Question 1

What is HealthRex?

Accepted Answer

This really should be called the "Chen Lab" or research group, but... there are lot of Chen labs out there so we tried to come up with a more unique branding. Before the HealthRex group was established, the early prototype of our recommender system for clinical orders was published as OrderRex. Rex is an abbreviation for “recommendations,” but also means "king” (such as used in Tyrannosaurus rex), as we aspire to be a leader in clinical recommendation (decision support) tools. Dr. Chen also co-founded a company Reaction Explorer (REx) for organic chemistry expert systems. HealthRex reflects our mission to improve people’s health broadly, not necessarily based on medical interventions alone.

Question 2

What do you say to people who believe that doctors can be completely replaced by artificial intelligence?

Accepted Answer

Either you don't know medicine or you don't know AI. In many cases, both.

Question 3

I'm in industry or clinical practice and would like to meet with you to chat about medical AI and other topics?

Accepted Answer

You can try to request a meeting if you have a specific agenda or proposal in mind.

My calendar is otherwise complete pandemonium.

Try dropping in to some of our Stanford Biomedical Informatics colloquia sessions, during the academic year (Thursdays at noon).
I regularly host/moderate these sessions over a lunch seminar.

You could try to catch me or others around there, and likely catch many more relevant topics for discussion.

This link can get you on the mailing list when the sessions are announced
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1CyDIuldEBfY2PBgB6MP2Z26LLtcEBLObrC8-TxNdtls/edit(https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1CyDIuldEBfY2PBgB6MP2Z26LLtcEBLObrC8-TxNdtls/edit)

Question 4

I am a Stanford undergrad, masters, medical student, resident, or clinical fellow in training and interested in learning and doing more medical informatics and clinical data science work. How can I get involved?

Accepted Answer

Feel free to drop in on our weekly group meetings where we regularly review topics and practice skills in those areas. You’re welcome to see if there’s an existing project you might want to jump into. Please refer to the Group Meeting Calendar (https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=stanford.healthrex%40gmail.com)for times. From there, the process will largely be up to you, as I expect your time will be very limited due to your primary training responsibilities. I expect most people are just browsing around and won't commit to real work. If you keep showing up and have your own insights and demonstrated preliminary work, reading, or other exploration, then it's more likely we'll recognize a good opportunity to plug you into a project.

Question 5

I’m a Stanford student (undergrad or masters) who would like to gain research experience with the lab.

Accepted Answer

If you’re interested in volunteer work or attending group meetings, just let me know. Your productivity determines how much time and attention we can provide you with. If you connect with our lab, you will be expected to regularly attend weekly group meetings and spend 10-20 hours per week on lab related work.

If you'd like to sign up for course credit for research work, you can sign up for BIOMEDIN 299 for credit/no credit, but you must confirm that with me first so that I know what to expect of you.

Note that I do NOT sponsor RAships for Masters students. If that is what you're looking for, don't bother sending a message. It will waste both our time. I would effectively have to pay over $100 per hour of your time through that mechanism, which generally does not make sense.

Question 6

I’m interested in joining the lab for a postdoctoral fellowship or staff position.

Accepted Answer

Take a look at the Open Positions page to see if there is a position that fits your skills and interests. Follow the process listed on the page to apply, and be sure to provide the materials requested. We expect that before you submit your application, you will have looked through some of the lab's prior publications and will be able to articulate why this is a match for your interests and skills, and better yet, propose what you'd like to work on together.

Question 7

I’m a Stanford PhD graduate student looking to do a lab rotation.

Accepted Answer

Click here (https://doodle.com/mm/jonathanchen374/book-a-time)to schedule an appointment with me so that we can chat about your interests and goals. I regularly work with graduate students in the Biomedical Informatics PhD training program as well as Computer Science, Management Science and Engineering, Statistics, and others.

Question 8

I am interested in applying for a PhD or other graduate work at Stanford. Can I talk to you more about your work to see if I might be a good fit to do research with your group?

Accepted Answer

Go ahead and apply for the PhD program and you can request me as one of your interviewers in the application to talk more. I regularly work with graduate students in the Biomedical Data Science, Computer Science, and other programs. Review our group website, recent papers, and presentations for ideas on what we're working on. Please contact the graduate programs directly for questions about the application process.

Question 9

Can you be on my PhD thesis committee?

Accepted Answer

I am happy to discuss being a committee member for Ph.D. candidates if there is enough mutual interest and benefit for the student. However, candidates should be aware that I am considered University Medical Line faculty, and NOT a member of the “Academic Council/Senate.” Please visit this page (https://gap.stanford.edu/handbooks/gap-handbook/chapter-4/subchapter-8/page-4-8-1)to double-check whether I will be able to fulfill your committee requirements beforehand. Typically you can have one Non-Academic Committee Member faculty on your committee (such as myself), but not more than one (unless you expand the total size of the committee). If you need a petition for a Non-Academic Committee Member or a similar document, it can be found here.(https://studentservices.stanford.edu/more-resources/forms-processes)

Question 10

Do you do clinical work? Do you provide clinical shadowing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Most of my time is currently allocated to research and development, but I continue to practice as an attending physician on the Stanford Wards General Medicine service. This means I don’t perform surgery (other than minor procedures) and I don’t treat children, but otherwise I could be your doctor for any other reason in the hospital. I work with fantastic resident and student physicians, as well as clinical support staff (nurses, case managers, social workers, and more) who do most of the work while I largely provide motivational cheerleading in the background (with correction, guidance, and mentorship as needed).

If you are already working with me and would like to do some clinical shadowing, I will be happy to have you along. This requires some paperwork (and verification of several vaccinations and TB testing by Occupational Health) to get a hospital ID badge.

Question 11

I’m not a Stanford student, and would like to do a rotation or other work together.

Accepted Answer

Please apply to one of the Stanford graduate programs. I'll be able to consider working with you after acceptance. We otherwise have no structure for directly working with students outside of the institution.

Question 12

I'm a student at another institution, but would like to work with you during the summer or remotely.

Accepted Answer

We  don't have a mechanism to work directly with students from other  institutions. You can try applying to one of our graduate or fellowship  programs, or find an advisor in your own institution who may be able to  facilitate a cross-institution collaboration.

Question 13

I'm a high school student and would like to work with you, including unpaid during Summer or during the academic year.

Accepted Answer

We don't have a direct mechanism to work with high school students, but  you can apply for programs such as the Stanford SIMR and AIMI high  school programs.