Precision Health’s Health Implementation workgroup is experiencing some exciting transitions this Winter! We happily welcome Drs. Michael Sjoding and Michael Burns who will both provide leadership on this team as Associate Director for Implementation, and Assistant Director for Implementation Operations (respectively). We thank Karandeep Singh as he steps away.

Dr. Michael Sjoding, Associate Professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, provides inpatient care to critically ill patients in the medical intensive care unit and outpatient care to patients with chronic lung disease. He is also an associate director of the Weil Institute for Critical Care Research and Innovation. His research centers around the development and implementation of new machine learning and artificial intelligence tools to improve diagnosis and treatment for patients with acute lung disease.

Dr. Sjoding: I have previously worked with the implementation team to deploy several models at Michigan Medicine that use electronic health record or imaging data. As implementation lead, I hope to continue to build on this group’s efforts to reduce the barriers to deploying promising AI models and precision health discovers. Along with the team, we will work alongside relevant partners to enhance the research infrastructure needed to deploy and test innovative models; I am particularly interested in building capacity to support the use of robust study designs such as randomized controlled trials and hybrid effectiveness-implementation studies when evaluating these discoveries.

Dr. Michael Burns is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and serves as the Assistant Director of Informatics and Data Analytics. Within Michigan Medicine, Dr. Burns serves as the Associate Chief Medical Informatics Officer (ACMIO) of Artificial Intelligence. He is the Chair of the Clinical Intelligence Committee (CIC), providing governance and support for AI tools (prediction models, machine learning models, and artificial intelligence algorithms) associated with clinical decision systems.

Dr. Burns: I am excited to join the Precision Health Team and work with Dr. Sjoding and the rest of the implementation group. Michigan Medicine has an outstanding history of innovation and Precision Health is in a strong position to positively impact local, regional, and national public health. My goal is to continue Dr. Karandeep Singh’s work, aiding implementation of technical applications, including those using artificial intelligence. In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, these emerging technologies present unprecedented opportunities to enhance patient care. It is our collective responsibility to translate these innovative solutions into tangible practice, ensuring their transformative potential is realized in a safe and effective manner.

Jessica Virzi, MSN, CSSBB, Clinical Informaticist, is a key part of the Health Implementation team. She shares her thoughts on Dr. Singh’s contributions to Precision Health:

Jessica: Karandeep brought a spirit of innovation and collaboration to our efforts in implementation. He was integral in establishing key interdisciplinary partnerships, creating a pathway for translation of precision health discoveries into clinical practice. We look forward to carrying this work forward with the new leadership.

On behalf of Precision Health, we thank Karandeep Singh, MD, MMSc for his contribution and leadership serving as Associate Director for the Precision Health Implementation Workgroup. We extend our gratitude wishing Karandeep only the best in his new role as Chief Health AI Officer at UC San Diego Health.