A data-obsessed primary care physician in one of the most impoverished cities in the U.S.
A neuroscientist turned medical device inventor.
A historian studying a cancer epidemic in Botswana.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
These are a few of the two dozen individuals awarded $625,000 fellowships – sometimes referred to as “genius grants” — from the John D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation, which makes grants and loans to people and institutions building a more just and peaceful world.
Announced Wednesday, the selected fellows are “talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication to their creative pursuits and a market capacity for self-direction,” according to the foundation. Five are pursuing work applicable to the healthcare industry.
Let’s start with an inspiring primary care physician with a passion for data, Dr. Jeffrey Benner. He and his team at Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers have created a novel delivery model in attempt to bend the healthcare cost curve in Camden, New Jersey, one of the poorest cities in the U.S. He organized and mapped discharge data from patients at Camden’s hospitals and narrowed in on the small number of patient who were costing the most. Working with local physicians, hospitals and social workers, the coalition forms care teams for high-risk patients who help them navigate the delivery system.
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
In her lab at Weill Cornell Medical College, neuroscientist Sheila Nirenberg has developed a prosthetic device to restore vision to people who are going blind from retinal degenerative diseases. Instead of trying to replace lost photoreceptor cells, her method bypasses photoreceptor cells and sends neural codes from images directly to ganglion cells, which deliver them to the brain. It’s an external device that interacts with a protein injected into the eye.
Phil Baran, an organic chemist and professor of chemistry at Scripps Research Institute, is experimenting with techniques to simplify the way that molecules are made, with applications in the pharmaceutical industry, material science and agrochemicals. He co-founded a company called Sirenas Marine Discovery that’s developing new small molecule drugs based on marine chemistry.
The research of Susan Murphy, a professor of statistics at the University of Michigan, revolves around using algorithms to decide the most appropriate sequence of treatment for people with chronic diseases, and adapt treatments based on their response to prior treatment. Particularly, she’s interested in conditions like substance abuse and mental illness, where there are a variety of possible treatment options.
Rutgers University professor Julie Livingston, has spent a good amount of time over the past two decades observing activities at the only cancer ward in Botswana, a middle-income country with universal healthcare, as a cancer epidemic has emerged. The historian and ethnographer captured the daily life of caregivers and patients in a book released last year. With the fellowship money, she hopes to do work that will put palliative care onto the public health agenda.
