Parikh named new medical director of Winship Data and Technology Applications Shared Resource

Ravi B. Parikh, MD, MPP, FACP, an acclaimed physician-scientist and expert in health care artificial intelligence and machine learning, joins Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University on Sept. 1. Parikh will serve as medical director of the Winship Data and Technology Applications Shared Resource, and as associate professor in Emory University School of Medicine's Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology. As a medical oncologist, he will join the genitourinary oncology team at Winship Cancer Institute at Emory Midtown.

In his role with the Winship Data and Technology Applications Shared Resource, Parikh will be responsible for its overall strategic scientific management and operational oversight. He will work closely with leadership to develop and integrate artificial intelligence (AI) applications to improve the care of Winship patients with cancer.

"We are delighted to welcome Dr. Parikh to Winship," says Suresh Ramalingam, MD, executive director of Winship. "His experience and excellence in using AI and machine learning approaches to inform patient care will greatly augment our existing programs in the research and clinical fronts."

Prior to joining Emory, Parikh was an assistant professor of medicine and health policy and a medical oncologist at the University of Pennsylvania and Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center. He served as associate director and director of the Program in Augmented and Artificial Intelligence at the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation at the Abramson Cancer Center.

Parikh directs the Human-Algorithm Collaboration Lab, an NIH-funded multidisciplinary laboratory focusing on developing and testing algorithm-driven interventions in cancer care and serious illness. He has led prospective trials of AI-based interventions to increase access to palliative and supportive care, enable earlier diagnosis of cancer and cancer-related adverse events, and streamline clinical trial operations. In addition, he maintains a funded portfolio on emerging health care AI topics, including algorithmic bias, AI-based risk adjustment, explainable AI, wearables, human-machine collaboration, and AI regulation and policy. His research has been published in leading journals, such as Science, the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of Clinical Oncology and the Journal of the American Medical Association. He is a consultant editor at the Journal of Clinical Oncology and sits on the board of directors of the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care.

"Building on Emory's tremendous informatics infrastructure and Winship's local and national presence, I hope to conduct rigorous validation of AI applications and facilitate high-quality data science research for Winship faculty, so that patients and clinicians can responsibly harness the huge potential of AI in the diagnosis and treatment of our patients," says Parikh.

Parikh completed his medical degree at Harvard Medical School, Master of Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and fellowship in hematology and oncology at the University of Pennsylvania. He has received the National Academy of Medicine Omenn Fellowship, Conquer Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award, AMA Foundation Excellence in Medicine Leadership Award, and the American College of Physicians Joseph E. Johnson Award.