Introduction to Healthcare

Laurence Baker, Ph.D., is the Bing Professor of Human Biology and a distinguished member of the Health Policy group at Stanford University, where he applies his expertise in economic and statistical analysis to tackle pressing challenges within the healthcare system. As an accomplished health economist, Professor Baker teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses and has published extensively on various healthcare financing and system issues. His research delves into the impacts of financial incentives, technological advancements in medicine, competition in healthcare markets, and the dynamics of managed care and insurance plans. In addition to his primary role at Stanford, he is a Professor of Economics (by courtesy), a Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. A former Chair of the Department of Health Research and Policy at Stanford, Professor Baker has received numerous accolades, including the ASHE Medal from the American Society of Health Economists and the Alice S. Hersh Young Investigator Award from AcademyHealth. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University and a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Calvin College.

Dr. Nigam Shah is an esteemed Associate Professor of Medicine specializing in Biomedical Informatics at Stanford University, where he also serves as the Associate Chief Information Officer for Data Science at Stanford Health Care. His research focuses on integrating machine learning with medical ontologies to create a learning health system that enhances clinical decision-making and patient care. Dr. Shah has been recognized for his contributions to the field, being elected to the American College of Medical Informatics in 2015 and inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2016. He holds an MBBS from Baroda Medical College in India, a PhD from Penn State University, and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford. With over 200 scientific publications and multiple patents to his name, Dr. Shah is at the forefront of advancing AI technologies in healthcare, striving to implement them ethically and effectively within clinical settings. His work not only addresses critical healthcare challenges but also aims to democratize medical knowledge through innovative data science applications.

Dr. Mildred Cho is a Professor in the Division of Medical Genetics within the Department of Pediatrics and the Division of Primary Care and Population Health at Stanford University. She also serves as the Associate Director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and directs the Center for Integration of Research on Genetics and Ethics. Dr. Cho earned her B.S. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984 and her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Stanford University in 1992. Her research primarily focuses on the ethical and social implications of genetic research, including applications in precision medicine, gene therapy, and synthetic biology. Recently, she has explored how data science, artificial intelligence, and mobile technologies can impact genomic and health data, emphasizing the importance of integrating ethical considerations into these advancements. Dr. Cho is a member of the National Institutes of Health's Novel and Exceptional Technology and Research Advisory Committee, reflecting her commitment to shaping responsible practices in biomedical research. Through her extensive work, she significantly contributes to understanding the intersection of genetics, ethics, and technology in healthcare.