Locations:
SearchIn the Cleveland Clinic Innovations profile series, members of the Innovations team share their journey to joining the Innovations department at Cleveland Clinic, what they find inspiring about their role and what innovation means to them.
In our latest Innovations Profile spotlight feature, Christina Buzzy, PhD, Associate Director, Innovations Development, Digital Health, discusses her journey that led her to Cleveland Clinic Innovations, what she finds inspiring about her role and what innovation means to her.
Q: What brought you to Cleveland Clinic and how long have you been here?
A: I've been working at Cleveland Clinic for two years, one of those years being with Innovations. Before joining Cleveland Clinic, I worked at Case Western Reserve University for about eight years. I had also done my graduate work there in immunology for five years and devoted my early working career in clinical and translational research as a research operations and research administrative manager. I joined Cleveland Clinic due to its excellence in world class research. My work in biomedical engineering and Artificial Intelligence (AI) medical imaging at Case Western prepared me for a role in guiding the development of clinical decision support tools for medical imaging and oncology-specific applications. When the opportunity arose to join the digital health development team with Innovations, it naturally felt like a return to the track I had been on at Case Western.
I find personal alignment with my internal core values and those of the Cleveland Clinic, specifically, empathy, integrity, and teamwork. I do not interact with patients directly, but I continue to value the importance of working with colleagues and inventors in an empathetic and understanding manner.
Q: Could you please explain your role within Cleveland Clinic Innovations?
A: One of my personal hobbies is running and having watched the 2024 Olympic Games, the best analogy I can provide is that there are a lot of “staggered relay races”, taking the baton from our Engagement Partners and passing it on to various teams within the organization. We have a transition zone (two to three months) to pass the baton. Every year, our Engagement team brings in hundreds of Invention Disclosure Forms (IDFs), so we have a continual influx of new relay races to run.
Specifically, I work with our Innovations Assessment group early in the transition zone to understand the market and patentability potential of the disclosed invention. I also spend time scoping the technology and having open conversations with inventors to relay our team's diligence. Additionally, I shadow clinical observations to understand the clinical workflow better and mediate conversations between inventors and contracted external legal counsel for patent applications. In the digital health domain for some projects, I also collaborate with the Information Technology division to integrate and test launch proposed digital workflow solutions. Moreover, I work in parallel with the Business Development and Licensing (BDL) team to support licensing and commercialization efforts. My role is to ensure a smooth handover of the baton at each stage from receipt to handoff and beyond.
In the grand scheme of Cleveland Clinic Innovation’s vision statement, “We empower inventors, educate healthcare professionals, and drive commercialization to improve patient outcomes through innovation,” we incorporate all these aspects to position identified assets for commercial development. Often, we do this with education embedded into the conversation.
Q: Could you describe what the process of technology moving forward looks like versus it being reevaluated?
A: Understanding the potential commercial success of a new product involves considering various factors. As previously mentioned, we rely on our Assessment team’s analysis of existing market and patentability of the invention as well as potential business targets. This initial phase, occurring in the two to three months leading up to the decision on whether or not to proceed, is crucial. This information is used to ascertain the competitive landscape and the size of the opportunity. The patentability assessment informs our decision to file a patent application. Simultaneously, we consider the practical steps required for development, which often necessitate additional resources. Additionally, we explore potential funding opportunities and assess how such funding can contribute to the progress of the product. All of this information influences the cross-institutional Go/No-Go Committee’s decision to continue further in investing time and resources. Each decision to advance an invention disclosure involves a multifactorial evaluation, with the market, patentability, future steps, and available resources all playing significant roles. While we strive to pursue every innovative idea, we must be strategic and utilize neutral criteria to evaluate each product. Ultimately, our goal is to determine how best to bring these innovations to patients and the market, recognizing that each product will have its unique journey.
Q: What made you interested in working in Innovations?
A: Technology translation in digital health. My current focus on digital health solutions and product development feels like a natural next step after years of experience in the research administrative space. The skills I acquired in project management and working with diverse teams on translational research projects and clinical trials have proven to be valuable in my current position. On a more personal note, I have seen how medical devices and mobile software have changed my life by automating the delivery of insulin via a closed-looped insulin pump system tethered to a continuous glucose monitor to manage my autoimmune diabetes. Innovations seemed to be the sweet spot for me in digital health in terms of aligning personal and professional trajectories.
Q: What do you find inspiring about your role?
A: There are many inspiring aspects to my role. One thing that truly inspires me is the diversity of expertise within our office, all working together towards the common goal of commercial development. It's taken me 15 years post-college to reach this point, and I'm surrounded by a wealth of resources and expertise, not just within my team, but throughout the entire office. Being able to walk down the hall and have conversations with individuals specialized in patent expertise, new-company spinoffs, medical device prototyping, and regulatory frameworks is truly incredible. Any professional would be lucky to have access to the concentrated area of resources available here.
Q: Could you elaborate more on the specific skills and expertise of your team members and the distinct roles each one of you play within the team?
A: Currently, our team consists of eight individuals split into three domains. We have two team members in the digital domain, three in therapeutics and diagnostics, and three in the medical device domain. Mohamed Ramadan, PhD, MBA, General Manager, Innovations Development, supervises all these domains, and we rely on his innovation development expertise, professional guidance, and deep knowledge of how to best position and create value for an asset. As a newer member of the team, my office is located right across from the medical device team, which has provided me a glimpse of exposure to their day to day. I've been intrigued by their discussions about prototypes, vendor selection, and cost-effective ways to create initial prototypes. I've also had the opportunity to learn about the exciting molecules and clinical trials from the therapeutics and diagnostics domain during our Development team meetings. It seems like there are several advanced therapeutic developments on the horizon.
Our team uses standardized project management rubrics to evaluate the risk associated with each technology. These rubrics, which consist of market and technology scores, help us prioritize and rank all the cases in our portfolio across domains. Mohamed has done a great job of bringing together the different domains by aligning the evaluation processes on a quarterly basis, so we all have a common ground for assessing each case. This standardized approach has been essential for ensuring that all team members are moving in the same direction.
Q: What does innovation mean to you?
A: Innovation, to me, means doing something in a new and systematic way that improves upon the status quo while enhancing desired measurable outcomes, designing a new product, or taking an existing product and using it in an alternative way. For digital health specifically, innovation means moving the needle forward by expanding options for care, methods of care, and operational transactions involving healthcare delivery.
Q: Is there a particular technology that you are excited about?
A: TactIO, a combination of technologies that enables a robot to perform human-like tactile tasks using hybrid force control and adaptive compensation parameters, is a fascinating concept. I'm a strong advocate of preventative medicine and care, and I believe that integrating robots for automating dangerous tasks can significantly enhance worker safety, well-being, and retention, as well as improve manufacturing sales production, especially considering the current workforce shortages in many industries. TactIO might not be ready for partnership yet, but it's undergoing a trial to customize its capabilities for specific workplace safety automation tasks. It's a part of the portfolio of cases that I find very exciting, despite the potential challenges in understanding its direct healthcare applicability for those not directly involved in preventative medicine and care.
Q: Are there any innovative trends that you’re following in your space right now?
A: One of the main sources of information that I follow is Andriy Burkov's newsletter on LinkedIn, this follows trends, specifically with AI. Lately, there has been a lot of discussion about large language models and retrieval augmented generation products. I believe Andre does an excellent job of acting as a central repository for AI advancements, making it convenient for those who are short on time to stay updated. Michael Spencer’s Artificial Intelligence Report is another great source that I follow on LinkedIn.
Q: What advice would you give to someone interested in inventing who may be intimidated by the process?
A: Continue to engage, always question, and be relentless!
