Feature Spotlight
Jamie Fairc lough: Harnessing the Power of Data to Transform Medicine by Jason Roth
In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare and medical education, data has become a linchpin, guiding decisions, shaping strategies, and unlocking new frontiers. Jamie Fairclough, PhD, MPH, MS, Roseman University College of Medicine’s Associate Dean for Research Assessment & Evaluation and Professor, is a visionary leader who has made data the centerpiece of her career. In an in-depth interview, we delve into her remarkable journey and her pivotal role in shaping the future of medicine through data-driven insights.
From Dissertation to Data Enthusiast Dr. Fairclough's entry into the world of data began when she was conducting secondary data analysis for her dissertation in a doctoral program in human sciences at Florida State University. Despite initial warnings from doctoral chairs about the challenges of working with secondary data, she embarked on the arduous task of analyzing a messy longitudinal dataset focused on HPV outcomes. The complexity of the dataset led her to explore additional statistical analyses to ensure data appropriateness. This experience marked her epiphany moment, sparking a deep passion for statistics and data analysis. "I fell in love with stats," Dr. Fairclough recalls. The experience compelled her to reflect on her educational journey as she completed her PhD in human sciences and to reconsider her path. Throughout her career, Dr. Fairclough consistently found herself at the forefront of data-related initiatives, emphasizing the importance of accurate, timely, and comprehensive data. Her trajectory took her from an Assistant Dean position in a pharmacy school to a broader role in medicine, and she knew she needed additional training to fulfill her data-centric ambitions. "I ended up going back and doing a lot of postgraduate work," she said. Following an NIH postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University, Dr. Fairclough’s love of stats led her to pursue multiple postgraduate programs, including Data Science, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, and Cloud Computing at University of Texas at Austin; 4|
Winter 2023
Medical Statistics at Stanford University; Healthcare AI at Harvard Medical School; and Data Engineering at University of Chicago. She was also selected as a Data & Policy Summer Scholar at University of Chicago. Data as the Foundation of Medicine At Roseman University College of Medicine, Dr. Fairclough shares the essential role data plays in the College's mission. "The data tells our story," she explains. “It serves as a guiding light, helping the College achieve its goals and objectives. The data can take various forms—quantitative, qualitative, or unstructured, such as images and audio. The goal is to gather data comprehensively from various systems and ensure it paints an accurate picture.” One distinctive aspect of Dr. Fairclough's role at Roseman is the early integration of data science. She notes that "bringing in a data scientist this early is the development of a medical school is very unusual, especially at a leadership level." The institution's forwardthinking approach involves considering data infrastructure from the outset, ensuring that data collection aligns with future analytical needs. Addressing the challenge of disparate systems in medicine, Dr. Fairclough's team actively investigates ways to integrate data from various platforms. They ask critical questions about data ownership, accessibility, and utility. By setting up data infrastructure from the beginning, Roseman University College of Medicine aims to harness data's power effectively and efficiently.