Tom Lawry Talks of Machine Learning and Microsoft AI For Good in Healthcare

4 min readMay 29, 2020

Ira Pastor, ideaXme life sciences ambassador and founder of Bioquark, interviews Tom Lawry, National Director for Artificial Intelligence — Health & Life Sciences at Microsoft.

Ira Pastor comments:

A set of tools that we have been hearing quite a bit about (and discussed a bit on the show) in recent years is the triad of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning and their respective applications (primarily in the drug discovery and development processes), in terms how university labs and start-ups are using some of these tools to better guide the rational drug design process, or more appropriately select patients for a clinical trial, per the field of personalized medicine. Today we are going to go to the far end of the spectrum, to a view of the potential of these tools at “scale”, when they need to be deployed across the mega enterprises responsible for delivery quality, next generation healthcare to millions of customers.

Tom Lawry Microsoft AI For Good

Tom Lawry is National Director for Artificial Intelligence — Health & Life Sciences at Microsoft. In this role, he serves as a strategic advisor to provider, payer and life science organizations across the Americas, creating enterprise-wide AI initiatives designed to transform healthcare at scale. He focuses on technological, process and cultural redesign leading to the creation of Intelligent Health Systems that better empower patients, consumers and clinicians.

Tom Lawry at Microsoft

Mr. Lawry has also served as Director of Worldwide Health for Microsoft where he worked with a similar portfolio of organizations in planning and implementing innovative analytical solutions to improve the quality and efficiency of health services delivered around the globe. Mr. Lawry focuses on strategies for digital transformation applied to performance optimization including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP). He previously served as Director of Organizational Performance for Microsoft’s health incubator (the Health Solutions Group). Prior to Microsoft, Mr. Lawry served as a Senior Director at GE Healthcare with global responsibilities for revenue cycle management analytics and operational performance solutions.

Mr. Lawry was also the founder and CEO of Verus, a U.S.-based healthcare software company named as one of the Top 100 Fastest Growing Washington Companies for three consecutive years and to the Deloitte Fast 500 Technologies list. For fourteen years Mr. Lawry served in various executive management roles in hospitals and integrated delivery networks in the United States and has published over 30 articles on topics relating to use technology and software to innovate healthcare. Most recently in February 2020 Mr. Lawry has published “AI in Health: A Leader’s Guide to Winning in the New Age of Intelligent Health Systems.”

On this episode we will hear from Mr. Lawry:

About his background in the field of health and information technologies. The healthcare “data tsunami” we have upon us in 2020 and why now is the right time for AI tools. About the “hype cycle” surrounding certain aspects of AI. The principle of AI being a “force for good” in the world. How Microsoft is leading the industry in creating a set of human-centered principles to guide the ethical creation and use of AI. About the future of the AI-human partnership. The important requirements for employees to “skill-up” for an AI-powered world. The role of the small start-up AI innovator as a partner with the large company which can “drive at scale.” About futuristic areas he is most excited about looking at in 10–20 years such as biohacking, mind-computer interfaces, and intelligence testing.

This interview is in American English