WEBVTT - Massachusetts Making Push to Offset Trump’s Research Cuts 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:07.040 Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News. 0:00:08.680 --> 0:00:13.000 This is Bloomberg Business Week Daily reporting from the magazine 0:00:13.000 --> 0:00:17.639 that helps global leaders stay ahead with insight on the people, companies, 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:22.560 and trends shaping today's complex economy. Plus global business, finance 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:25.919 and tech news as it happens. The Bloomberg Business Week 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:31.480 Daily Podcast with Carol Masser and Tim Steneveek on Bloomberg Radio. 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:33.800 We're here at Boston Children, so we're going to come 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:36.280 back to some conversations in just a moment, but we 0:00:36.320 --> 0:00:39.440 also want to touch on a story that's so relatable 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:43.040 to many of the institutions here in Boston and really 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:46.280 I feel like around the country anything that's focused on healthcare, 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:47.400 medicine and biotech. 0:00:47.440 --> 0:00:51.400 Team business leaders, investors and academics of cheered Massachusetts Governor 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.640 Mara Healey's efforts to counter the Trump Administration's research funding 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:57.560 cuts with state money, so much so that a meeting 0:00:57.640 --> 0:01:00.800 earlier in the fall on the initiative required overflow seating 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:03.240 with more on the goal and where it sits right 0:01:03.280 --> 0:01:05.920 now and whether this could actually be applied to other 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:09.440 states too. We are in Boston right now and we 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:12.319 have joined We're joined by Greg Ryan, he's Bloomberg News 0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:14.560 Boston Money and Power reporter. He joins us on site 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:17.560 here at Boston Children's So you wrote about this last month. 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:20.760 The hope here that state funding could offset some of 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:22.640 the federal funding. Where does it stand right now? 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:25.920 It's still in limbo. So the governor proposed this over 0:01:25.959 --> 0:01:29.880 the summer. She proposed four hundred million dollars to backfill 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:33.520 some of the Trump cuts. But lawmakers on Beacon Hill 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:37.399 here in Boston have been skeptical. They say, there's the 0:01:37.400 --> 0:01:39.319 state has a lot of need right now. Yes, this 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:43.240 is usually important, the scientific research funding, but you know 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:45.520 it cuts with snap. There was a hearing on the 0:01:45.560 --> 0:01:47.440 bill that took place in the middle of the shutdown. 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:50.280 They said there's a lot of need and they're not 0:01:50.320 --> 0:01:52.320 sure how much money they should be devoting to this 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:52.840 right now. 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:54.680 Well that's interesting, all right, So take a step back. 0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:57.920 Tell us what Governor Hewley, what her proposal is. 0:01:58.160 --> 0:02:00.440 Sure, So she's she wants to take four d million 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:03.640 dollars in state funding, apply half of it to public 0:02:03.760 --> 0:02:07.240 universities and public institutions to help them with their scientific 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:10.160 research funding, you know, help them with the cuts that 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:13.480 they've experienced because of what's happened in DC. And then 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:16.120 the other half of the money goes to private institutions, 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:19.960 so places like Harvard, Boston University, MIT, as well as 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:21.880 hospitals like Boston Children's. 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:27.440 So where in terms of of like offsetting the cuts, 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:31.040 would that cover one of what has been cut? 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:34.240 It would not know, it wouldn't wouldn't really even come close. 0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:37.480 You know, hundreds of millions this year of loan just 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:41.920 in nah funding cuts. But the part of the the 0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:43.960 purpose here and something the governor says a lot is 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:47.840 this sends a signal, this says sends she puts in. 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:52.799 Massachusetts backs these efforts. It sends a signals to scientists 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:55.040 just you know, stay here and do their research here. 0:02:55.080 --> 0:02:56.720 Well, that's what I wanted to talk about. And then 0:02:56.760 --> 0:02:58.480 you know, we think a lot about funding and the 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:01.000 context of Okay, well, if it's going to research, that 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:05.200 research will then ultimately potentially provide some sort of cure 0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:08.320 or treatment or something. You know, it's an investment in 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:11.960 the future. But it's bigger than that. I think it 0:03:12.000 --> 0:03:15.960 has to do with a local economy. It has to 0:03:15.960 --> 0:03:19.120 do with a you know, if we're sitting in Boston 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:20.840 right now, I mean this is an area of the 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:24.200 country that's known for having biotech research, so some of 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:28.080 it goes into the private sector. Then ultimately that money 0:03:28.120 --> 0:03:30.560 is used to pay people for the research. That money 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:32.440 is then spent in the local economy. So they are 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:35.920 knock on effects. They are repercussions of this pullback absolutely. 0:03:36.000 --> 0:03:37.960 I mean eds and meds is it's known around here. 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:40.880 Hospitals and universities are a huge part of the economy 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:43.520 when other parts of the country are in recession. It 0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:46.640 doesn't make our economy recession proof, but it really makes 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:50.000 it resilient, and it has over the years. But those 0:03:50.000 --> 0:03:53.960 sectors are experiencing threats, really unprecedented threats right now based 0:03:54.000 --> 0:03:56.920 on the funding environment. So that money, yes, it goes 0:03:56.960 --> 0:04:00.440 to life save potentially life saving research, but it also 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:03.320 you know, it keeps jobs in the state, and it 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:05.680 has other economic activity as you mentioned. 0:04:05.720 --> 0:04:07.680 Well, the other thing that everybody's so fearful of is, right, 0:04:07.720 --> 0:04:10.280 a brain drain essentially, right, So people are like, okay, 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:12.240 well the funding isn't here. That's such a big part 0:04:12.320 --> 0:04:15.400 of the medical community. I mean, you know doctors, I've 0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:17.479 got doctors in the family. Like it's just that's a 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:22.120 big part of what they do, and if the funding 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:24.400 isn't here and the R and D isn't here, they 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:26.240 may go elsewhere. I mean, this has been a concern 0:04:26.279 --> 0:04:30.880 about even you know, scientists and you know medical officials 0:04:30.880 --> 0:04:32.679 and so and so forth, even leaving the United States, 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:35.160 right in terms of the money not being here. 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:38.120 Yeah, I've talked to hospital executives in Massachusetts and they 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:42.279 say countries like China, institutions and Europe, they're actively recruiting 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:45.480 researchers because they know they face a lot of uncertainty 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.000 here and they think they have a persuasive case to 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:48.560 bring them over. 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:51.119 Greg, I want to go back to what Governor Healy 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:53.360 has wanted to do because what's interesting is, and you know, 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:55.800 this is certainly part of the Bloomberg world for decades, 0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:58.880 this idea of public private partnerships. It was not only 0:04:58.920 --> 0:05:02.599 just public money, right, it was also involving private money 0:05:02.640 --> 0:05:04.840 to help in her mission. 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:05.440 That's right. 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:07.960 So the legislation was set up a fund that would 0:05:08.000 --> 0:05:12.880 bring in private philanthropic dollars to supplement the public dollars 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:15.800 and the idea of being there's a lot of energy 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:20.239 around supporting these institutions during this time, and so having 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:23.960 a central funnel to bring in all that money and 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:25.080 put it where it needs to go. 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:26.800 So what's the next step? What are we waiting? We 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:29.159 talked about this meeting where it was like no seats, 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:32.880 everybody was there. So where does it go or what's next? 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:34.520 So it's up to the legislature. 0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:36.640 They had their initial hearing on the bill a few 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:39.920 weeks ago, so the next few months will be key. 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:42.440 I'm sure they'll be There'll be more hearings and I 0:05:42.440 --> 0:05:45.599 think ultimately sometime next year, while makers will decide whether 0:05:45.640 --> 0:05:47.880 this will pass and how much money they wanted to 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:48.760 vote to this effort. 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:51.080 Hey, well we have you. There's something else we want 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:54.240 to talk about, and it actually is related to what's 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:57.400 going on when it comes to funding. It's the Millionaire's 0:05:57.400 --> 0:05:58.000 tax and. 0:05:58.040 --> 0:05:59.400 Knew you were going to go there. It's a story 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:01.800 we were obsessed with when it came across the bloem. 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:04.240 Well it was actually we spoke yesterday with Vanessa Williamson, 0:06:04.279 --> 0:06:06.760 who's a senior fellow and Government Studies at the Brookings Institutions. 0:06:06.760 --> 0:06:08.640 She got this new book out that's about taxes, and 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:11.279 she mentioned the story and we knew it because we 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:13.239 had talked about your story on air a few weeks ago. 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:17.719 There's a tax of the ultra wealthy that Zorroon Mamdani, 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:22.520 the Democratic mayor elect of New York likes. It's kind 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:25.880 of being tested here, and the test here revealed that 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:27.760 it didn't make people flee the state. 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:30.640 What are the details so far, I should say, yes, 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:34.479 So this millionaire's tax, it's a four percent star tax 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:37.160 on income over a million dollars. It went into effect 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:39.720 in twenty twenty three, and in the past two years 0:06:39.720 --> 0:06:42.240 it's brought in five point seven million dollars, which is 0:06:42.360 --> 0:06:46.120 three billion dollars more than whailemakers had budgeted for. So 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:49.839 that's paid for everything from free meals at schools for 0:06:49.960 --> 0:06:53.280 kids to it's the budget gap at the NBTA, the 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:57.960 local transit authority. It's coming quite handy during this time. 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:02.159 But you know, I've spoken to executives and business leaders 0:07:02.200 --> 0:07:04.359 who warn, yes, it's bringing me in a lot of 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:08.400 revenue now, but they still believe. You know, the longer 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:10.600 this tax is in place, the more people are going 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:11.239 to move away. 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:13.080 And you know, again it was just important, Maye. It 0:07:13.120 --> 0:07:14.960 doesn't attract people to the state or people are. 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:17.720 That movie that too, that too, but just having just 0:07:17.760 --> 0:07:20.360 gone into effect a few years ago. You know, people myself, 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:21.880 kids in high school, they're going to wait till their 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:24.680 kids are out of school to move. So the data 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:28.720 isn't in yet to see how it's affecting migration in 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:31.200 and out of Massachusetts. But in terms of revenue, it's 0:07:31.200 --> 0:07:32.360 been a success story so far. 0:07:32.440 --> 0:07:33.800 I got to say, I feel like people go where 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:37.200 the jobs are ultimately and kind of deal with everything else. 0:07:37.320 --> 0:07:40.720 And if it's a good economy, is strong economy, there's 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:43.440 great jobs, they're going to go there. Just got about 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:45.360 a minute or so, or just forty five seconds before 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:47.920 we go great. How would you describe you know, we 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:51.280 are constantly trying to figure out the economic outlook. How 0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:53.800 is it feeling in Boston? What's the mood, what's the sentiment? 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:57.880 You know, things are a little people are little pessimistic 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:00.440 right now, to be honest with you, such as as 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:03.200 Taxpayers Foundation just came out with a report that the 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:07.280 state was dead last in job growth for private job 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:10.000 grop over the past year. At the same time, you know, 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:13.160 we have Harvard, we have MIT, we have institutions like 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:16.480 this that the fundamentals are great but you know, the 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:18.200 economy is struggling. 0:08:17.720 --> 0:08:18.559 A bit at the moment. 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:22.040 All right, interesting to know, med and ed, meds and eds, 0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:25.000 meds and eds. I'm going to remember that. So glad 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:27.200 we could catch up with you. Thanks for joining us 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:29.720 here too at Boston Children's Bloomberg News, Boston Money and 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:30.880 Power port of Greg Ryan. 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:35.080 Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Business Week Daily coming 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:36.040 up after this. 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:43.760 You're listening to the Bloomberg Business Weekdaily podcast. Catch us 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:47.240 live weekday afternoons from two to five pm Eastern Listen 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:50.800 on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app, 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:52.800 or watch us live on YouTube. 0:08:54.240 --> 0:08:55.680 And I've got to say, one of the most rewarding 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:57.720 aspects of what we do here at Bloomberg Business Week 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:00.080 Daily is when we get to actually come out of 0:08:59.920 --> 0:09:02.200 the office and go to different places, step out of 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:06.000 the studio, dive into another world. We are so entrenched 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:10.880 when it comes to Wall Street, Main Street, Washington Money 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:13.360 and markets, how it exchanges with everything, but it's also 0:09:13.400 --> 0:09:15.600 a great reminder that there's just so much going on 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:18.839 around the world that certainly affects people across the country, 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:21.439 across the world. And also there's always an investment or 0:09:21.480 --> 0:09:24.400 a money played into it. Let's kick off our coverage. 0:09:24.400 --> 0:09:26.880 We are at Boston Children's. It is the world's largest 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:30.200 pediatric research enterprise. It is the leading recipient of pediatric 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:33.120 research funding from the National Institutes of Health. It is 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:37.080 a primary pediatric teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School. Treats 0:09:37.120 --> 0:09:41.240 more children with rare diseases and complex conditions than any 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:44.840 other hospital. Delighted to kick off our coverage here on 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:47.760 this Friday with doctor Joan La Rovair. She a senior 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:50.800 vice president Interim Chief Medical Officer at Boston children She's 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:54.040 also co founder and president of the NGO, the Virtue Foundation, 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:56.960 which when we talked to her last time, we reminded 0:09:57.000 --> 0:09:59.200 you all that it's delivering healthcare and over twenty five countries, 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:02.040 so global. Doctor Lea Rivera, it's so nice to have 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:03.880 you here. Last time you came to our home. Now 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:05.800 we came to your home. Thank you, Thank you so 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:06.640 much for having us. 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:09.120 We're so happy to have you here with us. 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:11.280 It's really delighted, and you know, we are delighted to 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:14.040 be here. Like we walk in and you feel something. 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:16.120 And anybody who's had a kid in a hospital or 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:20.240 visited a young one. It's tough, and I'm sitting in 0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:23.360 this space. Tell us where we are, because anyone kids 0:10:23.400 --> 0:10:26.000 have to deal with things. It's tough, and it sounds 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:28.040 like this is a place that just makes it maybe 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:28.760 a little easier. 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:32.760 That's exactly what this place is designed for. We're in 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:35.400 the hail roof garden on the tenth floor of the 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:38.160 home building. The cardiac I See You that I work 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:41.520 in is two and three floors below us, because we 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:45.560 covered two floors our cardiac I See You. And we 0:10:45.600 --> 0:10:49.440 need spaces like this for families to be able to 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:54.800 step away and really, you know, think and decompress, and 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:58.720 for staff. You know, these are very challenging, complex patients 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:01.400 that we're taken care of in this building. Our neonatal 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:04.680 intensive care unit is here, or Cardiac I See You 0:11:04.880 --> 0:11:09.080 is here. We have operating rooms in this building. You know, 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:12.559 there's a lot of the cap labs are here. So 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.200 it's wonderful that we can have these magical spaces where 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:18.920 you can just feel that you're in a pedi after 0:11:19.040 --> 0:11:21.640 hospital and there's a place to relax and think. 0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:25.080 Can I just say it's like you're sitting on a tree, 0:11:25.280 --> 0:11:27.600 like a tree bench there's like, I don't know, is 0:11:27.640 --> 0:11:29.600 this a rainbow. It feels like above us. It's pretty 0:11:29.640 --> 0:11:30.960 it's pretty cool, you know. 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:34.640 Carol mentioned the energy that we feel when we walk 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:38.560 into a space such as Boston Children's and we're reminded 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:42.120 that it's not just a teaching hospital, a research hospital. 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:45.520 It's also a place that treats kids from really all 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:49.760 over the world. And I'm wondering how you prioritize where 0:11:49.960 --> 0:11:53.440 resources go, whether it goes to treating patients right now 0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:58.720 versus thinking about research, thinking about development, thinking about ways 0:11:58.760 --> 0:12:01.960 to actually help patients in the future, versus working with 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:05.319 them right now. How do you allocate those resources? 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:08.760 Well, that has always been part of the DNA of 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:14.120 Boston Children's Hospital. It's been our mission. We deliver the highest, 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:20.160 best quality clinical care. Really, that is the foundation of 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:23.520 it all. And you see that, you know, the motto 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:26.320 of where the world comes for answers. There's a lot 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:31.120 of complex patients from the Boston area of Massachusetts, New England. Obviously, 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:35.840 we provide primary services for all levels of care for 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:39.760 children in this community. However, there are many from across 0:12:39.760 --> 0:12:43.080 the United States and across the world who really seek 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:46.960 that type of care and come to us usually the 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:50.120 most complex cases, and I think that's really where we thrive. 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:54.320 And the other piece of our DNA is the science 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.079 we as you talked in the beginning. 0:12:57.480 --> 0:12:59.800 That makes a difference, right when there's science involved. I 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:03.680 feel like it's practitionally, yes, you're dealing with patients, but 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:05.440 it's people who are like, I want to understand how 0:13:05.480 --> 0:13:06.000 this works. 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:10.360 That's everybody here. Yeah, that's the doctors, that's the nurses, 0:13:10.440 --> 0:13:14.560 that's the social workers, that's the physical therapists, that's the 0:13:14.600 --> 0:13:19.640 respiratory therapist, it's the pharmacist. I just could keep going. 0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:23.079 So I think that's what's what draws people to work 0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:26.960 here and to stay here, because that purpose that we're 0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:29.600 gonna actually change things and we're going to be able 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:31.719 to find newer ways of doing things. We're going to 0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:36.480 help more children survive but also thrive, and that takes 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:39.600 a real concerted effort, and you need the science here 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:39.920 with the. 0:13:39.880 --> 0:13:41.800 Clinical One of the things I think when you joined 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:44.400 Tim and I back in New York and listen, everybody's 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:46.800 talking about AI and I know that, but I think 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:50.080 we all are thinking about what it could do for 0:13:50.280 --> 0:13:53.920 medicine and R and D and innovation. And I guess 0:13:53.920 --> 0:13:56.640 what we're trying to understand too, is what's the reality 0:13:56.800 --> 0:14:00.960 of what AI is used within the medical community or 0:14:01.120 --> 0:14:04.080 R and D specifically, like where is it today? And you, 0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:08.040 as someone who understands this space so well, and I'm 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:09.920 curious the conversations you guys have, where do you think 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:12.800 it could go? Well? 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:15.760 AI has been a very important part of Boston Children's 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:19.480 Hospital for a long time. This isn't something new. We 0:14:19.680 --> 0:14:24.640 have incredible research groups and an incredible innovation team here 0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:28.840 who've been really standing up AI initiatives for a very 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:31.240 long time. We talked about some of the work I 0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:33.880 personally have done in terms of you know, Virtue Foundation 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:36.480 and the Global Health AI mapping and being able to 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:37.880 match resource and need. 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:41.760 You work with Yeah, firms that are like specifically in AI. 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:44.160 Yes, with theater brigs and data robac I you were 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:47.720 building those real platforms that people can use. But I 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:51.480 think about for example, when Chat GPT first came out, 0:14:51.560 --> 0:14:54.880 we had Boston GPT immediately we were looking to get 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:57.560 that behind our firewalls. How can we integrate that, How 0:14:57.560 --> 0:15:01.640 can we use that for real purpose and improve both 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:03.320 the care that we get to patients, But how can 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:07.240 we use AI to also discover new things. I think 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:10.200 the levels of data that we have, and I think 0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:13.400 you talked upon in the beginning in terms of rare diseases, 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:18.960 genetic diseases, we are the epicenter of that, and we've 0:15:19.000 --> 0:15:23.640 already been extremely successful in bringing new therapies to market 0:15:23.680 --> 0:15:27.760 for children. But when I look at the infrastructure that 0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:30.320 we're building, and I think you've had doctor Wendy Chung 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:32.720 come and speak and she's heading up a lot. 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:33.160 Of that work. 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:36.200 I think her best days are ahead of us, and 0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:38.960 AI is unlocking that type of potential. 0:15:39.600 --> 0:15:42.200 I like hearing that the optimism about our best days 0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:43.960 being ahead of us. And I think about, just even 0:15:44.040 --> 0:15:46.680 during your career, how much treatments have changed and in 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:50.720 a pretty short time. I'm curious about the connection between 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:54.480 kids and adults and treating children. And of course, if 0:15:55.160 --> 0:15:57.560 kids are healthy, then they turn into healthy adults. But 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:00.320 this is a children's hospital that does a lot of search, 0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:03.680 it does a lot of teaching. Also, are there learnings 0:16:03.680 --> 0:16:07.320 that can be taken from what works with kids and 0:16:07.360 --> 0:16:10.640 even applied to a larger population as not just those 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:13.240 kids grow up, but as adults also need treatment. 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:16.800 I think there's two points that strike me there. One 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:20.520 is that the decisions they were making early in life 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:24.240 have long term impact. It's something I've thought about my 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:28.040 entire career in the cardiac space and cardiac intensive care. 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.840 The decisions to have surgery on day two or day four, 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:35.280 the decisions to use this drug or that drug, all 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:38.960 of those things are shaping your long term self. But 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:40.800 it was very hard to be able to look at 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:43.360 and analyze that type of data until you've opened up 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:47.280 big data AI. So I think again along the lines 0:16:47.280 --> 0:16:49.960 of our best days are ahead of us, that we're 0:16:50.000 --> 0:16:52.720 going to be able to see so much more through that. 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:56.880 And then you said the innovations. Now many patients that 0:16:56.920 --> 0:17:01.240 I took care of are adults. We have this huge 0:17:01.400 --> 0:17:06.880 growing adult population that we provide care for. Science is 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:10.760 that's discovered here. It's in a pediatric hospital, but it's 0:17:10.800 --> 0:17:14.880 bringing forth therapies they're actually treating adults. So I think 0:17:14.920 --> 0:17:18.879 it's it's incredible to see how this innovation engine drives 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:19.400 so much. 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:22.440 If you could change one thing, just got about thirty seconds. 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:24.320 If you could change one thing in terms of the 0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:26.480 work that you guys are doing and the r and 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:30.000 d that would maybe make it easier. What would it be. 0:17:31.720 --> 0:17:32.600 Make it easier? 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:37.639 Okay, back word, if you could change one thing though, 0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:40.399 that would help you guys and what you're working on. 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:42.040 It sounds like you don't need it. Sounds like you've 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:43.440 got a great team, and we have. 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:48.200 A great team, but we're always needing, you know, support 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:54.520 and engagement and we're just trying to drive the next 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:58.840 level and partnerships to move in that direction. We are 0:17:58.920 --> 0:18:01.919 the leading children's ass but also we're doing well, but 0:18:01.960 --> 0:18:04.679 we're always trying to push the envelope of what we 0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:05.119 can do. 0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:08.000 Yeah, it's fascinating. You could feel it. I felt, you know, 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:08.639 like walking in. 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:10.040 You can write the purpose. 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:13.200 It was busy, it was lots of families, lots of kids, 0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:15.480 and yeah, everybody on a mission. 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:17.520 It's a privilege to be part of that mission. 0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:19.679 Well, thank you so much, thank you, thank you for 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:21.520 inviting us, and good to get some more time with you. 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:25.240 Doctor Joan la Rovere. She is an interim Chief Medical 0:18:25.240 --> 0:18:28.679 Officer at Boston Children's Hospital, Director of Innovation and Outcomes. 0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:31.000 So delighted to talk with you. 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:36.280 This is the Bloomberg Business Week Daily Podcast. Listen live 0:18:36.359 --> 0:18:39.239 each weekday starting at two pm Eastern on Apple car 0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:42.320 Play and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. You 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:45.520 can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:49.200 New York station Just Say Alexa played Bloomberg eleven thirty. 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:51.000 We want to. 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:53.320 Continue from Boston Children's and with us now is doctor 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:58.840 Lissa Baird. She's director of Neurosurgical Oncology and co director 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:01.920 of the Brain Tumor Center at Boston Children's Hospital, joining 0:19:02.000 --> 0:19:04.879 us here. I keep saying welcome, thank you, but I 0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:08.359 realized thank you for bringing us here. Great to have 0:19:08.400 --> 0:19:10.560 you here. Tell us about your world, like what is 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:13.280 it that you're dealing with on a regular basis, on 0:19:13.320 --> 0:19:14.600 a daily basis. 0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:17.720 Well, thanks for having me. I take care of kids 0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:22.720 that have branch tumers and it's all ages. All ages, yeah, 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:28.560 from infants to really young adults, but all through childhood 0:19:28.960 --> 0:19:33.440 and work with a phenomenal team here requires a huge 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:35.440 team to take care of these kids. They're very complex 0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:41.600 diseases and we work on all aspects of them, so 0:19:41.720 --> 0:19:44.480 active treatment. We do a lot of scientific research, we 0:19:44.560 --> 0:19:47.640 run clinical trials. We really support these kids not only 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:52.960 through their therapeutic journal journey, but through survivorship and surveillance afterwards. 0:19:53.280 --> 0:19:55.040 So it's a long journey for them and we really 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:56.960 try to support them at every stage. 0:19:57.000 --> 0:20:00.679 How are clinical trials involving children different than clinical trials 0:20:00.720 --> 0:20:02.520 involving other age populations. 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:08.080 Well, cancer in children is very very different. The diseases 0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:12.240 are different, the implications are different, especially with brain tumors. 0:20:12.520 --> 0:20:14.639 Why is that? Is it development because of where the 0:20:14.680 --> 0:20:15.400 brain is or what? 0:20:15.640 --> 0:20:19.080 Partially? I mean we're dealing with patients that have developing brains. 0:20:19.200 --> 0:20:21.879 I mean there are very different implications for that. But 0:20:21.920 --> 0:20:25.560