From Bedside to Boardroom: How AI, Multi-Omics, and New Business Models Are Shaping the Biomedical Frontier with Morgan Cheatham
Mar 19, 2025
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Morgan Cheatham, a venture capitalist at Bessemer and a medical student at Brown, dives into the intersection of AI and genomic medicine. He reveals how AI is revolutionizing clinical documentation and decision-making, making medicine more precise. Morgan shares insights from his research on ChatGPT's USMLE performance and discusses the hurdles of outdated payment models in healthcare. His journey highlights the blend of medical training and venture capital, emphasizing that innovation must be supported by sustainable business strategies.
The podcast emphasizes the need for healthcare economic models to evolve beyond short-term profits to support long-term patient benefits.
Morgan Cheatham's unique journey as a medical student and venture capitalist highlights the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in modern healthcare careers.
AI technologies like ChatGPT are reshaping medical education, prompting a reevaluation of assessment methods to better reflect real-world complexities.
Deep dives
Understanding Healthcare Economic Models
The podcast emphasizes the crucial question of economic models in healthcare, especially for insurers. It points out that if a patient's average time with an insurer is only two years, there is little incentive for them to cover expensive treatments like molecular testing or gene therapy that may only show benefits in the long-term future. This highlights a significant disconnect between immediate costs and potential long-term health advantages. The discussion urges the importance of re-evaluating these business models to align with patient care that assumes responsibility beyond short-term profit.
Morgan Cheatham's Multifaceted Journey
Morgan Cheatham's remarkable combination of being a medical student while serving as vice president at a venture capital firm underlines a new paradigm for aspiring medical professionals. He shares how he navigates the rigorous demands of medical education while engaging in high-stakes investment, showcasing that interdisciplinary approaches are becoming more common and essential. His narrative reflects challenging traditional stereotypes of what a medical student can achieve and suggests a more diverse set of paths within healthcare. Cheatham’s journey serves as an inspiration for others to blend different fields for a multifaceted career.
AI and Its Impact on Medical Education
The conversation focuses on how AI technologies, such as ChatGPT, are transforming medical education and testing. Cheatham provides insight into a paper he co-authored, which explored ChatGPT's performance on the USMLE exams, sparking discussions about the appropriateness of such benchmarks in evaluating both human and AI capabilities in medicine. This research reflects a shift in the educational landscape, as there is increasing recognition that standard examinations may not fully capture the complexities of medical practice. The dialogue highlights the necessity for rethinking assessment methods in a healthcare environment increasingly influenced by AI.
The Future of Genomics and Medicine
Cheatham discusses the future implications of genomics in medical practice, envisioning a more integrated approach to patient care through the application of molecular testing. He argues for a genomic learning health system where molecular data dynamically shape patient treatment decisions, illustrating how advancements in technology can facilitate personalized medicine. While the potential benefits are vast, he underscores the need for structural changes in the economic models of healthcare to support these developments. The discussion paves the way for a future where genomic insights can revolutionize the treatment landscape for various diseases.
Challenges of Aligning Technological Advances with Healthcare
The podcast stresses that while technological innovations are advancing rapidly, particularly in AI, the healthcare industry struggles with aligning these developments with practical applications. Cheatham points out that the real barrier in healthcare isn't technology—it's the outdated economic models and incentive structures that fail to support innovative solutions. This disconnect means significant advancements in healthcare technology may go underutilized due to financial constraints. The conversation calls for a holistic approach where technologists also focus on creating sustainable business models to ensure widespread adoption and utility of new advancements.
Morgan Cheatham joins hosts Raj Manrai and Andy Beam on NEJM AI Grand Rounds to discuss the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence in health care, from its role in automating clinical documentation to its transformative potential in genomic medicine. A venture capitalist and future physician, Morgan shares how his background in computational decision sciences led him to medical school and investing, offering insights into how AI is reshaping everything from disease phenotyping and clinical decision-making to scaling precision medicine. He reflects on his work evaluating ChatGPT’s performance on the USMLE, the growing importance of genomic learning health systems, and why the biggest challenge isn’t technological innovation—but aligning payment models to support AI-driven advancements in medicine.
