By Victor Uteshev, PhD
Drs. Amy Waterman, Director of the Patient Engagement Research Lab in Surgery at Houston Methodist, and Dr. Paula Shireman, Professor in the Departments of Medical Physiology, Primary Care, and Rural Medicine at the College of Medicine at Texas A&M University, first crossed paths because of their separate, but overlapping interests in surgery, artificial intelligence (AI) and reducing disparities. Both had begun to study the transformative role of AI-based data analytics and deep learning models, approaches that bring the possibility of improving timely clinical diagnosis, treatment plans, and prognosis decisions for patients sometimes left behind.
Dr. Waterman was beginning a funded research project to improve kidney and transplant health at both Houston Methodist Hospital and UT San Antonio and was tasked to build a diverse database of over 50,000 patients at both locations. Dr. Shireman had spent years conducting informatics research at UT San Antonio and knew all the ins and outs of the health system data there. “We can learn so much using AI right now,” says Amy. “But, you need people who understand the complexities of locating sources of patient data and who have expertise in identifying the important research questions to examine. I was lucky to find such an expert in Paula.”
Dr. Shireman is currently applying her expertise in general and vascular surgery and clinical informatics to several projects focusing on reducing disparities, particularly in rural communities around Texas. One of her previous studies identified surgical trends where patients living in highly deprived neighborhoods were more likely to present for surgery in emergency situations, which have poorer outcomes, than through scheduled, elective cases. Understanding how social risk factors like neighborhood deprivation affect patients’ ability to access care and follow treatment plans is critical to planning interventions to assist them. Dr. Shireman now brings her expertise in social determinants of health in surgery to the AIM-AHEAD project entitled “Establishment of a Texas Cardiometabolic and Kidney Disparities (Tx-CKD) Consortium to Improve Medication Compliance and Access to Transplant for African Americans and Hispanics.” Working with Dr. Waterman’s lab, she particularly enjoys “the diverse team assembled in the HMH Patient Engagement Center with experts from multiple disciplines coming together to solve difficult problems. The wealth of data and dedication of the team is truly impressive.”
Dr. Waterman now gets to regularly enjoy a warm howdy shared by Paula when she first joins the team Zoom calls. Dr. Shireman is a proud Texan, has three children who are native-born proud Texans, and is an Aggie sports admirer. The Waterman team is excited to have Dr. Shireman’s expertise in informatics, Predictive Analytics, and reducing disparities onboard and looks forward to mutually enriching collaboration for many years.