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In this episode, Alicia Abella, AI Product Lead at Novo Nordisk, discusses how she is helping drive responsible AI adoption in the pharmaceutical industry. She shares her early experiences in AI, starting with her PhD research at Columbia University on image processing and natural language processing.
At Novo Nordisk, the current focus is on applying AI to commercialization functions including - marketing, legal, and HR - beyond its traditional use in drug discovery. Alicia highlights key use cases such as generative AI for knowledge search, content generation for marketing campaigns, and traditional AI techniques for deriving insights about healthcare providers. She also emphasizes the importance of applying a product mindset to AI development by evaluating user needs, business value, and compliance from the outset.
Alicia notes that adding effective governance can help innovation move in the right direction. She also talks about an internal AI Ambassador Program and emphasizes the importance of designing intuitive AI tools to increase adoption. She concludes by discussing future trends in AI, including contextual intelligence, user-centric design, and the opportunity for AI to enhance, rather than replace human decision-making. Take a listen.
About Our Guest
Alicia Abella, Ph.D., is the AI Product Lead at Novo Nordisk, where responsibilities include developing strategic vision and guiding ethical AI applications in the healthcare sector.
Prior to this role, Alicia served as Chair of the Technical Advisory Council and Executive Board Member at the Consumer Technology Association, contributing to key strategic initiatives and industry leadership. At Google, Alicia held positions as Global Practice Director for AI/ML and Managing Director for Telecom, Media & Entertainment Industry Solutions, focusing on sales strategies and innovative solutions. Alicia's extensive career at AT&T Labs included leadership roles in advanced technology realization and operational automation.
Educational credentials include a PhD in Computer Science from Columbia University and a BS in Computer Science from New York University.
About the Host
Rohit Mahajan is an entrepreneur and a leader in the information technology and software industry. His focus lies in the field of artificial intelligence and digital transformation. He has also written a book on Quantum Care, A Deep Dive into AI for Health Delivery and Research that has been published and has been trending #1 in several categories on Amazon.
Rohit is skilled in business and IT strategy, M&A, Sales & Marketing and Global Delivery. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering, is a Wharton School Fellow and a graduate from the Harvard Business School.
Rohit is the CEO of Damo, Managing Partner and CEO of BigRio, the President at Citadel Discovery, Advisor at CarTwin, Managing Partner at C2R Tech, and Founder at BetterLungs. He has previously also worked with IBM and Wipro. He completed his executive education programs in AI in Business and Healthcare from MIT Sloan, MIT CSAIL and Harvard School of Public Health. He has completed the Global Healthcare Leaders Program from Harvard Medical School.
About the Legend
Paddy was the co-author of Healthcare Digital Transformation – How Consumerism, Technology and Pandemic are Accelerating the Future (Taylor & Francis, Aug 2020), along with Edward W. Marx. Paddy was also the author of the best-selling book The Big Unlock – Harnessing Data and Growing Digital Health Businesses in a Value-based Care Era (Archway Publishing, 2017). He was the host of the highly subscribed The Big Unlock podcast on digital transformation in healthcare featuring C-level executives from the healthcare and technology sectors. He was widely published and had a by-lined column in CIO Magazine and other respected industry publications.