Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
ADD THE DATA SCIENCE HANGOUT TO YOUR CALENDAR HERE: https://pos.it/dsh - All are welcome! We'd love to see you!
We were recently joined by Matt Maloney, Director of Applied AI and Data Science at City of Hope, to chat about applying data science to cancer care operations, integrating open source data science tools like Shiny with Electronic Health Records (like Epic), and the evolving governance of generative AI in healthcare.
In this Hangout, we explore the technical and operational strategies behind integrating custom data science applications directly into clinical workflows. Matt discusses how his team moves beyond standalone tools by embedding Shiny apps and other solutions into Epic, allowing medical coders and providers to access predictions and summaries without leaving their primary software environment-of-choice. He also mentions the "build vs. buy" decision-making process as vendors release their own AI solutions, emphasizing the importance of validating external models against their specific patient population.
Resources mentioned in the video and zoom chat:
🔗 City of Hope → cityofhope.org
🔗 Unity Health Toronto Customer Story → posit.co/about/customer-stories/unity-health-toronto
🔗 pointblank (Data Validation package) → rstudio.github.io/pointblank
If you didn’t join live, one great discussion you missed from the zoom chat was about *where* data science teams sit within community members' organizations and whether they like it or not, specifically the pros and cons of being housed within IT versus embedded inside business units. Participants debated access to infrastructure versus proximity to business stakeholders, with several sharing their own experiences of shifting between these departments (or between companies with different structures). Let us know below if you’d like to hear more about this topic!
► Subscribe to Our Channel Here: bit.ly/2TzgcOu
Follow Us Here:
Website: posit.co
Hangout: https://pos.it/dsh
The Lab: https://pos.it/dslab
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/posit-software
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/posit.co
Thanks for hanging out with us! 💛
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
03:37 "What does the data science function at City of Hope help with?"
08:52 "Tell us a little bit more about how you're integrating Posit with Epic"
16:08 "How do you handle the needs of privacy with the push to adopt AI?"
18:40 "How do you manage to stay abreast of technical advancements?"
22:45 "At what point do you hand off your data work to the software engineering team?"
27:23 "How much has development that involves LLMs and generative AI taken hold?"
30:38 "Does your team evaluate a lot of the things that Epic might be throwing your way?"
34:41 "How does Epic pass an encounter number or a patient ID to Posit Connect?"
35:57 "How does your team handle these nuanced pieces of clinical information?"
40:29 "Do the administrators appreciate the time that it takes to do things?"
44:22 "What happens in the academic division?"
46:10 "Do you have a piece of career advice for us?"
ADD THE DATA SCIENCE HANGOUT TO YOUR CALENDAR HERE: https://pos.it/dsh - All are welcome! We'd love to see you!
We were recently joined by Matt Maloney, Director of Applied AI and Data Science at City of Hope, to chat about applying data science to cancer care operations, integrating open source data science tools like Shiny with Electronic Health Records (like Epic), and the evolving governance of generative AI in healthcare.
In this Hangout, we explore the technical and operational strategies behind integrating custom data science applications directly into clinical workflows. Matt discusses how his team moves beyond standalone tools by embedding Shiny apps and other solutions into Epic, allowing medical coders and providers to access predictions and summaries without leaving their primary software environment-of-choice. He also mentions the "build vs. buy" decision-making process as vendors release their own AI solutions, emphasizing the importance of validating external models against their specific patient population.
Resources mentioned in the video and zoom chat:
🔗 City of Hope → cityofhope.org
🔗 Unity Health Toronto Customer Story → posit.co/about/customer-stories/unity-health-toronto
🔗 pointblank (Data Validation package) → rstudio.github.io/pointblank
If you didn’t join live, one great discussion you missed from the zoom chat was about *where* data science teams sit within community members' organizations and whether they like it or not, specifically the pros and cons of being housed within IT versus embedded inside business units. Participants debated access to infrastructure versus proximity to business stakeholders, with several sharing their own experiences of shifting between these departments (or between companies with different structures). Let us know below if you’d like to hear more about this topic!
► Subscribe to Our Channel Here: bit.ly/2TzgcOu
Follow Us Here:
Website: posit.co
Hangout: https://pos.it/dsh
The Lab: https://pos.it/dslab
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/posit-software
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/posit.co
Thanks for hanging out with us! 💛
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
03:37 "What does the data science function at City of Hope help with?"
08:52 "Tell us a little bit more about how you're integrating Posit with Epic"
16:08 "How do you handle the needs of privacy with the push to adopt AI?"
18:40 "How do you manage to stay abreast of technical advancements?"
22:45 "At what point do you hand off your data work to the software engineering team?"
27:23 "How much has development that involves LLMs and generative AI taken hold?"
30:38 "Does your team evaluate a lot of the things that Epic might be throwing your way?"
34:41 "How does Epic pass an encounter number or a patient ID to Posit Connect?"
35:57 "How does your team handle these nuanced pieces of clinical information?"
40:29 "Do the administrators appreciate the time that it takes to do things?"
44:22 "What happens in the academic division?"
46:10 "Do you have a piece of career advice for us?"
