HealthCast

This past fall, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and other partners launched the Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium in an effort to leverage adeno-associated viruses as vectors to treat rare diseases. The initiative seeks to streamline research to clinical use, driving efficiencies into the traditional research and development process. FDA leader Peter Marks and NIH...

Veterans Affairs has one of the nation's most comprehensive traumatic brain injury research programs and care networks, including a multi-tiered care model designed to provide full support to veterans with TBI, especially when transitioning out of the military. Dr. Joel Scholten, national director of the Veterans Affairs Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service, discusses how VA is overseeing...

Throughout 2021, HealthCast has highlighted the National Cancer Act's 50th anniversary through a miniseries of episodes with its leadership. Dec. 23 marks the official anniversary, so we wrap up the miniseries with a finale episode with NCI Principal Deputy Director Dr. Doug Lowy to reflect on the meaning of the act, the dedication of people working for and with NCI, as well as what remains on the...

The National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) and Cancer Information Service (CIS) collaborate to provide valued data and other cancer information to researchers, patients and the public. This includes developing statistical models for software and engaging with the public on smoking cessation through instant messaging, for example. The last episode in...

The Veterans Health Administration has begun exploring capabilities of 5G capacities within its health care network to power innovations that are advancing surgical prep and patient care. Dr. Tom Osborne, director of the Veterans Affairs National Center for Collaborative Healthcare Innovation, discusses how VA is using 5G to explore new capacities like augmented reality that are pushing the horizo...

NIH conducts critical research across all fields of medicine and has been a key player in steering the nation throughout COVID-19. Behind this important work is a network of IT infrastructure, data-driven capabilities, security and dedicated personnel who have supported NIH before and during the pandemic. Its Center for IT drives these NIH-wide operations, as Deputy Director Stacie Alboum breaks d...

When the National Cancer Act passed in 1971, Congress required NCI to form designated cancer centers to help fight the war on cancer. 50 years later, NCI has designated 71 cancer centers that are driving cutting-edge research and service to their nearby communities. In the seventh episode of our National Cancer Act miniseries, we dive into the history and work of these cancer centers.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has been using its 3D printing network to support innovative health care initiatives across the country. Hear from Nikki Beitenman, 3D printing specialist at the Charleston, VA medical center, on how the agency is using these capacities to help patients recover from unusual forms of hearing loss.

This sixth episode commemorating the National Cancer Act 50th anniversary highlights how developments in technology and innovation have accelerated cancer research and helped usher in new diagnostics and treatments. National Cancer Institute leaders discuss the importance of leveraging data for research, how technology is enabling immunotherapy and precision medicine, what tech is on the horizon a...

The Department of Veterans Affairs' Innovation Ecosystem has been responsible for some of the agency's most promising health IT research, including using virtual reality platforms for both mental and physical health care. VA Innovation Specialist Caitlin Rawlins discusses how the technology is being used to help patients recover from PTSD and other anxiety-related conditions, as well as manage chr...

In mid-September, FDA launched its new Office of Digital Transformation, which combines multiple technology portfolios like data, cybersecurity and IT to drive a unified approach to modernization. Vid Desai, the agency's recently appointed CIO and head of this new office, dives into how his role has evolved since joining FDA in 2019 and addresses the primary obstacles the new office will look to t...

The Department of Veterans Affairs has built one of America's most comprehensive clinical healthcare data review projects with its Evidence Synthesis Program (ESP). Hear from ESP co-founder Dr. Mark Helfand on how the program has been instrumental in advancing treatment for a range of conditions, and has recently taken a forefront role in helping clinicians nationwide better manage COVID-19 emerge...

As we continue our National Cancer Act 50th anniversary commemoration miniseries, we focus this episode on childhood cancer. The early fight against childhood cancer helped spur support for the National Cancer Act, and in the decades since NCI has been working to understand the unique conditions, challenges and treatments for childhood cancer.

COVID-19 has brought new challenges, including the direct public health response as well as secondary shakeups across the government, medical and socioeconomic landscapes. To keep the pandemic response from devolving, the Government Accountability Office has been providing oversight and working with agencies to ensure that COVID-19 and other public health challenges are handled as properly as poss...

The Food and Drug Administration is ramping up technology adoption, and prioritizing AI and data strategies to ensure safety of new interventions and medical devices, improve workflows and ultimately deliver on its public health mission. Arunan Skandarajah, an FDA Presidential Innovation Fellow who believes in the power of equitable digital tools, discusses how he is innovating FDA's regulatory pr...

This fourth episode in our miniseries commemorating the National Cancer Act's 50th anniversary highlights the progress the National Cancer Institute has made in cancer prevention. We talk to leaders in NCI's Division of Cancer Prevention about avoidance, screening and treatments, and vaccinations, and how precision medicine is impacting further research.

With a new data strategy, Department of Veterans Affairs Chief Data Officer Kshemendra Paul outlines the critical role data will have in some of the agency's largest efforts like electronic health record modernization, COVID and more. This means ensuring data is standardized and integrated across the agency to improve health care, evidence-based decisions and equity.

The Veterans Health Administration's Innovation Ecosystem (VHA IE) serves as a hub for novel ideas and health technology development. Four technology and data leaders within the group unpack how they are using a collaborative approach to create well-rounded solutions that keep veterans' needs at the forefront of the development process.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is supporting research conducted within its National Artificial Intelligence Institute (NAII) through collaborative tech sprints that use curated data sets to explore new predictive health care and diagnostic methods. Rafael Fricks, the lead coordinator of the NAII tech sprints, discusses how these projects are coordinated and their application to conditions rang...

The COVID-19 pandemic presented the Veterans Health Administration with new challenges, such as communication tactics and health care delivery. Leaders across VHA rapidly scaled up technology development and delivery, as well as created new programs, to stay connected with veterans. The heads of the offices of Patient Advocacy and Healthcare Technology Management break down focus areas throughout...

The Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Program (MVP) is using genomic information submitted by American veterans to conduct research on a wide array of physical and mental health conditions. Hear from Associate Director of Cohort Relations Jennifer Deen and Associate Director of Scientific Programs Jennifer Moser on how VA is using this critical research to improve patient outcomes and expanding its...

In this third episode celebrating the National Cancer Act's 50th anniversary, guests from the National Cancer Institute discuss health disparities with cancer. We delve into the gaps that various underserved communities face in their ability to access cancer care and participate in clinical trials and research, as well as how NCI has worked over the past half century to bridge that gap.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is applying ongoing work in large-scale data analysis to improve both mental and physical health for veterans, including treatment for traumatic brain injury and more. VA Artificial Intelligence Director Gil Alterovitz, who leads the agency's National Artificial Intelligence Institute, discusses the ongoing innovations in this space, impacts to approaches in geno...

Upon the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, testing was limited in number and capability. But now, testing is faster and more accessible and ubiquitous. RADx, a federal health-ran initiative to improve testing, is the program behind how we got to where we are. We talk to experts behind RADx about the technologies behind improvements in testing, challenges in testing underserved populations and the fu...

SAMHSA is the federal agency leading public health efforts to advance behavioral and mental health across the country, aiming to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness in the United States. As Mental Health Awareness Month ended, we closed out the month by chatting with the acting head of SAMHSA to see how they've been supporting communities' mental health throughout the COVID-19...