Health Innovation Collab Lab

DMICE, OHSU Innovates and Dept of Surgery Surgical Data & Decision Sciences Lab are organizing a three-part Health Innovation Collab Lab where participants will gain valuable insights into real-world translational problems and acquire practical skills in ideation, pitch development, science communication, collaboration and networking. This is a unique opportunity to  expand your skillset to identify and solve translational problems and develop a compelling pitch to diverse audiences for translational impact (business ventures, grant proposals).  Participants will be uniquely positioned to drive meaningful impact in AI, health equity, and learning health systems.  

Part 1: April 4, 2024

Introduction to Translational Problems

• Problem identification activity
• Emphasis placed on identifying gaps in healthcare delivery, disparities in access, and opportunities for improvement

Due April 8: submit completed problem statement worksheet for team assignments 

Part 2: April 25, 2024

Crafting a Compelling Pitch

• Mentoring by OHSU Entrepreneurs-in-Residence
• Guidance on communicating the problem-solution fit, highlighting the real-world impact of your proposed innovation

Part 3: May 30, 2024

Shark Tank Pitch

• Each team will present their innovation pitch to the larger group, simulating a real-world pitch scenario
• Experts in surgery, bioinformatics, and innovation will offer insights and guidance to further enhance the quality and viability of the proposed solutions, as well as offer next steps

 Pohahau A, Russell KQ, Papke S, Sera V, Enomoto TM, Song HK, Bhamidipati CM, Lantz G, Tibayan F, Stock A, Doberne JW. Implementation of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols in cardiac surgery: Early experience. Accepted for poster presentation at STS Advances in Quality & Outcomes: A Data Managers Meeting, September 25-26, 2025; San Antonio, TX.

Andujo V, Chou B, Markwardt S, Moneta G, Abraham C, Moren A, Willis S, Jenkins P, Lian T, Lampman P, Schreiber M, Doberne J. Critical Crossroads: Exploring outcomes in patients with simultaneous blunt thoracic aortic injury and traumatic brain injury. Accepted for presentation at OR-WA Chapter of American College of Surgeons Annual Meeting; Sept 12-24, 2025, Chelan, WA.

Krol O, Clark K, Mishra V, Iyengar S, Martin C, Blondon K, Thanawala R, Doberne J. Building a consumer health informatics introductory course consensus curriculum: An eDelphi Study. Accepted for presentation at American Medical Informatics Association Annual Symposium; November 15-19, 2025; Atlanta, GA.

Andujo V, Moneta G, Abraham M, Doberne J. Medical management of patients with concomitant blunt thoracic aortic injury and traumatic brain injury. Accepted for presentation at European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery Annual Meeting; October 9, 2025; Copenhagen, Denmark. 

Doberne J, Jenkins P, Doberne D, Thanawala R, Gold JA. The landscape of Electronic Health Record burden and stewardship across specialties and training levels. Accepted for presentation at American Board of Medical Specialties Conference 2025; September 17-19, 2025; Pittsburgh, PA.

Andujo J, Moneta G, Abraham M, Doberne J. Anti-impulse therapy for blunt thoracic aortic injury: Does it affect outcomes in patients with concomitant traumatic brain injury? Accepted for presentation at: 84^th Annual Meeting of AAST and Clinical Congress of Acute Care Surgery; September 10-13 2025; Boston, MA.

 Krol O, Clark K, Mishra V, Iyengar S, Martin C, Blondon K, Thanawala R, Doberne J. Developing a consensus-derived consumer health informatics curriculum using modified Delphi method. Accepted for presentation at: International Medical Informatics Association MedInfo Conference, August 2025; Taipei, Taiwan.

Chang CC, Jenkins P, Jesneck J, Doberne J, Thanawala R. EPA Field Analysis: Real-life EPA practice habits differ from expected. Presented at: Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS) 2025 Annual Meeting; 2025 May 6-8; Seattle, WA.

Jenkins P, Cramer E, Doberne J, Bedrick S, Thanawala, R. Leveraging NLP for automated assessment of surgical resident operative notes. Presented at: Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS) 2025 Annual Meeting; 2025 May 6-8; Seattle, WA.

Jenkins P, Oran A, Chang C, Jesneck J, Doberne J, Thanawala R. Not all EPAs are created equal: Fixing sampling bias with utility modeling. Presented at: Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS) 2025 Annual Meeting; 2025 May 6-8; Seattle, WA.

Andujo V, Chou B, Nako E, Durbin S, Mcloud S, Abtin S, Abraham C, Moneta G, Doberne J, Schreiber M. Is Anticoagulation for Thoracic Endovascular Repair Safe in Patients with Concomitant Traumatic Brain Injury and Blunt Thoracic Aortic Injury? 2025 Annual Winter Meeting of the VESS; 2025 Feb 6-9; Breckenridge, CO. Salem, MA: Vascular & Endovascular Surgery Society; c2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avsg.2024.11.091

Andujo V, Chou B, Nako E, Durbin S, Mcloud S, Abtin S, Abraham C, Moneta G, Doberne J, Schreiber M. Anti-Impulse Therapy for Blunt Thoracic Aortic Injury: Does it affect outcomes in patients with Concomitant Traumatic Brain Injury? ACS Committee on Trauma Region X annual meeting; 2024 Nov 23; Virtual; Portland, OR

Andujo V, Chou B, Nako E, Durbin S, Mcloud S, Abtin S, Abraham C, Moneta G, Doberne J, Schreiber M. Impact of Traumatic Brain Injury on Management and Outcomes of Patients with Blunt Thoracic Aortic Injury. North Pacific Surgical Association Annual Meeting; 2024 Nov 9; Spokane, WA 

Mohammadi M, Sewell M, Kilbourne M, Schipper P, Doberne J, Thanawala R. Addressing the inequities in thoracic surgery: How telemedicine is levelling the playing field. AMA Research Challenge Poster Symposium; 2024 Nov 7-9. Virtual.

 Anderson TN, Doberne J, Thanawala R. Clinical Informatics Curriculum and Competency Development for Surgical Residents. Surgical AI Symposium. Milwaukee, WI. 9/28/2024. 

Pohahau A, Wadiwala IJ, Doberne JW, Abraham CZ, Bhamidipati CM, Shalhub S, Politano AD. Retrograde type A dissection after the use of a thoracic branch endoprosthesis. Podium presentation at: Pacific Northwest Vascular Society Conference; 2024 Nov; Portland, OR.

Krol O, Dinh A, Song H, Hamilton A, Thanawala R, Gold J, Doberne J. Advance practice provider EHR usage and workflow significantly differs from that of surgeons. Accepted for presentation at Southern Thoracic Surgical Association, Austin TX, November 7-10, 2024

Sewell M, Kilbourne M, Schipper P, Thanawala R. Extending the reach of thoracic oncology with telehealth: Phone-based telemedicine assessments in thoracic oncology are safe and effective. Poster session presented at: Society of Thoracic Surgery Annual Meeting; 2024 Jan 27-29; San Antonio, TX. 

Sewell M, Mohammadi M, Schipper P, Rydzak C, Landreth S, Thanawala R. Minimally invasive lobar preservation in the setting of spontaneous middle-lobe torsion. JTCVS Tech. 2023 Nov;23:154-157. 

Sewell M, Sukumar M, Thanawala R. Left-Sided Approach to Esophageal Mobilization for Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy in a Patient With a Right-Sided Descending Aorta. CTSNet [Internet]. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Health & Science University. 2023 Feb. Available from https://www.ctsnet.org/node/54731

Jenkins, P., Patel, R., Jesneck, J., Lee, E., Thanawala, R. Insights into Digital Assessments: Analyzing User Engagement Trends to Optimize Feedback in Surgical Education. Presented by Jenkins, P. for OHSU Research Week, May 6, 2024 in Portland, OR. 

Chang, C., Jesneck, J., Lee, E., Brasel, K., Cook, M., Seshadri, R., Nitzkorski, J., Rhee, R., Shelton, J., Thanawala, R. EHR-Driven Delivery of EPA Assessment Significantly Improves Participation. Presented by Chang, C. for Association of Program Directors in Surgery on April 25, 2024 in Orlando, FL 

Sewell, M., Kilbourne, M., Schipper, P., Thanawala, R., Extending the reach of thoracic oncology with telehealth: Phone-based telemedicine assessments in thoracic oncology and safe and effective. Presented by Sewell, M. for Society for Thoracic Surgery on January 27, 2024 virtually in San Antonio, TX as well as at OHSU Research Week, May 6 2024 in Portland, OR.

Mohammadi, M., Sewell, M., Kilbourne, M., Schipper, P., Thanawala, R., Extending the reach of thoracic oncology with telehealth: Phone-based telemedicine assessments in thoracic oncology and safe and effective. Presented by Mohammadi, M OHSU Research Week, May 6, 2024 in Portland, OR.

Krol O, Mohammadi M, Dinh A, Thanawala R, Gold J, Doberne J. EHR Usage Trends among Surgical Trainees and Attendings. Presented by Krol, O OHSU Research Week, May 6, 2024 in Portland, OR.

Department of Medicine Grand Rounds - OHSU, August 5th, 2025

"Surgical Data and Decision Sciences Lab" - Speaker: Dr. Julie Doberne, MD, PhD

OHSU Vascular Surgery Research Conference, May 8th, 2024

"Machine Learning in Surgery" - Speakers: Dr. Julie Doberne, MD, PhD, Dr. Steven Bedrick, PhD, and Dr. Phil Jenkins, MD

Grand Rounds: 18th Annual Harvey Signman Lecture in Surgical Education - McGill University, November 7th, 2024

"Launching a New Era of Data-Driven Learning with Epistomics" - Speaker: Dr. Ruchi Thanawala, MD, MS, FACS

Southern Thoracic Surgical Society - Austin, Texas, November 10th, 2024

"AI in Surgical Training: A Transformative Time" - Speaker: Dr. Ruchi Thanawala, MD, MS, FACS

Department of Surgery Grand Rounds - OHSU, November 18th, 2024 

"Computer Vision in Surgery" - Speaker: Dr. Julie Doberne, MD, PhD

Pacific Rim Health Informatics Conference - Guangzhou, China, December 6th, 2024

"Epistenomics: The science of how we learn?" - Speaker: Dr. Ruchi Thanawala, MD, MS, FACS 

1. Learning decision and data science
   • Natural language processing as a tool to understand scope of knowledge about operations in surgical education
   • Ontological framework to measure relatedness of operations
   • Mapping assessment and perception derived learning curves in surgery
   • Measuring user experience and usability metrics driving surgical skill assessment
   • Machine learning driving entrustability modeling
2. Clinical decision and data science
   • Assessing feasibility of phone-based only telehealth visits to increase accessibility of thoracic oncology care

Journal Publications:

Anderson TN, Jenkins PD, Doberne JW, Mohan V, Thanawala RM. Defining the Clinical Informatics Knowledge Gap in General Surgery: Evaluation of Resident Experience and Perspectives. Accepted for publication in the Journal of Surgical Education, August 5, 2025.

 Sewell M, Mohammadi M, Kilbourne M, Grunkemeier G, Schipper P, Doberne J, Thanawala R. Extending the reach of thoracic surgical oncology with telehealth. Annals of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports. April 21, 2025

Thanawala, R., The impact of AI on surgery residency programs: improving competency, performance, and the future. Global Surgical Education-Journal of the Association for Surgical Education.2024;3(1):p.55.  doi: 10.1007/s44186-024-00255-4

Chang, C., Sukumar, M. and Thanawala, R., Case report: The natural history of congenital pulmonary airway malformations diagnosed in adulthood. JTCVS techniques.2024;24:pp.210-2. PMID: 38835598. doi: 10.1016/j.xjtc.2024.01.001

Vitous, C., Bamdad, M., Bankhead, B., McElroy, I., Mogal, H., Thanawala, R., Ghaferi, A. Finding Comfort in Discomfort…Reflecting on Stories Told. Journal of Surgical Research.2024;293:A1-A7. PMID: 37062668. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2022.12.045

Sewell, M., Mohammadi, M., Schipper, P., Rydzak, C., Landreth, S., and Thanawala, R. Minimally invasive lobar preservation in the setting of spontaneous middle-lobe torsion. JTCVS Techniques.2023;23:pp154-7. PMID: 38352016. doi: 10.1016/j.xjtc.2023.11.009

Wong, L.Y., Sukumar, M., Fuss, C. and Thanawala, R. Pulmonary Vascular Complication associated with Coronavirus Infection and Role of Lung Resection. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.2022;115(4):e89-91. PMID: 35472408.  doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2022.04.016

Thanawala, R., Jesneck, J., Shelton, J., Rhee, R. and Seymour, N.E. Overcoming Systems Factors in Case Logging with Artificial Intelligence Tools. Journal of Surgical Education.2022;79(4):pp102-1030. PMID: 3519831.   doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2022.01.013

Atthota, S., Griffiths, A., Kangas-Dick, A., Jesneck, J., Thanawala, R., Savel, R. and Rhee, R. The Attending Meritocracy: Implementation of a Novel Team-Based Approach to Provide Effective Resident Feedback. Journal of Surgical Education.2021;78(6):e78-e85. PMID: 34452853.  doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2021.08.005

Ku, J.H., Siegel, S.A., Philley, J., Schipper, P., Thanawala, R., Hendrick, M.A., Sigler, C., Strnad, L., McShane, P., Griffith, D. and Tieu, B. Outcomes of Resectional Thoracic Surgery for the Treatment of Pulmonary Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Disease in 105 Patients in the United States. Chest.2022;161(2):365-9. PMID:  34390707.  doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2021.08.004.

Qaqish, T.R., Chainani, A., Batchelor, E., Thanawala, R., Jonsdottir, H., Krishnan, S., Gross, T. and Arshava, E.V. Spontaneous bilobar torsion managed with pneumopexy. JTCVS techniques.2021;7:301-4. PMID: 34318276.  doi: 10.1016/j.xjtc.2021.01.027

Meholick, A.L., Jesneck, J.L., Thanawala, R.M. and Seymour, N.E. Use of a secure Web-based data management platform to track resident operative performance and program educational quality over time. Journal of Surgical Education.2020;77(6):e187-e195. PMID: 32600891.  doi:10.1016/j.jsurg.2020.05.022

Thanawala, R.M., Jesneck, J.L. and Seymour. Education management platform enables delivery and comparison of multiple evaluation types. Journal of Surgical Education.2019;76(6):e209-e216. PMID: 31515199.  doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2019.08.017

Thanawala, R., Jesneck, J., & Seymour, N. E. Novel educational information management platform improves the surgical skill evaluation process of surgical residents. Journal of Surgical Education. 2018;75(6):e204-e211. PMID: 30077701.  doi:10.1016/j.jsurg.2018.06.004

Bharadwaj, S., Vasanth, G., Masuelli, L., Thanawala, R. and Prasad, G.L. Inhibition of nuclear accumulation of phosphorylated ERK by tropomyosin-1-mediated cytoskeletal reorganization. J Cancer Mol. 2008;4:139-144.  doi: 10.29685/JCM.200812.0002

Bharadwaj, S., Thanawala, R., Bon, G., Falcioni, R. and Prasad, G.L. Resensitization of breast cancer cells to anoikis by tropomyosin-1: role of Rho kinase-dependent cytoskeleton and adhesion. Oncogene. 2005;24(56):8291-8303. PMID: 16170368.  doi:10.1038/sj.onc.1208993

Electronic Publications:

Sewell, M., Sukumar, M, Thanawala, R., Left-sided Approach to Esophageal Mobilization for Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy in a patient with a Right-Sided Descending Aorta.  CTSNet. February 15, 2023. https://www.ctsnet.org/article/left-sided-approach-esophageal-mobilizat…

Thanawala R. How accelerated learning platforms are pushing surgical education forward. KevinMD. December 23, 2022. https://www.kevinmd.com/2022/12/how-accelerated-learning-platforms-are-…

Thanawala R. AI-assisted surgical training. MedTech Intelligence. June 8, 2022. https://medtechintelligence.com/feature_article/ai-assisted-surgical-tr…

Thanawala R. How artificial intelligence can personalize surgical training. HealthTeach HotSpot. April 21, 2022. https://healthtechhotspot.com/how-artificial-intelligence-can-personali…

Arshava E, Thanawala R, Keech J, Parekh K. Arshava transhiatal retractor. University of Iowa Thoracic Surgery Protocols. May 18, 2020. https://medicine.uiowa.edu/iowaprotocols/arshava-transhiatal-retractor

Journal Publications:

Anderson TN, Jenkins PD, Doberne JW, Mohan V, Thanawala RM. Defining the Clinical Informatics Knowledge Gap in General Surgery: Evaluation of Resident Experience and Perspectives. Accepted for publication in the Journal of Surgical Education, August 5, 2025.

 Andujo V, Chou B, Nako E, Durbin S, Moneta GL, Abraham CZ, Abtin S, Mcloud S, Schreiber MA, Doberne J. Association of Traumatic Brain Injury with management and outcomes of patients with Blunt Thoracic Aortic Injury. Accepted for publication in American Journal of Surgery, May 8 2025.

 Sewell M, Mohammadi M, Kilbourne M, Grunkemeier G, Schipper P, Doberne J, Thanawala R. Extending the reach of thoracic surgical oncology with telehealth. Annals of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports. April 21, 2025

Wong LY, Vila R, Lantz G, Doberne J, Bhamidipati C, Tibayan F, Masri A, Song H. Mid-Term Outcomes: a Comprehensive Approach to Surgery for Hyperthrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy. Ann Thorac Surg 2024.

Lutz K, Asturias K, Garg J, Poudyal A, Lantz G, Golwala H, Doberne J, Politano A, Song H, Zahr F. Alternative access for TAVR: Choosing the right pathway. In: Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Challenges and Future Directions (Special Issue). Journal of Clinical Medicine April 2024.

Jarral A, Jensen C, Doberne J, Downey P, Serfas J, Vekstein A, Hughes GC. Mid-term outcomes of aortic valve repair using an anatomically shaped internal annuloplasty ring. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2023 Dec 1;64(6):ezad395.

Venkatraman V, Lad SP, Gellad ZF, Heo H, Wu KA, Dharmapurikar R, Liu B, Jung SH, Plichta R, Harrison JK, Nguyen TC, Doberne J. Improving patient outcomes with a mobile digital health platform for patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement. J Invasive Cardiol. 2023 Sep;35(9).

Venkatraman V, Ponder M, Gellad Z, Lad S, Christy E, Plichta R, Harrison JK, Hughes GC, Doberne JW. Feasibility study of a novel digital health platform for patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). J Card Surg 2022;37:2017-22.

Doberne J, Redd T, Lattin D, Yackel TR, Eriksson CO, Mohan V, Gold JA, Ash JS, Chiang MF. Perspectives and uses of the electronic health record among US pediatricians: A national survey. Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, 31 Dec 2016, 40(1):59-68.

Doberne JW, He Z, Mohan V, Gold JA, Marquard J, Chiang MF. Using high-fidelity simulation and eye tracking to characterize EHR workflow patterns among hospital physicians. AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings. 2015 Nov; 2053.

Doberne JW, Kakaday R, Redd T, Lattin D, Yackel TR, Eriksson CO, Mohan V, Gold JA, Ash JS, Chiang MF. Barriers to Information Access in Electronic Health Records during Initial Patient Visits: A Qualitative Study. Proceedings of the HFES 2015 International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care: Improving the Outcomes. 2015;4(1)143-9.

Digital Health for Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review. Wu KA, Kunte S, Rajkumar S, Venkatraman V, Kim G, Kaplan S, Anwar-Hashmi SO, Doberne J, Nguyen TC, Lad SP. Healthcare (Basel). 2023 Aug 28;11(17):2411. doi: 10.3390/healthcare11172411.

Redd TK, Doberne JW, Lattin D, Yackel TR, Eriksson CO, Mohan V, Gold JA, Ash JS, Chiang MF. Variability in electronic health record usage and workflow among specialty vs. primary care physicians. AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings. 2015 Nov; 1881.

Doberne JW, Sabe AA, Vekstein AM, Wojnarski CM, Anand J, Voight S, Raman V, Halpern S, Armstrong JL, Zhu A, Weissler EH, Jawitz OK, Williams AR, Hughes GC. Stent graft-induced aortic wall injury (SAWI) – Incidence, risk factors, and Outcomes. Ann Thorac Surg 2022 Feb 9:S0003-4975(22)00175-8.

Doberne JW, Jawitz OK, Raman V, Bryner BS, Schroder JN, Milano CA. Heart transplantation survival  outcomes of HIV positive and negative recipients. Ann Thorac Surg 2021 May;111(5):1465-1471.

Vekstein AM, Doberne JW, Weissler EH, Wojnarski CM, Long CA, Williams AR, Plichta RP, Gaca JG, Hughes GC. Tailored Approach and Outcomes of Aortic Arch Reconstruction After Acute Type A Dissection Repair. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2022 Feb 16:S0022-5223(22)00196-9.

Doberne JW, Kakaday R, Redd T, Lattin D, Yackel TR, Eriksson CO, Mohan V, Gold JA, Ash JS, Chiang MF. Barriers to Information Access in Electronic Health Records during Initial Patient Visits: A Qualitative Study. Proceedings of the HFES 2015 International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care: Improving the Outcomes. 2015;4(1)143-9.