Tucson Standard

On April 1, the House Committee on Veterans Affairs conducted a hearing titled "Harnessing Biomedical Innovation: Modernizing VA Healthcare for the Future." Among the four individuals invited to provide testimony was Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy, the director of the Center for Sleep, Circadian and Neuroscience Research at the University of Arizona Health Sciences. Dr. Parthasarathy also holds the position of professor and chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.

Parthasarathy has over ten years of experience working as a physician and associate chief of staff for research in two VA hospitals: Edward J. Hines VA Hospital in Illinois and the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System. Presently, he also serves on the board of directors of the Biomedical Research and Education Foundation of Southern Arizona. This nonprofit organization supports medical research and education missions associated with the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System.

The University of Arizona Health Sciences Office of Communications met with Parthasarathy following his testimony to discuss innovation in healthcare and biomedical research. "A wealth of scientific knowledge is being generated by biomedical research that has cross-cutting benefits to veterans’ health, especially in the nascent area of sleep and circadian science," said Parthasarathy. Meeting the challenge of turning research innovations into standard care requires deliberate implementation, as he illustrates: "There is a dire need to disseminate and implement – or simply put, 'harness' – these research findings into day-to-day clinical practice for us to realize the return on investment for such scientific knowledge and to improve the health of the veterans and the nation."

Parthasarathy pointed out that implementing new biomedical solutions requires understanding the touch points, barriers, and solutions, hence the role of implementation science. He explained, “Implementation science is figuring out a smart way of doing something new.” This approach considers the workload of healthcare providers and the contextual applicability of scientific findings. Parthasarathy emphasized the potential collaboration between AI and machine learning in easing healthcare provider burdens, stating, "Enabling AI and machine learning approaches will assist with dissemination and implementation science while shifting the task from the busy health care providers to machines that can work hand in hand with them."

Offering an example of implementation science in practice, Parthasarathy spoke of a machine learning algorithm developed in partnership with MIT researchers, now integrated into the Banner – University Medical Center Tucson’s electronic medical records system, identifying patients with potential sleep apnea. He emphasized the role of technology like AI in supporting CPAP therapy adherences, a common treatment for the widespread condition of sleep apnea among veterans.

When asked about broader implications, Parthasarathy noted, "The time is now to harness the biomedical advances to benefit the health of veterans using AI and machine learning." He believes addressing sleep issues can mitigate broader health problems and improve the overall well-being of U.S. veterans, with benefits flowing into the wider community. He concluded, "There will only be downstream benefits – society at large will benefit from addressing sleep problems in veterans and thoughtfully harnessing and implementing these innovations into the real world."

A version of this article was initially published on the University of Arizona Health Sciences website.