After a more than 20-year stint as a cardiologist and professor of medicine in Durham, N.C.-based Duke University Health System and a clinical investigator at the Duke Clinical Research Institute, Matthew Roe, MD, has joined Verana Health as CMO.
Dr. Roe will serve as the first chief medical officer for the startup, which compiles and analyzes de-identified data from EHRs, as well as imaging, genomic and claims datasets, to support advances in clinical research and care. Earlier this month, Verana Health closed a $100 million funding round led by Alphabet's GV investment arm to accelerate and expand this work.
At Verana Health, Dr. Roe will oversee efforts to ensure the quality of the data gathered and the clinical validity and scientific integrity of subsequent analysis, according to a Feb. 20 news release sent to Becker's Hospital Review.
In a blog post, Dr. Roe explained that his career shift was sparked by a desire not to move in an entirely new direction away from clinical care, but to improve the data-driven tools and resources available to clinicians, informed by his two decades of experience in the field.
"I've come to realize that disruptive approaches are needed to improve clinical care delivery and overcome the inefficiencies and cost barriers that have stifled clinical research and limited the generation of high-quality evidence that will change clinical practice," he wrote, noting that Verana Health is one such disruptor, as it aims "to develop the most effective data solutions that will improve the health and quality of life of patients across diverse medical conditions."
Read Dr. Roe's full post here.