Mount Sinai Health System in New York City has named Andrew Kasarskis as its first-ever chief data officer, the health system announced Wednesday.
Kasarskis, who holds a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology, will also serve as an executive vice president at the health system.
In the new role, Kasarskis will work alongside Mount Sinai's CEO and chief information officer to implement infrastructure that enables systemwide interoperability. That includes making it easier to share clinical, financial and administrative data for projects that aim to support research and patient care activities.
Kasarskis will also support entrepreneurial activities at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and encourage development of data-driven commercial partnerships and spinoff ventures.
Dr. Kenneth L. Davis, president and CEO of Mount Sinai, said the health system sought to appoint someone with experience developing medical and research technologies for the chief data officer role.
"The CDO position will play a crucial role in continuously advancing Mount Sinai's capabilities for our patients and the entire healthcare system," Davis said in a statement.
As chief data officer, Kasarskis said he hopes to "strengthen" Mount Sinai's "overall data literacy and culture."
"I want everyone here to view the vast data available to us as an asset we can use objectively to improve efficiency and quality of care, identify patient cohorts for groundbreaking research, enhance the education we provide trainees through the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and add value to all of our organizational efforts," he said in a statement.
Kasarskis, who most recently served as director of the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology at the Icahn School of Medicine, will continue to conduct research related to technology development for pathogen surveillance, pharmacogenomics, viral infections and chronic disease.
Before joining Mount Sinai, Kasarskis held senior positions with biotechnology company Pacific Biosciences and pharmaceutical giant Merck.
