Latest news with #Caissie
Politico
4 days ago
- Health
- Politico
AI, the disruptor-in-chief
FORWARD THINKING Artificial intelligence is upending how industries function and it's coming for scientific research next. Rene Caissie, an adjunct professor at Stanford University, wants AI to conduct research. In 2021, he started a company, that lets public health departments, researchers and life sciences companies pose research questions and receive answers immediately. And, unlike many AI systems, Caissie told Ruth, the AI explains those answers by showing the data its results are based on. 'It used to be hard to do research,' he said, explaining that it takes a lot of time for researchers to get access to and organize data in order to answer basic scientific questions. Manual data analysis can also take months. The company is now partnering with HealthVerity, a provider of real-world health data, to build up its data sources. In turn, HealthVerity will offer Medeloop's research platform to its clients. The company has worked with the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the past. Caissie says the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is already using Medeloop's AI to run public health analyses. Why it matters: Public health departments receive huge amounts of data on human health from a variety of sources. But prepping that information and analyzing it can be onerous. Having access to a research platform like Medeloop could give public health departments and academic medical centers much faster insight into trends and in turn enable them to respond more quickly. How it works: Medeloop's AI is designed to think like a researcher. In a demo, Medeloop strategist John Ayers asked the bot how many people received a first-time autism diagnosis, broken down by age, race and sex, and what trends were visible with that data. He wanted the AI to only include people who had had interactions with a doctor for at least two years prior to diagnosis. The platform returned a refined query to improve results and a suggestion for what medical codes to use to identify the right patients for inclusion in the study. It delivered a trial design that looked at a cohort of 799,560 patients with new autism diagnoses between January 2015 and December 2024. Medeloop's AI showed that 70 percent of new autism diagnoses were for males. A monthly trends report found that, outside of a dip during the Covid-19 pandemic, new autism diagnoses have been on the rise, particularly among 5-11 year olds since 2019. Though Medeloop doesn't determine the cause of autism, the ease with which users can obtain answers could help speed up the pace of research. One of the platform's key innovations is its use of a federated network of data. Medeloop's new deal with HealthVerity will raise the platform's de-identified and secure patient records to 200 million. Notably, the data never leaves the health system, which increases security. Instead, Medeloop sends its AI to wherever the data is stored, analyzes it there and then returns the results to the platform. WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. Scientists are making cover art and figures for research papers using artificial intelligence. Now illustrators are calling them out, Nature's Kamal Nahas reports. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Danny Nguyen at dnguyen@ Carmen Paun at cpaun@ Ruth Reader at rreader@ or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@ Want to share a tip securely? Message us on Signal: Dannyn516.70, CarmenP.82, RuthReader.02 or ErinSchumaker.01. TECH MAZE Large language models like ChatGPT and Claude generate inferior mental health care treatment when presented with data about a patient's race, according to a study published this week in npj Digital Medicine. The findings: Researchers from Cedars-Sinai, Stanford University and the Jonathan Jaques Children's Cancer Institute tested how artificial intelligence would produce diagnoses for psychiatric patient cases under three conditions: race neutral, race implied and race explicitly stated using four models. They included the commercially available large language models ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, as well as NewMes-15, a local model that can run on personal devices without cloud services. The researchers then asked clinical and social psychologists to evaluate the findings for bias. Most LLMs recommended dramatically different treatments for African American patients compared with others, even when they had the same psychiatric disorder and patient profile outside of race. The LLMs also proposed inferior treatments when they were made aware of a patient's race, either explicitly or implicitly. The biases likely come from the way LLMs are trained, the researchers wrote, and it's unclear how developers can mitigate those biases because 'traditional bias mitigation strategies that are standard practice, such as adversarial training, explainable AI methods, data augmentation and resampling may not be enough,' the researchers wrote. Why it matters: The study is one of the first evaluations of racial bias on psychiatric diagnoses across multiple LLMs. It comes as people increasingly turn to chatbots like ChatGPT for mental health advice and medical diagnoses. The results underscore the nascent technology's flaws. What's next: The study was small — only 10 cases were examined — which might not fully capture the consistency or extent of bias. The authors suggest that future studies could focus on a single condition with more cases for deeper analysis.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sara Deshpande brings 'tough love' to seed investing — and why she's not backing down in a turbulent market
Deshpande has spent the past decade looking for the next big consumer trends. She's one of the world's top seed investors, backing companies like Carrot Fertility and Wildtype. Read "The Seed 40: The best women early-stage investors of 2025." Sara Deshpande first met Rene Caissie, the CEO of Medeloop, in 2022 at Startup Garage, the Stanford business school class she helps teach. He pitched her a fledgling startup idea. He and his classmates shared a few business ideas with Deshpande: consumer genetic services, health data tracking, and health management for conditions like diabetes. But Deshpande wasn't convinced. She told Caissie and his team members that they needed to think of their potential consumers first to identify more unique and novel problems. So Caissie reworked his concept and came back to her 18 months later with something better. That second version became Medeloop, an AI-powered medical research startup that now counts Deshpande's venture firm, Maven Ventures, as an investor. It has since raised $23 million from General Catalyst, Maven, and other firms. Deshpande's criticism was emblematic of her approach as an early-stage investor. She isn't the kind of VC who politely nods and writes a check or supports her founders' ideas without question. "With my founders, I'm really known for tough love," she says. "I never say anything I wouldn't say directly to them, and they know everything I'm saying comes from a place of wanting them to succeed." Deshpande has been investing at Maven Ventures since 2014, when she joined as a general partner. Founded in 2013 by Jim Scheinman, Maven set out to become a go-to seed-stage firm for consumer startups, with bets including the $22 billion videoconferencing company Zoom and the $9 billion AI search startup Perplexity. At Maven, Deshpande invests in consumer applications across digital health, climate, and AI. She's backed companies including the fertility benefits startup Carrot Fertility and the sustainable seafood company Wildtype. Above all, she looks for founders who share her vision of chasing emerging consumer trends and are relentless in their pursuit. "We like to back people who'll tear through a brick wall to bring their vision to life," she said. Deshpande began her career at Deloitte in healthcare strategy during the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. "It was a moment when all our clients were trying to figure out what the next wave of consumer healthcare would look like," she says. That experience sparked a lasting interest in how consumers interact with big, complex systems — and what it takes to simplify those systems through tech. While still at Deloitte, she began volunteering at the Idea Village, a New Orleans-based startup accelerator. The day she paid off the loans she took out to attend Stanford's business school, she called the Idea Village's CEO and asked if she could come aboard full time. "That's where I got this knack for helping founders identify and achieve bold visions, against all the odds," she said of the Idea Village. By the time one of Maven's limited partners introduced Deshpande to Scheinman, she had years of experience coaching founders but had never raised outside capital. Scheinman had a few seed investments under his belt, including in Zoom, and needed a partner to help make his vision of identifying and supporting forward-thinking consumer founders a reality. "Within 24 hours of that first meeting, I wrote Jim an email like, 'Here's my job description,'" Deshpande said. Deshpande has been at Maven ever since, helping to grow the firm's portfolio and reputation. She's been a board observer or advisor to companies such as Hello Heart, Carrot Fertility, Daybreak Health, and Medeloop. Now more than a decade in, Deshpande still sees long-term potential in sectors like consumer health, concierge medicine, and personalized care. Deshpande said consumer health technologies remain a resilient sector despite market challenges. An analysis by the digital health advisory company Galen Growth found that consumer health tech investments grew by 9% between 2023 and 2024. But Deshpande isn't blind to the moment. She acknowledged that recent recession fears and market volatility may shape consumer and founder behavior. "It's a really turbulent time to be a founder," she said. "We'd all been hoping for a rosier economic picture. That now seems way less certain." Still, Deshpande said that great companies are often created during periods of economic uncertainty. She's keeping her eye on founders willing to push forward, including through layoffs or dramatic market shifts. "Sometimes that's the kick somebody needs," she said. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Sara Deshpande brings 'tough love' to seed investing — and why she's not backing down in a turbulent market
Sara Deshpande first met Rene Caissie, the CEO of Medeloop, in 2022 at Startup Garage, the Stanford business school class she helps teach. He pitched her a fledgling startup idea. He and his classmates shared a few business ideas with Deshpande: consumer genetic services, health data tracking, and health management for conditions like diabetes. But Deshpande wasn't convinced. She told Caissie and his team members that they needed to think of their potential consumers first to identify more unique and novel problems. So Caissie reworked his concept and came back to her 18 months later with something better. That second version became Medeloop, an AI-powered medical research startup that now counts Deshpande's venture firm, Maven Ventures, as an investor. It has since raised $23 million from General Catalyst, Maven, and other firms. Deshpande's criticism was emblematic of her approach as an early-stage investor. She isn't the kind of VC who politely nods and writes a check or supports her founders' ideas without question. "With my founders, I'm really known for tough love," she says. "I never say anything I wouldn't say directly to them, and they know everything I'm saying comes from a place of wanting them to succeed." Deshpande has been investing at Maven Ventures since 2014, when she joined as a general partner. Founded in 2013 by Jim Scheinman, Maven set out to become a go-to seed-stage firm for consumer startups, with bets including the $22 billion videoconferencing company Zoom and the $9 billion AI search startup Perplexity. At Maven, Deshpande invests in consumer applications across digital health, climate, and AI. She's backed companies including the fertility benefits startup Carrot Fertility and the sustainable seafood company Wildtype. Above all, she looks for founders who share her vision of chasing emerging consumer trends and are relentless in their pursuit. "We like to back people who'll tear through a brick wall to bring their vision to life," she said. From healthcare strategy to startup advisory Deshpande began her career at Deloitte in healthcare strategy during the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. "It was a moment when all our clients were trying to figure out what the next wave of consumer healthcare would look like," she says. That experience sparked a lasting interest in how consumers interact with big, complex systems — and what it takes to simplify those systems through tech. While still at Deloitte, she began volunteering at the Idea Village, a New Orleans-based startup accelerator. The day she paid off the loans she took out to attend Stanford's business school, she called the Idea Village's CEO and asked if she could come aboard full time. "That's where I got this knack for helping founders identify and achieve bold visions, against all the odds," she said of the Idea Village. By the time one of Maven's limited partners introduced Deshpande to Scheinman, she had years of experience coaching founders but had never raised outside capital. Scheinman had a few seed investments under his belt, including in Zoom, and needed a partner to help make his vision of identifying and supporting forward-thinking consumer founders a reality. "Within 24 hours of that first meeting, I wrote Jim an email like, 'Here's my job description,'" Deshpande said. Deshpande has been at Maven ever since, helping to grow the firm's portfolio and reputation. She's been a board observer or advisor to companies such as Hello Heart, Carrot Fertility, Daybreak Health, and Medeloop. Finding bold founders in a shaky market Now more than a decade in, Deshpande still sees long-term potential in sectors like consumer health, concierge medicine, and personalized care. Deshpande said consumer health technologies remain a resilient sector despite market challenges. An analysis by the digital health advisory company Galen Growth found that consumer health tech investments grew by 9% between 2023 and 2024. But Deshpande isn't blind to the moment. She acknowledged that recent recession fears and market volatility may shape consumer and founder behavior. "It's a really turbulent time to be a founder," she said. "We'd all been hoping for a rosier economic picture. That now seems way less certain." Still, Deshpande said that great companies are often created during periods of economic uncertainty. She's keeping her eye on founders willing to push forward, including through layoffs or dramatic market shifts. "Sometimes that's the kick somebody needs," she said.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cubs Predicted to Move Owen Caissie at Deadline for Pitching Help
The Chicago Cubs have emerged as early favorites in the NL Central during a strong start to the 2025 season, and barring a collapse in the coming weeks, they will almost certainly be buyers leading up to this year's trade deadline. With a locked-in starting outfield of Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Ian Happ, there is no clear path to playing time for top prospect Owen Caissie as he is once again off to a strong start at the Triple-A level, and that makes him an obvious candidate to be the centerpiece of a July blockbuster. Advertisement Caissie, 22, spent the entire 2024 campaign at Triple-A Iowa, posting an .848 OPS with 29 doubles, 19 home runs, and 75 RBI in 127 games. Owen CaissieMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports That performance earned him the No. 60 spot on Baseball America's Top 100 prospect list to begin the 2025 season, and he is making an impact at the plate once again with an .862 OPS and 11 extra-base hits in 19 games to start the year. With ace Justin Steele out for the year after undergoing elbow surgery, the Cubs could find themselves in the market for rotation help by the time the deadline rolls around, especially if Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea regress from better-than-expected starts. Advertisement Sandy Alcántara (Miami Marlins), Tyler Anderson (Los Angeles Angels), Chris Bassitt (Toronto Blue Jays), Andrew Heaney (Pittsburgh Pirates) and Pablo López (Minnesota Twins) are among the speculative trade candidates that could become available on the pitching market this summer, though it might take a young, controllable arm for the Cubs to consider moving Caissie. Related: Paul Skenes Makes Cubs Announcement After Brutal Outing
CBC
04-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Pro basketball returns to Moncton — again. Fourth attempt in 14 years
Men's professional basketball is returning to Moncton. The Tri-City Tide, which will represent Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview, is the fourth attempt at pro ball in the area since 2011. The Tri-City Tide is part of The Basketball League, which is mostly made up of U.S.-based teams. The only other Canadian teams are Halifax and Vancouver. Saint John was expected to also join the league, but in a social media post on Jan. 27, Port City Power owner Jamie Dobbelsteyn said the team would not be participating in the upcoming season as planned. "Despite our best efforts, we faced financial challenges and unmet business expectations that have led us to make this difficult decision." They plan to explore "new opportunities to bring basketball back to Saint John in a stronger and more sustainable way," Dobbelsteyn wrote. Community support encouraging Tri-City Tide owner Dustin Caissie said this time will be different. He said the league's franchise fees and rules aren't as onerous as with leagues in the past. Plus, a smaller venue, Crandall University, helps keep the costs down. And so far, community support has been encouraging. "I know we've only had a preseason game, an inner-squad game, but a lot of people are appreciative of what they're seeing," said Caissie. He said he was "delighted" with the attendance. "I think it just showed that people are interested in seeing what's going on. There was a couple hundred people there, and then the preseason game, we were really impressed," said Caissie. "There was, I think, 250 to 300 people who showed up to that game and they packed the gym, and you could feel it in the atmosphere that people are excited to be there and see basketball back." Focus on local players Cassie said he built the team with a focus on picking local players first, "and then kind of bring in pieces to help build around it." He said the TBL is focused on "highlighting your local talent and trying to get your local talent out there." Moncton's James French is one of those local players. French was involved in the last attempt to get a pro team in Moncton. He played — albeit briefly — for the Moncton Motion in the inaugural season of the Eastern Canadian Basketball League, which came to an abrupt end in May 2023, with players, coaches, hotels and bus companies left unpaid. French thinks it will be different this time with "the people behind the scene working really hard," and playing at a smaller venue than previous attempts. "Playing at Crandall, kind of a smaller venue that we can really fill up and get the energy for the fans — makes it more enjoyable for them and for us." And, said French, "having a more affordable canteen. All these things that really make it more for the community, I think is why this is going to be different this time around and be more successful." French said there's a great group of players on the roster. "I think everybody was pretty clear on the first day that everybody's on the same page and wants to win, but also have fun playing together and get to know each other." He said the players have been focused on scoring as a team. "When you're playing unselfish basketball, that's more fun basketball. When you're having fun, that's when you win games." Still getting to know each other French also said the players are getting to know each other off the court as well. "Getting to know each other outside of the game of basketball, which I think is correlating to our on-court chemistry." French said having local basketball heroes on the team is also part of the draw for fans — guys like Matt Robertson and Mark McLaughlin, who's from Halifax, but lives in Moncton, said French. "I remember watching Matt when he was on the Miracles, so being able to play with him is pretty great," said French. Two Maritime teams in division Moncton joins Halifax as one of two Canadian teams in the 16-team eastern division, which means travel costs are "not as affordable as it has been in the past," said Caissie. He said the calibre of basketball will be as high as other leagues that have come and gone, but the atmosphere with the smaller venue, "it's going to be a lot more personal." He said the plan is to grow and eventually move to a larger venue, "but we're not going to make that jump until we feel we're ready." French agrees. "When we had the Moncton Motion, we were at the Avenir Centre and we had a thousand fans, but it felt like it was empty because it was so spread out. Whereas now, if we get 500 — yes, it's less fans, but it's going to be way louder, more enjoyable. "And I think over time that's going to lead to the success of the team and organization." Based on the growth of the sport at youth levels in the Moncton area, French is confident there's going to be a lot of support for the team. The team is also connecting with those young teams and making appearances at their events. "Like when we went to the Moncton Hawks' practice last week … and they had just as much fun as the kids, just being out there and shooting around, having fun," said French. The first home game for the Tri-City tide is on March 15 against the Halifax Hoopers at Crandall University.
