Data-driven Innovation: 21st Century Public-Private Data Partnerships

Ms. Valerie Barton is a Senior Advisor with the National Sepsis Registry Initiative (NSRI) where she leads business and operational planning. Ms. Barton has served in leadership roles in data rich-organizations, including at the Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet) where she worked with academic researchers to integrate claims and registry data into the clinical data assets of PCORnet. During her nearly 20 years as a consultant, she assisted clients by bringing data-informed approaches to their health policy development and business strategies. Ms. Barton founded and built research and data practices at both Manatt Health LLP and Avalere Health LLC. Under her leadership, her teams conducted quantitative analytics and economic modeling with observational data for pharmaceutical manufacturers, biotech and medical device firms, patient organizations, and foundations. She began her career as an analyst at the Congressional Budget Office and, later, at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Mr. Brennan is the President and CEO of the Health Care Cost Institute. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing HCCI’s overall research agenda that seeks to highlight trends in U.S. health care spending and the factors behind those trends. Niall also works to maximize the reach of HCCI's data by licensing directly to leading academic researchers and through HCCI's role as a Medicare certified Qualified Entity. Niall works closely with federal and state policymakers, including the U.S. Congress on key health policy issues. He is a nationally recognized expert in health care policy, the use of health care data to enable and accelerate health system change, and data transparency. He has published widely in leading academic journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, the New England Journal of Medicine and Health Affairs. Prior to joining HCCI, Mr. Brennan was Chief Data Officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). He has also worked at the Brookings Institution, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the Congressional Budget Office, the Urban Institute, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Brennan received his MPP from Georgetown University and his BA from University College Dublin, Ireland. When not in the office, Niall enjoys spending time with his family, watching soccer and rugby, and road and mountain bike riding.

Jason has over 15 years of experience in health information, market research, and commercial benchmarking, and has held executive leadership roles at Decision Resources Group, MedPanel, and UPK. Jason has designed and launched successful new products at every stage of his career. Jason has an AB in Molecular Biology from Princeton and a PhD in Virology from Harvard.

Kristin Schneeman joined FasterCures in April 2005 as director of programs, with primary responsibility for its innovation portfolio of projects and activities, focused on best practices in the funding and conduct of medical research and innovative collaborations among players in the research enterprise. Among other initiatives, she runs the TRAIN (The Research Acceleration and Innovation Network) program, which provides a platform for knowledge sharing and relationship building to support the growth of venture philanthropy in medical research. Kristin brings to FasterCures more than 25 years' experience in public policy, politics, academia, and the media. Schneeman served for three years as a senior adviser and policy director to a gubernatorial candidate in Massachusetts, as a policy aide to a U.S. Congressman, and for four years as the front-line manager and chief-of-staff for a senior adviser to Vice President Al Gore. At Harvard University she directed research projects on future challenges facing governments, and on complex negotiations in business, politics, and international relations. Schneeman began her career as a producer of documentary films, for which she was the recipient of an Emmy Award in 1990.