Cleveland Clinic on Wednesday announced that it has tapped one of its leading biomedical thinkers to lead its innovation program.

WHY IT MATTERS
As the inaugural executive director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations, D. Geoffrey (Geoff) Vince will be tasked with aligning the health system's technology development strategies with emerging scientific and research priorities, officials said.

Specifically, this includes "unprecedented growth in data and computing sciences" as researchers in Cleveland and around the world work to uncover new drugs, therapeutics and treatment strategies.

Since its founding in 2000, Cleveland Clinic Innovations, the health system's commercial arm, has helped launch more than 80 startup companies whose products were developed through leading-edge medical and technology research and tested by clinicians there.

Vince has held the Virginia Lois Kennedy Chair of Biomedical Engineering at Cleveland Clinic for the past decade.

In his new role his mandate is to capitalize on major clinical and technological advances to build strategic alliances and drive revenue growth through commercialization of intellectual property, officials said.

THE LARGER TREND
Vince's areas of research include vascular imaging, image and signal processing and atherosclerotic plaque characteristics.

For instance, he team is developing machine learning algorithms – based on quantitative ultrasound and acoustic radiation force impulse imaging – that can better analyze ultrasound images of carotid arteries.

In 2020, Vince was recognized with a Cleveland Clinic award for his concept of a "breathalyzer" for rapid COVID-19 diagnosis.

He served as principal investigator on Cleveland Clinic's National Center for Accelerated Innovations, and holds 12 patents and several U.S. Department of Defense grants for his research laboratory.

A U.K. native, Vince earned his undergraduate degree in medical sciences and chemistry at DeMontford University in Leicester, England, and began his research career at the University of Liverpool, where he earned his PhD in biomedical engineering.

ON THE RECORD
"Dr. Vince's appointment to the helm of Cleveland Clinic Innovations is a key part of our new global strategy for research and innovations," said Cleveland Clinic Chief Research and Academic Officer Dr. Serpil Erzurum in a statement.

"His visionary leadership style and wealth of experience in healthcare and industry make him the ideal person to lead Cleveland Clinic Innovations and its critical work to market the breakthrough inventions of our caregivers into new medical products and companies that benefit our patients," Erzurum added.

"Cleveland Clinic has an extraordinarily innovative culture, in which all caregivers are encouraged to develop new ideas to improve patient care," said Vince.

"Cleveland Clinic Innovations serves to facilitate those inventions with the most promise for fueling medical advances and economic growth in Northeast Ohio. We look forward to continuing this tradition while implementing new business strategies."

Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
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