health resilience - an approach that ensures public health systems have enough equipment and trained staff to respond to a pandemic - while maintaining the quality of routine health services, is a major need Redfield speaks about. He suggests redundant resources can be diverted to diagnostics for chronic diseases, when there is no pandemic. Dr. Redfield believes the great pandemic is yet to come, which will likely be a bird flu pandemic with significant mortality rates. Having the mRNA technology in place to produce effective vaccines, is key a scientific advancement Dr. Redfield speaks about. However, he also highlights manufacturing and scalability issues slow down a fast response. Despite some of the challenges public health agencies are facing, Dr. Redfield remains optimistic about the future, as he shares his confidence in science and the power of modern medicine. All presentations represent the opinions of the presenter and do not represent the position or the opinion of SAS.

    The Health Pulse S3E7: The future of clinical trial recruitment is digital, and patients are the biggest winners

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2022 17:46


    Tobias Kruse never dreamed of being an entrepreneur. He recognized a problem he knew he could solve and founded the clinical trial recruitment company Trials24, where he is now CEO. On this episode, Kruse shares his company's inception story with Alex. As a young scientist working on a clinical trial, Kruse realized that dated, print-based patient recruitment tactics weren't working. He had learned a thing or two about online marketing from one of his side hustles and decided to take a leap. He launched Trials24 to digitalize patient recruitment and to speed up drug development timelines. The company's digital-first approach helps address the lack of diversity in clinical research by targeting awareness campaigns to underserved communities and recruiting more diverse populations for clinical trials. Kruse knows digitalization is the future of patient recruitment, bringing better patient experiences and more representative clinical trials.All presentations represent the opinions of the presenter and do not represent the position or the opinion of SAS.

    The Health Pulse S3E6: Saving Lives With Better, Faster, Affordable Diagnostics

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2022 21:30


    Eric Doherty is President of PERSOWN, the company striving to make a lifesaving impact by delivering accurate, rapid and affordable diagnostics to the point of care anywhere in the world.In this episode of The Health Pulse, Doherty joins host Alex Maiersperger to discuss disparities in global health care and how access to high-quality, low-cost diagnostics can help close the gap. Doherty shares the shocking statistic that there are 0.23 doctors per 10,000 people in the world's poorest countries. What's more, diagnostic errors account for the deaths of 7 million children per year worldwide.PERSOWN addresses devastating global health care access disparities with high-quality, affordable diagnostics with results in under two minutes. The company is working on assays for various applications, including COVID-19, tuberculosis, sepsis, breast cancer, Alzheimer's disease and concussions. Doherty shares an inspiring vision of the role of technology in health care innovation and the importance of personal ownership of health care data.

    The Health Pulse S3E5: The Role of Patient-Centricity in Improving Health Worldwide

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2022 17:22


    SAS' Antonio De Castro is a truly global citizen. Having lived in Southeast Asia and Europe, now working for a US company, he joined Alex from a studio in Singapore to talk global and local trends in the wake of COVID-19 and his passion for data and analytics in health care. Later in this season of the Health Pulse podcast, he'll be jumping into the conversation as guest host for Asia Pacific.De Castro loves mathematics and problem solving and has a background in nutritional research. These passions shape his perspective on consumerism in health care and life sciences, where patient-centricity is contributing to significant advances, including decentralized clinical trials and more informed and engaged patient populations.De Castro is infectiously optimistic that today's global health care challenges will drive innovation that leads to a healthier tomorrow."

    The Health Pulse S3E4: The End of Global Supply Chains?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2022 31:59


    What has disruption taught us about global supply chains? Dr. Robert Handfield shares his vision on what agile and resilient supply chain models look like in the future. He is Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management at North Carolina State University, as well as Founder and Executive Director of The Supply Chain Resource Cooperative. On this episode, Handfield joins host Alex Maiersperger to talk about the impact of the pandemic on global supply chains and provides insights into what has worked, what hasn't, and what learnings we can apply in the future. Handfield speaks about the dependency on global supply chains for urgent medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as masks and disinfectants, and inadequate national stock, due to a just-in-time inventory management system. Having strategic national stockpiles in place has become a major governmental and industry focus, as well as the effort to increase domestic sourcing of certain medical and pharmaceutical products. Handfield speaks about a shift towards regional supply chains and near shoring, a concept where a company transfers work to suppliers nearby in the region where possible, despite continuing to remain dependent on certain products from global supply chains. Finally, Handfield emphasizes that having the right technology, training and workforce in place, will be key to resilient and agile supply chain systems in the future.

    The Health Pulse S3E3: Why Forecast Agility Is King in the New World of Supply China Disruption

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2022 20:17


    For Felipe Sotelo, it's all about priorities. That's why Dad & Husband are the titles on his LinkedIn profile. It's also why he now believes demand forecast agility is more important than accuracy in the post-pandemic world of supply chain disruptions. On this episode of The Health Pulse, positive thinker, business reinvention leader and writer Sotelo joins host Alex Maiersperger to share his insights as a supply chain leader for organizations including Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceuticals and PepsiCo. Forecast accuracy can never be perfect, and in a scenario full of disruptions, Sotelo argues that it's more important to focus on agility and speed so that organizations can respond more effectively to disruptions. In his opinion, prioritization plays a big role, and the organizations that succeed are those that have both a strong leadership strategy and investment in technology and analytics to drive insights into keeping the strategy on track. The main focus now is regulating supply chains to ensure essential equipment is available. And, the new normal will prioritize both cost efficiency and reliability over cost efficiency alone.When asked about a light at the end of the tunnel for pandemic-related disruption, Sotelo predicts we won't see it before 2024. But, that doesn't keep him from being optimistic about the role of supply chain leaders in shaping a better, more sustainable future. 

    The Health Pulse S3E2: Meet your digital health twin of the future

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2022 27:40


    Is it too much to expect health care to deliver delightful experiences? Dr. Koen Kas doesn't think so, and his vision includes digital twins, personal data stores and preventive medicine. He is a health care visionary, digital health and biomarker expert, health-tech entrepreneur, Professor of Molecular Oncology and Digital Health at the University of Ghent, international keynote speaker and author of Sick No More and Your Guide to Delight. Host Alex Maiersperger and Kas talk about the concept of delight thinking, an approach that requires stakeholders to think outside the box – creating new health care delivery models, never imagined. Kas explains the fundamental difference between design thinking and delight thinking. Delight thinking has the patient at its core, rewarding health care systems for keeping patients healthy. Kas also speaks about the role of a digital twin for the future of health care and how far we are in the development. The twin is a full representation of the holistic health of a human, combining all health data from different sources into an avatar. Testing preventive or clinical measures on the avatar will enable a visualization of health outcomes, before implementing them on the human. Health care by default is another health care concept Kas introduces during the episode, including seamless health care via sensors in homes and automatic alerts to medical professionals.Finally, he emphasizes the key to prevention and personalized medicine is data integration and encourages health care systems to reward providers and citizens for preventing, predicting and reversing diseases.  

    The Health Pulse S3E1: The (Not So) Secret to Making Cancer Care More Equitable and Effective

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2022 29:58


    Dr. Sean Khozin is on a mission to break down silos and improve access to quality cancer care for all. Khozin is a board-certified oncologist, physician scientist, data scientist and the CEO of ASCO's CancerLinQ, a nonprofit health technology company focused on improving health outcomes for all patients with cancer. On this episode of The Health Pulse, Khozin joins host Alex Maiersperger to discuss how his organization is democratizing access to the best cancer care by bringing real-world evidence based tools to the point of care. As Khozin explains, only about 5% of cancer patients can access clinical trials. This means in oncology, clinical trial data often lacks external validity because it represents highly selective patient populations. CancerLinQ helps close the gap using real-world data to develop algorithmic support tools to inform personalized, multi-modal patient care in near-real time. Khozin also discusses precision medicine and reflects on how far we've come and opportunities to improve, particularly in the area of health care delivery. He also shares his perspective on regulatory science as translational science. From deriving insight from complex data to tackling treatment artifacts we need to unlearn, Khozin shares his vision for improving precision and why data convergence at the point of care leaves him optimistic about a major inflection point for cancer treatment in the next 10 years.Transcript available here.

    Electrifying AI S3E1: Electricity Industry in Australia - A Global Perspective

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2022 26:20


    Our mission at ElectrifingAI is to bring you up-to-date insights on the latest developments taking shape in the electricity sector. Along the way, we'll help demystify the connection between the greatest machine ever built — the electric grid — and the greatest enabler of our time — data analytics. To help us do that, we'll have a series of guests who hold a variety of different roles within the industry. And for this episode, it's a privilege to begin our third season … and our broader view of the electricity industry landscape … with someone who's had a hand in crafting what that landscape looks like in his home country. Brett Redman is the CEO of Transgrid in Australia. Transgrid operates and manages the high voltage electricity transmission network in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory … connecting generators, distributors and major end users. And Brett is a seasoned executive who has … among other roles … previously served as the CEO of AGL and the chair of the Australian Energy Council.Just a decade ago, one could argue that the electricity industry was primarily a physical business, centralized in its existence, and with a very narrow view of customers and innovation. That world has changed drastically as innovation has shifted from the tangible to intangible. Hear from Brett his thoughts on how the industry is evolving and where we are headed into the future. About one in four Australian homes have rooftop solar panels, a larger share than in any other major economy, and the rate of installations far outpaces the global average. The country is well ahead of Germany, Japan and California, which are widely considered leaders in clean energy. But that great progress undoubtedly brings new complexities for grid operators and others who are tasked with ensuring uninterrupted service. We will hear from  Brett his perspectives on such challenges and initiatives that are top on mind for him. Have questions or would like to share your thoughts? Jump into the discussion and reach out to Sal at https://www.sas.com/en/experts/sal-gill.html.... Or email us at: ElectrifyingAIpodcast@sas.comLearn more at http://www.sas.com/utilities.

    The Health Pulse S2E6: Improving Maternal Health through AI and Biomedical Science

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2021 21:55


    In this episode, Greg speaks with Professor Patricia Maguire, Director of University College Dublin's Institute for Discovery. The Institute's mission is to drive interdisciplinary research at UCD. Maguire is a biomedical scientist. Her research focuses on platelets, an interest that began 25 years ago when her father suffered his first heart attack and she recognized the need for better diagnostics in the clinic.Maguire explains that platelets circulate in our blood, picking up information along the way, which makes them a ready source of biomarkers. In one project, Maguire's team works closely with three large maternity hospitals in Dublin, Ireland, on a study that has found new diagnostic markers for preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is a huge problem worldwide, affecting one in ten pregnancies, and killing 50,000 women and 500,000 babies and causing 5 million premature births each year, according to Maguire. Her team's goal on the project is to bring diagnostic data from blood platelets together with all other available data on a mother during pregnancy and apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to extract insights that can be delivered to a clinician to inform critical care decisions, such as when a baby should be born. The analysis of multimodal data that can then be delivered to the computer screen of a clinician is an experience Maguire describes as augmented intelligence to support clinical decision making.Maguire says the ultimate dream of the team on this project is to partner with government and industry to bring the preeclampsia algorithm and diagnostic product to every woman who needs it around the world, saving lives. She also shares her thoughts on the importance of democratizing AI and analytics to improve knowledge sharing and collaboration from academia into the real world.A transcript of this episode can be found here.

    The Health Pulse S2E5: Creating a Healthier World with Ethical AI

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2021 27:55


    On this episode, Greg catches up colleague Reggie Townsend, director of the Data Ethics Practice at SAS. Recognizing the increasing market need around data ethics, SAS formed the practice to establish principles and processes for governing Artificial Intelligence (AI). Townsend defines AI as an algorithm or set of instructions given to a computer for decision making. He explains that the market definition of AI is now the entire analytics life cycle from the initial ingestion of data through to analytic modeling, data visualization and the decisions that are ultimately made. While examples of unethical AI, such as discriminatory hiring and lending practices, necessarily get a lot of attention, there are many more examples where AI is used to our benefit. Data science is deployed to optimize many aspects of daily life from our banking experience to flight routes to recommendation engines.SAS' Data Ethics Practice applies a human-centric approach to upholding principles such as transparency, accountability and inclusivity in data science. Townsend challenges his team to start by considering the impact of technology on the most vulnerable populations. Understanding bias plays an imperative role. For example, Black neighborhoods in the US, like the one where Townsend grew up in Chicago, are more likely to be food deserts. The people in those communities lack access to healthy food and have poorer health outcomes as a result. When evaluating health data, it is critical to understand the facts and historical context behind the data in order to deliver effective decisions and solutions that are free of bias. Looking forward, Townsend is hopeful that the ethical development and deployment of AI-related technology can lead to brighter futures for all people.A transcript of this episode can be found here.

    The Health Pulse S2E4: Healthier Living Through Epigenetics Analysis

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2021 21:30


    On this episode, Greg is joined by Dr. Melissa Strong, founder and lead data scientist for IndiOmics. Her background is in molecular biology and epigenetics—or how our environment can affect our gene expression. The idea behind IndiOmics started when Dr. Strong was pregnant with her son and interested in better understanding chemical exposure in utero. The organization's mission is to educate the public about common chemicals that have the ability to affect us on a cellular level and what we can do to avoid or prevent exposure. Much of its work focuses on endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Participants receive a kit, provide a sample from home and ship the kit to the IndiOmics laboratory. When the results are ready, they can login for a personalized look at what they've been exposed to, how it's affecting them on a molecular level and steps they can take to avoid or prevent additional exposure. For example, they may be able to cut down on EDC exposure by not heating or microwaving plastics. Dr. Strong explains that our gene expression is not set in stone, and our environment and behaviors play a significant role in determining our health. Particularly with EDCs, science has demonstrated the toxicity of even very low levels of chemical exposure. To learn more about what you can do to reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals, even if you don't know your levels, Dr. Strong recommends visiting the Environmental Working Group's website, www.ewg.org, and referencing the IndiOmics Healthy Living Pocket Guide at www.indiomics.org/pocket-guide. Looking to the future, Dr. Strong is encouraged by younger generations' awareness around this issue and believes that consumer demand will drive action on the part of manufacturers and regulators alike to further reduce the use of harmful chemicals in consumer products. She also believes that blood tests on endocrine exposures will eventually become a part of routine medical care, empowering more people to understand their exposure levels and take steps to improve their health. 

    The Health Pulse S2E3: Eradicating Disparities in Cancer Care with Social Determinants of Health Data

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2021 26:10


    On this episode, Greg Horne talks with Dr. Robert Winn, Director at VCU Massey Cancer Center. Dr. Winn is the second ever African American to be director of a cancer center in the United States. Growing up as the child of a 15-year-old mother, he didn't dream of becoming a doctor, but two priests in his life saw his potential and helped him to get on a path that eventually led to medical school. In his role at Massey Cancer Center and his life, Dr. Winn focuses on two goals – eradicating cancer and eradicating disparities in access to quality health care wherever they exist. People who have access to quality treatment receive it. It's that simple. And, trust and affordability play a critical role. As Dr. Winn explains, in order to earn people's trust in science, the scientific and medical community must be trustworthy. That's why Massey Cancer Center is working on a trustworthiness scale to measure how they are doing with their patients.Dr. Winn also shares his perspective on the role of health data convergence in improving health outcomes and the importance of using data from the community to improve scientific questions and address social determinants of health. When it comes to disparities in health care, we already know that a patient's zip code has a significant impact on their health outcomes. Taken a step further, we can look at the implications of racism historically and identify how it is impacting health outcomes for African Americans today.Another foundational value for Dr. Winn is respect for humanity. He describes his awe and humility at both the power and limitations of science in treating cancer. He recognizes that there are some cancers and diseases that even today's best medicine cannot fix. This is when it is imperative for cancer centers to ensure patients have the best possible palliative care to support their transition from this life. Finally, Dr. Winn leaves us with his thoughts on the cancer center of the future and the importance of data to better understand population health and communities. 

    The Health Pulse S2E2: The Next Evolution of Decentralized Clinical Trials

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2021 25:01


    On this episode, Greg Horne interviews Craig Lipset, advisor, advocate and educator in the area of decentralized clinical trials and the former head of clinical innovation at Pfizer. During his time at Pfizer, Craig helped design and lead the first fully remote, decentralized trial. Surprisingly, that was more than a decade ago. In fact, Craig explains that the methods, investment and even the regulatory readiness around decentralized trials existed in the industry long before the pandemic. The lock-down disruption caused by COVID-19 in early 2020 delivered a key missing piece – meaningful adoption as the industry worked quickly to mitigate delays to ongoing research and spin up new trials to address the virus. Craig and Greg further discuss the potential for decentralized trials to make participation in clinical research more convenient and accessible to diverse and representative patient populations. Unique support is required to achieve this objective. Decentralized trial participants need specialized technical and emotional support to ensure they have a positive experience and are able to stay compliant with study protocols. In developing nations, decentralized methods can help researchers expand their work into areas where infrastructure may be lacking, but it's critical to be mindful of the digital divide and ensure that the appropriate support is provided.Craig leaves us with his perspective on the role of decentralized trials in helping health care deliver clinical research as a care option. For example, the technology offers new ways to engage with non-investigator physicians to improve engagement with community health care and democratize access to clinical research.A transcript of this episode can be found here. 

    The Health Pulse S2E1: Improving Health Equity and Health Outcomes with Analytics

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2021 21:31


    On this episode host Greg Horne interviews David Rhew, M.D., Global Chief Medical Officer & VP of Healthcare for Microsoft, on the role of technology in health care. Dr. Rhew, who has a background in infectious disease management, observed early in his career that evidence-based practices often lead to better health outcomes, but they aren't adhered to consistently. From there he set out on a digital transformation journey that quickly brought him into health tech and eventually Microsoft. Dr. Rhew and Greg discuss the role of technology in delivering the right information at the right time to improve patient experience and outcomes. For example, in one cardiac rehab program where patients were offered the option to participation digitally, completion rate jumped from 40 to 80 percent and 30-day hospital readmissions dropped from 12 percent to less than 1 percent. Quite simply, making things easier for patients improves care and reduces costs. According to Dr. Rhew, the next horizon in health care will be around making data more interoperable so that the industry can bring it into a common platform and analyze it to drive actionable insights that improve care. And, Dr. Rhew leaves us with his parting thoughts on technology's capacity to improve health equity and access.A transcript of this episode can be found here. 

    The Health Pulse: Stacking the impact of clinical research to address unmet needs in health care.

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2021 23:15


    Jennifer Byrne, CEO of contract research organization Javara Research, has a lifelong passion for serving patient populations through clinical research. On this episode, Jennifer shares with Greg the concept of learning health systems that improve health care through research. Javara brings a lot of the traditional advantages that a CRO brings to pharma to health care systems through an integrated research organization approach. The organization's strategic vision and partnerships are centered around bringing clinical research opportunities to health care systems to meet unmet patient needs while simultaneously partnering with pharma to address the data and scientific needs to clinical trials. Jennifer explains how analytics and AI are used to deep dive into electronic health records and other health data sources to identify potential clinical trial participants and connect the right patient with the right trial and the right time. Greg asked Jennifer about the role of bias in clinical research, and she shares her experience around bias that patients and physicians aren't as interested in participating in clinical research as they actually are. Technology can assist in physician and patient outreach and engagement, so that patients can come to clinical research with their trusted physician and keep their clinical trial participation in sync with their overall health care journey. They also discuss opportunities to use technology to deliver optimal and more patient-centric clinical trial participation. 

    The Health Pulse: Modern Consumers Want to Know: How The Pharmaceutical Industry is Influencing Supply Chain Traceability

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 20, 2021 19:28


    Grainne Lynch, Senior Manager and Traceability Lead for Accenture, helps pharmaceutical companies be compliant with supply chain legislation around preventing counterfeit medicines from entering the supply chain. Her expertise is around helping pharmaceutical manufacturers implement common capabilities and coding to allow tracking and tracing of products at the unit level. On this episode, Grainne explains to Greg that the pharmaceutical industry is on the forefront of a consumer-led trend demanding the ability to track and trace products end-to-end throughout the supply chain. Now more than ever, consumers want to know a product's entire history—where it came from, how materials were sourced, where and when it was manufactured, and the process by which it was approved. And, consumers expect companies to be responsible for making good decisions throughout the supply chain. This trend toward greater tracking and tracing is being seen in many industries, and as Grainne explains, life sciences is a natural leader because the industry already has GxP requirements in place. Data and analytics of course play a critical role. For example, most pharmaceutical products require refrigeration, and devices are used to monitor and measure refrigeration throughout the supply chain to ensure the proper temperature level is maintained. Grianne leaves us with her thoughts on the importance of pharmaceutical traceability to the future growth of the industry as a whole. 

    The Health Pulse: Follow the Money to Predict the Future of Health Care

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2021 23:48


    Jessica DaMassa is the Executive Producer and Host of video series, What's the Future, Health?, where she interviews key stakeholders in health tech to uncover unique perspectives on where the industry is headed. On this episode of The Health Pulse, Jessica briefly switches from her usual role as interviewer to share her observations on the trends to watch right now in health care. She shares with Greg several clues on the future based on the unprecedented funding pouring into the health tech space since the early months of the pandemic. Start ups focused on improving analysis of data from electronic health records (EHRs), particularly those focused on gleaning predictive value from EHR data, are hot. Jessica also identified trends around funding for later-stage start ups, which indicates these companies are gaining traction, and an expansion in private equity money in the health tech space. So, where is all this new funding going? Jessica identified three key focus areas – mental health; technology that helps navigate patients into and through the health care system (also know as digital front doors); and AI implementation specifically in the areas of clinical trials and automation of health care administration. Greg and Jessica also discuss key considerations around identifying and controlling for bias in AI. Looking ahead to delivery of care, Jessica sees the home as a place of care will be a key pandemic trend that is here to stay. Her advice for start ups? Make sure you understand the payment model! 

    The Health Pulse: Removing Logistical Barriers to Health Care with Uber Health

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2021 20:11


    Caitlin Donovan is the Global Head of Uber Health. In this role, she's responsible for figuring out how to fix logistical issues in health care. Caitlin begins by sharing why she's so inspired by her role at Uber Health. Coming from a variety of health care executive roles, Caitlin observed that all too often what goes wrong in patient care isn't clinical—it's what happens when they aren't in front of their provider. Maybe they don't have transportation to an appointment, their prescription didn't arrive or they don't have access to the food they need. At Uber Health, Caitlin focuses on connecting the dots through data and analytics to solve these challenges. Much of what she does is aimed at helping population health experts address social determinants of health. Uber Health started in 2018 with a focus on providing a HIPPA-secure delivery platform to improve access to care and benefit patient populations. The platform uses data and predictive analytics to intervene earlier to ensure that patients get the care they need by allowing population health case managers to securely order services for patients. This approach improves compliance to patient care plans by solving logistical problems before they derail care. Finally, Caitlin shares her thoughts on the biggest health care challenges that Uber Health will tackle next.  

    The Health Pulse: From basketball to mental health data, Dr. Dawnté Early drives a community-centric approach

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2021 25:08


    Dr. Dawnté Early (she/her) is the Chief of Research and Evaluation for the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission in California. Dr. Early joined Greg for a chat about whole person care, and she shared that her love of sports (she played college basketball and coached her children's teams) instilled a desire to give back to her community. In her current role, Dr. Early supports the Commission's mission is to transform the mental health system so that everyone who needs care in California receives high-quality and culturally competent care. A big part of her job is bringing together mental health data at the individual level with data from different agencies, such as criminal justice, education, quarterly wage, and death and birth data, to identify social determinants of health and uncover disparities. The commission also plays a key role in engaging with other agencies and systems to help support early intervention and care. Greg asks about the challenge of overcoming stigma in mental health, and Dr. Early shares that having conversations that normalize and contextualize mental health needs is critical, as is using humanizing language around mental health. The Commission plays role in ensuring these conversations are taking place and that the community is engaged throughout the process—in determining what questions to ask the data and by giving input on how data-driven insights can impact effective policy. Lastly, Dr. Early shares her vision for the Commission's role in connecting data to policy to community to outcomes in order to drive more early intervention and prevention in mental health for the betterment of individuals, families and communities. 

    The Health Pulse: A Pharma CIO's Prescription for Building a Data-Driven Culture

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2021 13:16


    On this episode, Greg is joined by Herman De Prins, Global CIO of UCB. UCB is a mid-sized global biopharma company focusing on immunology and neurology. Herman describes UCB's journey into artificial intelligence (AI) projects aimed at treatments for epilepsy. Herman also shares how UCB promoted data literacy and AI among its staff of more than 8,000 people. The programs UCB has put in place have been very effective in driving enthusiasm for data-driven decision making throughout the company. In fact, Herman shares that their challenge isn't around internal resistance to AI, it's prioritizing the many potential projects brought forth by the team. UCB also has a process for evaluating projects based on the strength of the business cases behind them. Herman emphasized that there is value in AI across the pharmaceutical value chain, particularly in R&D and commercial. For example, last year UCB teamed up with Microsoft on the Moonshot Initiative where they used AI to conduct research on potential treatments for COVID-19 and reduced the time typically required for that research from six months to three days. Greg and Herman conclude their chat by discussing the future of AI and Herman's thoughts on the potential opportunities and pitfalls in a world where AI will increasingly be embedded in technology products all around us. 

    Electrifying AI: Building tomorrow today

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2021 31:06


    Peter Muhoro has a front row seat for the ongoing energy transition, so the VP of strategy and technology at Rappahannock Electric Cooperative is the perfect guest to talk with host Sal Gill about what it will require for utilities to start building tomorrow today. On the Season 2 finale of Electrifying AI, Peter and Sal discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the expectations of electricity consumers, how the business model for electric utilities could be in for a massive change, and how data and analytics are primed to help utilities shape the future of energy — if those utilities can overcome entrenched cultures and legacy systems. At the end of their conversation, Peter makes his pick for our Electrifying AI playlist on Spotify and throws in a bonus viral video to be on the lookout for! Listen to his suggestion here, then make your recommendations for a song by tweeting @TheElectricSal. We just might include your selection and send you some Electrifying AI swag to say thanks. Learn more at sas.com/utilities and check out additional episodes of Electrifying AI at sas.transistor.fm or on your favorite podcast platform. Thank you for a stellar second season of Electrifying AI! We'll be back with Season 3 after a summer break. Here are some of the resources we mentioned during the episode: Connect with Peter on: Twitter | LinkedIn Connect with Sal on: Twitter | LinkedIn Learn about Sal's expertise Visit Rappahannock Electric Cooperative's website Electrifying AI Spotify playlist SAS Energy & Utilities on the web Our new Electrifying AI landing page Check out additional episodes of the Electrifying AI podcast series at sas.transistor.fm.  Subscribe to the Electrifying AI podcast so you never miss a future episode. Did you know that you can watch Electrifying AI too? Find our episodes on YouTube here. If you'd like to be a guest on a future episode, have an idea for a future topic or would like to share feedback about our Electrifying AI podcast, send us an email to electrifyingaipodcast@sas.com.  About our guest: Peter Muhoro is the vice president for strategy and technology at Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, a member-owned utility that provides electric service to almost 170,000 connections in portions of 22 Virginia counties. Peter has more than 15 years of experience in the energy industry, including roles at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and leadership positions at co-ops in Texas and Virginia. He's a board member for the Smart Electric Power Alliance and has earned a bachelor's degree from Hampton University, and a master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.About our host: Sal Gill heads digital strategy and market innovation for SAS Energy & Utilities. He has worked for major energy companies and seen firsthand how electricity transforms lives, from bringing power to remote communities to pioneering innovations that will accelerate renewable technologies. As the global community continues to seek alternatives to satisfy its appetite for energy, Sal is constantly searching for new ideas that take advantage of both the electric grid, known as the largest machine humans have ever built, and the greatest enabler of our time, data analytics.

    The Health Pulse: Linking data sources to see the bigger picture in public health.

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2021 22:11


    On this episode, Greg talks with Dana Bernson, epidemiologist and Director of Special Analytic Projects at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, about her work to use data and analytics to guide public health planning and crisis response. Dana shares insights from the department's initial effort to link data sources across state government to get more contextual information to help address the opioid epidemic. Not surprisingly, one data set often gives us a piece of the puzzle, but linking multiple data sources at the individual level tells a bigger story. For example, the department discovered that the risk of overdose following a release from incarceration is 120 times higher than the risk for the general population. Data linkage is critical to understanding social determinants of health to inform effective policy and intervention. This is also true of the COVID-19 pandemic, where Dana's team is exploring the impact of the pandemic on underserved populations including communities of color, the homeless, people who have been incarcerated, people with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders, and pregnant and postpartum women. Finally, Dana shares an update on what has become known as the Public Health Data Warehouse project, which is a research tool that enables analysis of public health priorities and trends, including substance abuse, and maternal and child health. The warehouse establishes the infrastructure to link 24 data systems, covering 98% of the state population. Dana is hopeful that following the coronavirus crisis, public health will receive more consistent and sustainable funding for projects like hers that ultimately support a more complete and proactive approach to health.

    Electrifying AI: An even greater grid

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2021 32:30


    Ahad Esmaeilian is helping drive us toward the electricity system of the future. The director of business development for Avangrid, Ahad has earned a Ph.D. from Texas A&M and holds master’s degrees from universities in both the U.S. and his home country of Iran. And while Ahad’s daily focus is to work across the industry to advance clean energy through the interconnection of wind, solar and other utility-scale renewable energy resources, his academic and professional careers have largely focused on digital grids. That means he and host Sal Gill have plenty to talk about in this technical chat around how utilities can build an even greater grid. Join them for a discussion about the business of clean energy, the importance of peeking behind the meter and how to harness the power of analytics, AI and machine learning to prepare the platform of the future. At the end of their conversation, Ahad gives us some insight into the songs he sings while driving around in his car through his suggestion for our Electrifying AI playlist on Spotify! Listen to his pick here, then make your recommendations for a song by tweeting @TheElectricSal. We just might include your selection and send you some Electrifying AI swag to say thanks. Learn more at sas.com/utilities and check out additional episodes of Electrifying AI at sas.transistor.fm or on your favorite podcast platform. Here are some of the resources we mentioned during the episode: Connect with Ahad on: LinkedIn Connect with Sal on: Twitter | LinkedIn Learn about Sal’s expertise Electrifying AI Spotify playlist SAS Energy & Utilities on the web Our new Electrifying AI landing page  Check out additional episodes of the Electrifying AI podcast series at sas.transistor.fm.  Subscribe to the Electrifying AI podcast so you never miss a future episode. Did you know that you can watch Electrifying AI too? Find our episodes on YouTube here. If you’d like to be a guest on a future episode, have an idea for a future topic or would like to share feedback about our Electrifying AI podcast, send us an email to electrifyingaipodcast@sas.com.  About our guest: Ahad Esmaeilian is the director or business development for Avangrid, a diversified energy and utility company that boasts $30 billion in assets, and operations in 25 U.S. states and dozens of countries. Ahad earned a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tehran, a Master of Business Administration from Clarkson University and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University. His resume includes prior roles at the Smart Grid Center (TEES) and the New York Power Authority.About our host: Sal Gill heads digital strategy and market innovation for SAS Energy & Utilities. He has worked for major energy companies and seen firsthand how electricity transforms lives, from bringing power to remote communities to pioneering innovations that will accelerate renewable technologies. As the global community continues to seek alternatives to satisfy its appetite for energy, Sal is constantly searching for new ideas that take advantage of both the electric grid, known as the largest machine humans have ever built, and the greatest enabler of our time, data analytics.

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