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 fellowship at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, where she worked until joining the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. At UT Health San Antonio, Dr. Potter rose through the academic ranks to Full Professor and was appointed Vice President for Research in 2021.

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” on evidence-based best practices. Three years later, the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine welcomed its inaugural class.   In this INNOVATORS, Dr. Schuster answers the why, how, and so what of launching a new medical school.

INNOVATORS is a podcast production of Harris Search Associates. 

*The views and opinions shared by the guests on INNOVATORS do not necessarily reflect the views of the interviewee's institution or organization.*

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:

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. 

*The views and opinions shared by the guests on INNOVATORS do not necessarily reflect the views of the interviewee's institution or organization.*

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 field and an academic discipline? Does that include tackling a set of “grand challenges” such as we see in, for example, engineering?   3.  Your school is described as one “without walls,” suggesting perhaps a virtual format for learning. How will students, including working professionals you identify as persons you seek to serve, learn in the school?   4.  Is there any reason to expect student enrollment and degree completion in data science to be any different in terms of representation of persons of color? Will students be taught by a diverse data science faculty? If so, why?   5.  What do you see as the other key attributes, experiences, and expertise of someone who can lead successfully an academic leadership position in data science?   INNOVATORS is a podcast production of Harris Search Associates.    *The views and opinions shared by the guests on INNOVATORS do not necessarily reflect the views of the interviewee's institution or organization.*

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 completed an internship and residencies at Rush University Medical Center, then accepted a fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital from which he accepted an appointment to the faculty there. He earned an MBA from MIT. He focuses his research on tissue engineering and neurogenic bladder dysfunction. In today’s podcast, he responds to the following questions:

1. Describe the work you and your colleagues have been engaged in, particularly the rationale for pursuing it as well as its significance for the treatment of children? 
2. Since launching INNOVATORS nearly 5 years ago, we’ve encountered several instances in a variety of fields including veterinary medicine and prosthetics, to mention only two, where the search for material that might be a substitute for surface skin was the “holy grail”. Your work seems to open up a much broader spectrum of applications. What are some of those and are the applications direct and straightforward or do they entail more research? 
3. The announcement of your breakthrough was attended by an emphasis on the importance of collaboration that transcended areas of specialization and perhaps even entire fields. Who/what were those other partners and how did the collaboration come about and how was it sustained? Specifically, what role did leadership, on the part of an individual or a group of decision makers, play in facilitating collaboration? 
4. The kind of research you and colleagues have been involved with requires resources. What kinds and which sources of resources were instrumental in advancing your research?
5. Finally, even as you revel in what your research has accomplished, do you look out beyond the more immediate uses of your findings to applications that have become a bit more feasible precisely because of what the research makes possible now? What are some of those?

INNOVATORS is a podcast production of Harris Search Associates. 

*The views and opinions shared by the guests on INNOVATORS do not necessarily reflect the views of the interviewee's institution or organization.*

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 collaboration among four historically black colleges and universities (Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Spelman College) aiming to infuse data science within and across each institution, and led by its Director, Dr. Washington, who responded to these questions:

1. How did the four institutions of the consortium come together to seek to establish a data science initiative and why?

1. What is the scope of the AUC Data Science Initiative and what outcomes are being pursued?

1. You and your staff are tasked with integrating data science into and across the curricula of four separate institutions and therefore have to know how courses and curricula are made. How do you go about making change take place? Moreover, aren’t you also changing faculty?

1. As a mathematician and data scientist yourself, it seems likely that you have looked at data on the relative success of cross-institutional, multi- and inter-disciplinary curricular and instruction initiatives such as you are directing. What do the data tell you?

1. A final question is prompted by good news for you and your colleagues. The National Science Foundation announced that Clark Atlanta University will be awarded a $10 million grant to establish the National Data Science Alliance. The new Alliance will extend the University’s efforts to expand participation in data science to the nation’s HBCU institutions and increase the numbers of credentialed Black data scientists. 

As the new Alliance’s principal investigator, tell us what is the scale of this effort? How many more institutions will be involved and what do you aim to accomplish in terms of additional student data scientists?   Innovators is a podcast production of Harris Search Associates. 

*The views and opinions shared by the guests on Innovators do not necessarily reflect the views of the interviewee's institution or organization.*

For additional insights on data science, see previous INNOVATORS podcasts:    Digital Health – Technological and Scientific Invention and Innovation in Healthcare;    The Burgeoning and Expanding Field of Data Science; and Artificial Intelligence and Precision Medicine.

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:

1. What have been the primary accelerators of discovery, innovation, and invention in materials science during your career?
2. Which are the principal “engines” producing new knowledge in materials science – universities, large governmental and non-governmental laboratories, or industry?
3. The interdisciplinary nature of materials science research is quite remarkable: How did that feature come about?
4. What are the attributes of administrators and executives that make for effective leadership to enable solid research in materials science?
5. What does the near-term future hold in terms of new advances in materials science?

Continuing to direct a large research laboratory while chairing a major program in medical engineering, Dr. Kaplan speaks with wit, pride, and humility about a field pushing its boundaries in a multitude of directions with remarkable results already affecting important change.   Innovators is a podcast production of Harris Search Associates. 

*The views and opinions shared by the guests on Innovators do not necessarily reflect the views of the interviewee's institution or organization.*

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 Science and Economics from Principia College. His research explores how science can become more actionable for decision making. This involves studying how different approaches to collaboration, science translation, and funding can influence how research becomes used and to what end.

Listen to his comments and responses to the following questions:

1. Is it too cynical to argue that the failure to marshal collective efforts to deal with climate change is a matter of politics and economics, not science; that there are vested interests for maintaining the status quo, not challenges to research or the scientific method?
2. Is it the case that even the very best science being devoted to climate change struggles to be interpreted in terms lay persons and governmental officials can comprehend fully?
3. What is “actionable science”? How does it differ from what scientists do now and with what effect? Do you view it as something akin to what Thomas Kuhn termed a “paradigm shift” in science?
4. If actionable science calls for researchers who either have experience with and/or understand the perspectives of those persons to whom the scientific results are presented, how might ways change in order to prepare the next generation of scientists?
5. Actionable research in the contexts of achieving community, national, and global sustainability is compelling in many respects. How does adopting such an approach influence the attributes of those persons who lead scientific centers and laboratories with emphases on climate change? 

Innovators is a podcast production of Harris Search Associates. 

*The views and opinions shared by the guests on Innovators do not necessarily reflect the views of the interviewee's institution or organization.*

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: 

1. The term “Hispanic” is “stretched” to encompass a multitude of nationalities and cultures of people in the United States. Does the term do justice to the complexity and diversity of persons to whom it is applied? Who is encompassed by the term?
2. How do your experiences as a Hispanic woman compare and relate to what might be typical for today’s Hispanic students?
3. How do Hispanic women fare in American higher education?
4. Except for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), the only other federally-designated ethnic or racial higher education institutions are the more than 550 Hispanic-serving institutions in the U.S. How critical a role do these latter colleges and universities play in advancing the educational opportunity and achievement of Hispanic students?
5. If you were an advisor to an American president or state governor and had the opportunity to propose government focus and resources that you believe would accelerate the progress of Hispanic students at any level of education – primary, secondary, postsecondary – what would be your top three recommendations?

Dr. Rivera-Mills earned the B.A. and M.A. from the University of Iowa and the Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico. She joined the faculty of Oregon State University where she served as a department chair, associate dean, and vice provost. At Ball State, her work focuses on student success for ALL students, and ensuring equitable access to educational opportunities.

Innovators is a podcast production of Harris Search Associates. 

*The views and opinions shared by the guests on Innovators do not necessarily reflect the views of the interviewee's institution or organization.*

Even as the COVID pandemic continues to plague the world, assessments of the effects of the virus and its variants are in order. Healthcare systems have borne some of the brunt of the effects and those associated with the preparation of health professionals have had to adapt “on the fly” to what are sometimes profound changes to the ways they deliver care and conduct education and training.

Brian Burnett shared his experience and perspective on how COVID impacted the University of Alabama and its healthcare system in answering the following questions:

1. What are the ways by which universities involved in the health professions, including medicine, affiliate with or develop the healthcare facilities and experiences needed to educate and train those professionals?
2. How were the human and physical infrastructure of medical schools, clinical facilities, and administrative staff affected by the pandemic?
3. In light of demands placed on healthcare delivery by COVID and its variants and the looming shortage of some physician specialties, new medical schools have been established with more on the way. How do you view this development and what advice would you give to a university, a community, and or a state government considering launching a new medical school?
4. Just how important were remote learning and working to comprehensive universities such as UAB? Do you see these as more or less permanent parts of the landscape?
5. In 10 years, how will the financial and administrative aspects of universities have changed?

Brian Burnett joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham, in 2021 from the University of Maryland where he was interim associate vice president and chief financial officer. He worked in similar posts with the University of Colorado System, the University of Missouri System, and the University of Minnesota.

Innovators is a podcast production of Harris Search Associates. 

*The views and opinions shared by the guests on Innovators do not necessarily reflect the views of the interviewee's institution or organization.*