The right tools for the right questions to fight cancer

The Health Pulse

Dr. Richardus Vonk, VP, Head of Oncology Statistics and Data Management at Bayer, wants to see cancer become a manageable disease in his lifetime. With as many as one in two people getting cancer at some point in their lives, the goal to better treat and eventually prevent and cure cancer is incredibly impactful. On this episode of the Health Pulse Podcast, Vonk sits down with host Alex Maiersperger to discuss the role of data, analytics, AI and automation in advancing cancer research and drug development. He explains that AI is playing an important role in early detection of cancer but has yet to find widespread adoption in drug development. Automation is important because it frees up time at the end of clinical trials to explore the science and uncover valuable insights to inform care. When it comes to analytics software, Vonk thinks the future is a mix of commercial and open source. What’s more important according to Vonk, is expanding access and ability to share data, while protecting patient privacy, and using the right tool to answer the right questions.