TRACK C: Medical Device & Digital Health
Embracing Heterogeneous Data in Healthcare
9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
A core challenge in collecting, managing, and using health data is standardization (homogeneity) vs. variation (heterogeneity). While many seek to standardize (FHIR, OMOP, etc.), can we also embrace the power of heterogeneous, unique, and innovative data sets and methods to improve health care and outcomes? This panel brings together experts excited to discuss the opportunities, challenges, and impacts on health of leveraging large, heterogeneous data sets and advanced analytics as well as regional efforts to support a more integrated approach to generate health insights.
Aaron Baird, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Computer Information Systems, Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University
Moderator
Dr. Baird is an Associate Professor at the Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University. His research focuses primarily on health analytics and health IT. He has published articles in journals such as PLoS One, JAMIA Open, MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, the Journal of Management Information Systems, the Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Health Care Management Review, Health Management Policy and Innovation, the Journal of Medical Internet Research. He received the Early Career Award from the Association for Information Systems (AIS) in 2017 and Best Paper Awards Information & Organization and AIS in 2019. Industry collaborations include: CDC, Stand, Inc., WellStar Health System, Mayo Clinic, Pruitt Health, Island Health, and Grady Health System. Dr. Baird has served as a board member for Arizona HIMSS, Georgia HIMSS, and is currently a Research Associate for the Center for Digital Innovation (CDIN) and the Institute for Insight.
E. Andrew Balas, MD, PhD
Professor and Lead, Biomedical Research Innovation Laboratory, Augusta University
Andrew Balas serves as Professor of Public Health at Augusta University, Vice President of the Friends of the NIH National Library of Medicine, member of the American College of Medical Informatics and elected member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. His studies about delay and waste in the transfer of research results to health care are frequent reference points in translational research initiatives. The results have been cited by many researchers, policy-makers, and the President of the United States. As a Congressional Fellow working for the Public Health and Safety Subcommittee of the United States Senate, he supported drafting the Healthcare Quality Enhancement Act of 1999 that, among others, first achieved government action on reducing errors in health care and was signed into federal law.
Tara Cramer
Executive Director, Georgia Regional Academic Community Health Information Exchange (GRAChIE)
Tara Broxton Cramer is the Senior Vice President of Regional Growth and Data Innovation for the Velatura HIE Corporation, a consolidation of health information exchanges, community-based organizations and health information networks that help partners transform care by bringing together communities and information. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Georgia Regional Academic Community Health Information Exchange (GRAChIE) and previously the Executive Director of the East Georgia Health Cooperative.
With over 15 years of experience in the health information technology sector, Cramer has demonstrated experience in planning, developing, and implementing innovative technology and information solutions to serve diverse needs. Through her various leadership roles, she has been an advocate for the under-served as well as enhancing interoperability to improve patient care.
Silvia Valkova, MSc
Principal, Information & Analytics, IQVIA Government Solutions
Silvia Valkova is a principal at IQVIA Government Solutions with 20 years of experience in healthcare data analytics, research and program management. Her work relates to prescription drug utilization, particularly overprescribing of opioids and anti-infective medications, disease research and surveillance, drug supply chain dynamics, biopharmaceutical innovation and access to medicines, loss of exclusivity and generic competition.
Ms. Valkova supports research and analytical projects conducted by Federal U.S. government agencies like FDA, CDC and ASPE, among others. Previously, Ms. Valkova was an analyst at the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, contributing to annual industry reports on medication non-adherence, orphan drug market trends, generic drug utilization and avoidable healthcare costs due to suboptimal use of medicines.
Yusen Xia, PhD
Professor and Director, Institute for Insight, Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University
Dr. Yusen Xia is Bradford and Patricia Ferrer Professor in Analytics in the Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University. He is the Director of the Institute for Insight which hosts the college’s Master of Science in Data Science and Analytics Program. His research focuses on structured and unstructured data analytics to solve business problems in areas such as operations and supply chain management, healthcare and FinTech. He received his doctoral degree from McCombs School of Business, the University of Texas at Austin.
Eating Your Vegetables and Other Compliance Habits that are Best Set Early
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
When you build compliance into your DNA, not only does that prepare you to comply with requirements, but it also instills important discipline early. Learn from the good, the bad, and the ugly in the industry on basic compliance principles and cautionary tales. This discussion is about how companies, particularly start-ups, think about compliance from the start, how it can help strengthen a successful business culture, and prepare a company for growing into a public company or sale in acquisition. Attendees will walk away with a few tips they can apply quickly to enhance their companies.
Michelle Scharfenberg
Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, Avanos Medical, Inc.
As Avanos Medical’s Senior Vice President, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Michelle Scharfenberg oversees all aspects of the global Ethics and Compliance Program. Michelle joined the company in 2020, bringing over 20 years of experience in providing legal advice to business teams, building compliance programs, and integrating compliance into business operations and culture.
Prior to joining Avanos, Michelle served as Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer of Cantel Medical (now part of STERIS), a leading provider of infection prevention products and services in the healthcare and dental markets. She also held roles of increasing responsibility in the legal and compliance departments at Integra LifeSciences Corporation, including Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel for Global Operations.
Aaron M. Danzig
Partner, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP
Aaron M. Danzig is a partner at Arnall Golden Gregory and Chair of the firm’s Government Investigations Practice. He represents individuals and companies in government investigations, white collar criminal prosecutions, and corporate internal investigations, including in matters involving healthcare and life sciences companies. Prior to joining AGG, he spent five years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Atlanta, where he prosecuted a broad range of white collar criminal cases. Mr. Danzig is a graduate of Harvard College and Georgetown University Law Center. Before attending law school, Mr. Danzig was a public school teacher and wrestling coach in Louisiana.
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John Sharkey, PhD
VP, Business Development, GeoVax, Inc.
With 30+ years in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, Dr. Sharkey possess extensive experience in executive management, business development, pharmaceutical and medical device development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and business operations covering multiple therapeutic segments. Dr. Sharkey has been a key contributor to the development, acquisition, or divestment of multiple products with annual revenues ranging from $5 million to more than $2 billion dollars. Respected as a skillful negotiator capable of focusing the parties on relevant issues and mutual benefits, along with his extensive experience across multiple therapeutic, allows him to identify transactional structures which work for all parties involved.
Yi Sherry Zhang, PhD
Founder & CEO, GenoPalate, Inc.
Dr. Yi Sherry Zhang is a molecular biologist and researcher of obesity genomics. She founded her company to provide people with access to their genetics, nutrition and a healthier lifestyle. Since its establishment, GenoPalate has become a leading provider of nutrigenomics testing and analytical services for people who want to make personalized, healthy dietary choices. Dr. Zhang and her team use proprietary algorithms to interpret customer DNA in order to determine a unique nutrition profile of the best foods based on genetic makeup. For her research efforts, she received the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) Trainee Research Award and was named HealthTech Innovator of Wisconsin in 2017. In 2019, she received the Spirit of Marquette Award at the Marquette University National Alumni Awards and was recognized among 40 Under 40 in Milwaukee. In 2020, Dr. Zhang’s efforts in entrepreneurship and providing innovations to address public health problems won her election into the Women of Influence by Milwaukee Business Journal.
Maital Guttman, MBA
Global Inclusion & Diversity Manager, McKinsey & Company
Moderator
Maital Guttman was born in Israel and grew up in North Carolina since the age of 12. After graduating from Duke University as a Robertson Scholar with a BA in International Studies, she founded a documentary film production company, Dewdrop Films LLC. Dewdrop Films produced and screened films around the world, including South Africa, Moldova, Israel and the US.She received an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2013 with a concentration in consulting and sustainable enterprise. She interned at and started as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she has focused on topics around economic development, innovation, strategy, culture, change management and talent management. She is currently serving as McKinsey’s head of diversity and inclusion in North America, working to create an environment that attracts, develops, and retains exceptional women and diverse talent. She lives with her wife, son and golden doodle in Atlanta.
Exploring the New Frontier of Healthcare: AI, Machine Learning, and Robotics
2:45 PM - 3:45 PM
The path from research lab to patient is a long and costly one. It can take an average of 12 years for a product to travel from the research lab to the patient. Only five in 5,000 of the drugs that begin preclinical testing ever make it to human testing and just one of these five is ever approved for human usage. Utilizing the latest advances in AI, ML, and Robotics technologies to streamline the research and development process, creates the potential to significantly cut both the time to market for new therapies and their costs. Join us for a conversation on the evolution of healthcare from ‘reactionary’ to ‘realtime monitoring’ to ‘preventative’ through artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics and learn how these novel innovations will generate new opportunities for improved patient care.
Scott Spencer, MBA
Director of Marketing and Customer Experience, Insight Optics
Moderator
Scott Spencer is proud to have escaped Georgia Tech twice (Mechanical Engineering ‘05, MBA ‘22) and his career is dedicated to technology modernization. He has 10 years' experience leading the upgrade and expansion of high-speed manufacturing lines for some of the world’s best-known companies (Kimberly-Clark, Eli Lilly, PepsiCo, etc.) Scott currently serves as the ‘Director of Marketing and Customer Experience’ for Insight Optics, a startup that couples off-the-shelf hardware with proprietary machine learning to expand access to vision health screenings.
Maribeth Coleman, PhD, MS
Principal Research Scientist and Director of Research, Institute for People and Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology
Maribeth Gandy Coleman is a Principal Research Scientist and Director of Research for the Institute of People and Technology at Georgia Tech. She received a B.S. in Computer Engineering as well as a M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. In her twenty years as a research faculty member her work has been focused on the intersection of technology for mobile/wearable computing, augmented reality, AI, human computer interaction, healthcare, assistive technology, and gaming. She is a computer scientist focused on developing novel and scientifically validated systems at the “human technology frontier” designed for purposes such as training, rehabilitation, and cognitive therapy, utilizing cutting-edge technology such as augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR). For example, she led a multi-year initiative (funded by National Science Foundation, Dept of Education, and ACT Inc.) to research the design of interventions for cognitive training and assessment for older adults, persons with disabilities, and K-12 students.
Emmanuel Fombu, MD, MBA
CEO & Founder, Marche Health
Dr. Emmanuel Fombu is an internationally recognized authority on the convergence of digital technologies and healthcare. He is an award-winning and best-selling author, innovative clinical trial design expert, physician, Keynote speaker and Industry Leader with over 20 years of combined experience in clinical medicine, research design, and healthcare. Dr Fombu’s book, The Future of Healthcare, was selected by the National Library of Medicine and the NIH’s All of US Research Program as one of the top 3 books in digital health in 2020.
Dr. Fombu did his clinical training at Emory-Crawford Long Hospital and holds an MBA from both Cornell University’s Johnson School of Business and Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business. He also earned a certification in Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy from MIT’s Sloan School of Management and Computer Science Artificial Intelligence Lab.
Jim Forbes
Chief Strategy Officer, Vizzia Technologies
Jim Forbes is a senior technology executive with proven leadership in creating and operationally implementing corporate strategy for high-growth companies. He initially served on the Vizzia Board of Advisors, consulting on corporate development initiatives.
Mr. Forbes was Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of NS8 Corp. (OTCBB: NSEO) a software development company, Corporate Vice President of Equant NV (NYSE: ENT) a global data company acquired by France Telecom and a Board member of iBAHN Corp., an Internet service provider (backed by Intel Capital).
Jim earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Georgia. He is a Board member of the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and the Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance (GIPA).
Francesca Rinaldo MD, PhD
SVP, Clinical Product & Innovation at Sharecare
Dr. Francesca Rinaldo is a physician-scientist with a proven background in basic/translational research, clinical research and healthcare delivery innovation. She is an Affiliated Scholar at the Stanford Clinical Excellence Research Center (CERC), and SVP of Clinical Product and Innovation at Sharecare.
Her clinical interests are in surgical critical care, end-of-life care, and the impact of loneliness, social isolation and other key social determinants on the health of the rapidly aging global population. She is passionate about exploring novel applications of medical devices, digital health platforms and artificial intelligence for improving the quality, cost and accessibility of healthcare for all individuals.
The Current and Future State of Smart and Connected Wearable Devices for Digital Health to Improve Healthcare
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Countless new medical technologies incorporate miniature sensors in their design capable of externally sensing and ‘distributing’ vital signs or other data points of interest including breathing sounds, EKG signals or glucose levels for example. In the near future, sensors and associated software for health, including AI, will be able to generate and distribute more data than many ever dreamed possible. Moreover, there is significant opportunity for data-generating wearables embedded within the January 2022 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announcement of five new remote therapeutic monitoring CPT codes introduced to cover respiratory and musculoskeletal parameters.” This session will discuss the recent advancements and implications in wearable devices, digital tools, data generation and utility to improve human and animal healthcare.
Emily Blum, MD
Medical Director, Global Center for Medical Innovation
Moderator
Maital Guttman was born in Israel and grew up in North Carolina since the age of 12. After graduating from Duke University as a Robertson Scholar with a BA in International Studies, she founded a documentary film production company, Dewdrop Films LLC. Dewdrop Films produced and screened films around the world, including South Africa, Moldova, Israel and the US.She received an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2013 with a concentration in consulting and sustainable enterprise. She interned at and started as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she has focused on topics around economic development, innovation, strategy, culture, change management and talent management. She is currently serving as McKinsey’s head of diversity and inclusion in North America, working to create an environment that attracts, develops, and retains exceptional women and diverse talent. She lives with her wife, son and golden doodle in Atlanta.
Russ Drury, DVM
Commercial Business Manager – Pets, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA
Maital Guttman was born in Israel and grew up in North Carolina since the age of 12. After graduating from Duke University as a Robertson Scholar with a BA in International Studies, she founded a documentary film production company, Dewdrop Films LLC. Dewdrop Films produced and screened films around the world, including South Africa, Moldova, Israel and the US.She received an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2013 with a concentration in consulting and sustainable enterprise. She interned at and started as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she has focused on topics around economic development, innovation, strategy, culture, change management and talent management. She is currently serving as McKinsey’s head of diversity and inclusion in North America, working to create an environment that attracts, develops, and retains exceptional women and diverse talent. She lives with her wife, son and golden doodle in Atlanta.
Marzeah Khorramabadi
Co-Founder & CEO, StrideLink
Maital Guttman was born in Israel and grew up in North Carolina since the age of 12. After graduating from Duke University as a Robertson Scholar with a BA in International Studies, she founded a documentary film production company, Dewdrop Films LLC. Dewdrop Films produced and screened films around the world, including South Africa, Moldova, Israel and the US.She received an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2013 with a concentration in consulting and sustainable enterprise. She interned at and started as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she has focused on topics around economic development, innovation, strategy, culture, change management and talent management. She is currently serving as McKinsey’s head of diversity and inclusion in North America, working to create an environment that attracts, develops, and retains exceptional women and diverse talent. She lives with her wife, son and golden doodle in Atlanta.
Kevin Maher, MD
Director, Cardiac Intensive Care, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta;
Professor of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine;
Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Maital Guttman was born in Israel and grew up in North Carolina since the age of 12. After graduating from Duke University as a Robertson Scholar with a BA in International Studies, she founded a documentary film production company, Dewdrop Films LLC. Dewdrop Films produced and screened films around the world, including South Africa, Moldova, Israel and the US.She received an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2013 with a concentration in consulting and sustainable enterprise. She interned at and started as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she has focused on topics around economic development, innovation, strategy, culture, change management and talent management. She is currently serving as McKinsey’s head of diversity and inclusion in North America, working to create an environment that attracts, develops, and retains exceptional women and diverse talent. She lives with her wife, son and golden doodle in Atlanta.
Jared Meyers
Co-Founder & CEO, Augment Health
Maital Guttman was born in Israel and grew up in North Carolina since the age of 12. After graduating from Duke University as a Robertson Scholar with a BA in International Studies, she founded a documentary film production company, Dewdrop Films LLC. Dewdrop Films produced and screened films around the world, including South Africa, Moldova, Israel and the US.She received an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2013 with a concentration in consulting and sustainable enterprise. She interned at and started as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she has focused on topics around economic development, innovation, strategy, culture, change management and talent management. She is currently serving as McKinsey’s head of diversity and inclusion in North America, working to create an environment that attracts, develops, and retains exceptional women and diverse talent. She lives with her wife, son and golden doodle in Atlanta.