Joel Dudley, PhD, an internationally recognized investigator in translational bioinformatics and precision medicine, has been named Executive Vice President for Precision Health for the Mount Sinai Health System. In this new role, he will create a Precision Health Enterprise by linking pioneering research conducted in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) with implementation strategies developed in collaboration with leadership and staff throughout the Health System.
Precision medicine is an innovative model of health care that customizes diagnosis and treatment for an individual patient based not only on genetic data but also on medical history, laboratory tests, health history, lifestyle, and environmental influences. The goal of this major initiative of the National Institutes of Health is a greater understanding of disease that will lead to better treatment and more accurate diagnosis. Mount Sinai’s continued investment will drive further development of individualized and effective treatment plans for diverse patients.
In creating the Precision Health Enterprise at Mount Sinai, Dr. Dudley will work closely with Niyum Gandhi, the Health System’s Executive Vice President and Chief Population Health Officer, and Prabhjot Singh, MD, PhD, Chair, Department of Health Systems Design and Global Health, and Director, The Arnhold Institute of Global Health at ISMMS.
The Precision Health Enterprise will draw on the expertise of both the Health System and the Icahn School of Medicine with a focus on three key strategies:
- Intelligent Health Care – Artificial intelligence and predictive analysis will be applied to improve disease detection, treatment, and prevention. The School’s robust, multidisciplinary Precision Medicine initiative will be central to data collection, generation, analysis, and application.
- Consumer Health and Wellness – Moving beyond the hospital experience to manage the total health of our patients, the Enterprise will develop approaches to improve patient health and avoid hospitalization whenever possible.
- External Partnerships – Recognizing the rapidly changing landscape of health care delivery and insurance, the Enterprise will forge new relationships with industry, particularly technology companies, to optimize quality of care and cost-effectiveness.
These efforts will be closely aligned with Dr. Dudley’s work as the Director of the Institute for Next Generation Healthcare at ISMMS, a role which he will retain. Within the Institute, Dr. Dudley is developing an integrated translational biomedical research model at the nexus of advances in omics, clinical medicine, digital health, and artificial intelligence. Under his leadership, the Institute has established a Next Generation Health Clinic in Manhattan, the first of its kind to translate discoveries from computational data-driven approaches into personalized health care delivery to patients. Additionally, a Health Data and Design Innovation Center created in Silicon Valley expands the Institute’s ability to pursue innovations and develop programs that partner with emerging health technology startups. These initiatives dovetail with the goals of the Precision Health Enterprise.