Data Science and the Study of Alzheimer’s (with Christopher Gaiteri, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences; Empire Innovation Scholar, SUNY Upstate Medical University)
Release Date: 07/05/2023
The State of Biomedical Research (with Claire Pomeroy, MD, MBA, President of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation)
Innovators
Dr. Claire Pomeroy is a distinguished physician, educator, and advocate for healthcare reform. With an undergraduate and medical degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Kentucky, Dr. Pomeroy has served on the medical faculties of the University of Kentucky, the University of Minnesota, and UC Davis, where she became the dean of the School of Medicine and is now professor emeritus. Her career has focused on addressing healthcare disparities, advocating for a proactive, preventative healthcare system that ensures equitable care for all populations, especially the...
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Opioids in America: A Crisis Without End (with Jennifer Sharpe Potter, PhD, MPH, Vice President for Research; Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Texas Health San Antonio)
Innovators
In this episode of INNOVATORS, Dr. Jennifer Potter's talk offers an in-depth analysis of the enduring and deadly opioid crisis in America, exploring the factors that have sustained this epidemic for decades and assessing recent developments in overdose trends to understand their implications for the future. Originally from Canada, Dr. Potter earned her undergraduate degree from Queen's University, followed by a Master of Public Health from Emory University and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Georgia. She completed her pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral research...
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The Successful Start of a New Medical School: A Conversation with Mark A. Schuster, MD, PhD (Founding Dean and CEO; Professor, Health Systems Science at Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine)
Innovators
In recent years, a number of new medical schools – both allopathic and osteopathic – have launched and still more are in preparation. In 2017 Kaiser Permanente announced the appointment of Dr. Mark A. Schuster of Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital as the founding dean of the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine. A renowned figure in pediatric, adolescent, and family health; family leave; obesity prevention; sexual and gender minority health; bullying; and quality of health care, Schuster pledged to build the new school “from the ground up”...
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Data Science and the Study of Alzheimer’s (with Christopher Gaiteri, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences; Empire Innovation Scholar, SUNY Upstate Medical University)
Innovators
Christopher Gaiteri, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Empire Innovation Scholar at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Dr. Gaiteri earned his undergraduate degree from Washington & Lee University and his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. He joined Rush University as assistant professor of neurological sciences and computational neuroscientist after serving as Research Scientist at the Allen Institute for Brain Science and Senior Scientist at Sage Bionetworks. In today’s podcast, Dr. Gaiteri responds to the following questions: ...
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The Development and Evolution of Data Science: Potential and Leadership (with Philip E. Bourne, Ph.D., Founding Stephenson Dean, School of Data Science and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia)
Innovators
Dr. Philip Bourne, founding Stephenson Dean of the School of Data Science at the University of Virginia, established in 2019 with a gift of $120 million. Dr. Bourne’s career encompasses work at Columbia University, the University of California at San Diego, and the National Institutes of Health and includes motorcycle jaunts throughout western Virginia and beyond. We spoke with him at his office in Charlottesville about the following (abridged version of) questions: 1. Why a separate school of data science? 2. What gives data science its coherence as a professional...
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Pushing the Boundaries of What's Possible in Children's Health: Breakthroughs & Beyond (with Carlos R. Estrada Jr., MD)
Innovators
Over the past year, several INNOVATORS were devoted to learning more about the state of pediatric research. In this podcast, we learn about a breakthrough in the development of tissue from silk for use in the treatment of children born with spinal bifida. Dr. Carlos Estrada holds appointments at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School and was instrumental in the development and use of a new type of tissue. He earned his undergraduate degree from College of the Holy Cross and the MD from Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. He...
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Data Science: Academia's Newest and Fastest-Growing Field (with Dr. Talitha Washington, Professor of Mathematics and the Director of the Atlanta University Center Data Science Initiative)
Innovators
Dr. Talitha Washington is Professor of Mathematics and the Director of the Atlanta University Center Data Science Initiative. On leave to the National Science Foundation, she received the NSF Director’s Award for Superior Accomplishment in 2020 “for exceptional stewardship in establishing the first NSF Hispanic-serving Institution program.” She is a graduate of Spelman College and earned her Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut, then completed a research post-doctorate at Duke University. The Atlanta University Center Data Science Initiative is a unique...
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Fertile Times in Materials Science: A Conversation with Dr. David Kaplan
Innovators
David Kaplan is Distinguished Professor and Stern Family Professor of Engineering and Chair of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University and was recently elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Research is achieving major breakthroughs in tissue growth, cellular agriculture, medical implants, new ways to store electricity and deal with plastic waste. The time is right for a brief conversation with a leading researcher in materials science, so we asked Dr. Kaplan: What have been the primary accelerators of discovery, innovation, and invention in materials science...
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Climate Change & Actionable Scientific Research: A Conversation with Dr. James Arnott, Executive Director of the Aspen Global Change Institute
Innovators
While the dispute over the causes and sources of climate change continues, few doubt the need for action to deal with the consequences of climate change. And action can best be guided by findings from solid scientific research. James Arnott, Ph.D. makes the case that science can contribute to not only policy but action. But for that to occur, science will need to be more transparent and inclusive to meet the challenge of coping with the effects of climate change. Dr. Arnott earned his doctorate in Environment and Sustainability from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in Political...
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Lessons of a Salvadoran Refugee’s Path of Success in American Higher Education (with Susana Rivera-Mills, Ph.D., Provost & Executive Vice President, Ball State University)
Innovators
Hard work, family support, and education are often cited as key elements in the success of most of the immigrants to the United States. These hold true for many Hispanics and Dr. Rivera-Mills of Ball State and her experiences and success exemplify that formula. Her success affords evidence to suggest just how Hispanics can achieve similar results. We spoke with Dr. Rivera-Mills and asked her to draw on her journey as a first-time Hispanic college attendee as well as her academic and administrative achievements to respond to the following questions: The term “Hispanic” is...
info_outlineChristopher Gaiteri, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Empire Innovation Scholar at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Dr. Gaiteri earned his undergraduate degree from Washington & Lee University and his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. He joined Rush University as assistant professor of neurological sciences and computational neuroscientist after serving as Research Scientist at the Allen Institute for Brain Science and Senior Scientist at Sage Bionetworks.
In today’s podcast, Dr. Gaiteri responds to the following questions:
1. What were the origins to your approach and how does it differ from the more traditional way of framing research about the onset and development of Alzheimer's disease?
2. Statistical techniques such as factor analysis and canonical correlation were used in research to take a large number of measures of variables and allow those statistical techniques to sort out which of those variables covaried and which patterns emerged that could suggest relationships to be looked at more closely.
In your approach using "big data" do you have a particular notion of which variables you select ought to covary? In other words, do you have a "pre-theory" that guides your selection of variables?
3. Alzheimer's is nearly always associated with the aging process, perhaps implicitly arguing that the aging process alone is a causal agent for the onset and progression of the disease. More recently and not without some controversy, some researchers have suggested that aging itself should be considered a disease. From your perspective, does the question of age influence your view on how to go about framing analyses of data bearing on the inception and development of Alzheimer’s?
4. In your career to date, how has the leadership of organizations in which you have worked influenced you and your research? Are there characteristics of persons who hold leadership roles that you single out as especially important to your work?
INNOVATORS is a podcast production of Harris Search Associates.