Houston Methodist names orthopedic surgeon as inaugural innovator in residency

leading medicine

Dr. Evan Collins, an orthopedic surgeon and chief of the Houston Methodist Hand & Upper Extremity Center, was named the hospital's first innovator in residency. Photo via drevancollins.com

Houston Methodist Center for Innovation has named its first innovator in residency.

Roberta Schwartz, executive vice president and chief innovation officer at Methodist, chose Dr. Evan Collins, an orthopedic surgeon and chief of the Houston Methodist Hand & Upper Extremity Center, for the role.

“Dr. Collins has been a physician champion for innovation projects over the past few years and will be an exceptional asset for our team to help involve physicians more actively in innovation throughout our hospital system,” Schwartz wrote on LinkedIn.

So what does an innovator-in-residency do? Collins sat down with InnovationMap to explain.

“When you look at all the technology, especially the digital technology that's being applied [in medicine], and the future of digital technology, whether you define it as AI or other variations, having a clinical perspective to vet a lot of these possible solutions, as opposed to just keeping it on the administrative side of things, has greater value,” he says.

His role, he explains, is to encourage other clinicians to get involved in the innovation process, particularly using digital health care programs. “Innovating is great, but the information that's coming has to be actionable in a way that fits a business model and answers significant questions in health care,” says the New York native.

He uses the metaphor of an Apple Watch’s sleep tracker to illustrate what is perhaps less than actionable. After all, you wake up knowing if you slept well without a device telling you about the quality of your night’s rest. His job, then, is vetting opportunities and technologies with the goal of deciding what may make a good return on its investment.

“‘Does it increase my capacity to see patients? Does it improve things in a meaningful way?’,” he asks. “It's looking at the opportunities within health care, but applying some rigor to it from a clinical perspective to vet, ‘Is this really going to give us actionable information where we can create value when this thing is produced?’”

Collins jokes that he was chosen for the role because he “got the short straw.” But his background speaks for itself. He’s been at Methodist for 27 years and received his MBA from Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business in 2013. He’s used his expertise to improve efficiency in the operating room, allowing him to help more patients than ever before.

“Maybe they saw this as another opportunity to give input that could be helpful and contribute to the organization and I'm grateful for that opportunity,” says Collins. The “they” he’s referring to is Schwartz, but also Marc L. Boom, Methodist’s forward-thinking president and CEO. “They recognize the importance of what we're trying to do here for the future of health care. So I think I'm grateful for that opportunity, but they are the ones that create that opportunity for me to contribute.”

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Houston Methodist's Roberta Schwartz and Texas A&M University's Dr. Roderic Pettigrew shared their thought leadership at a recent panel for Houston Tech Rodeo. Photos courtesy

2 Houston experts explain what's next in health care innovation — from tech to workforce development

Houston innovators podcast episode 124

The medical field is full of problems to solve — how to improve patient care, new diseases to treat, extending but also improving quality of life, and so much more. It's an industry that needs innovation — and in many cases, that means introducing new technologies and ideas.

At last week's Houston Tech Rodeo health tech saloon, two experts weighed in on the discussion. Roberta Schwartz, chief innovation officer of Houston Methodist, and Dr. Roderic Pettigrew, dean of the Intercollegiate School of Engineering Medicine at Texas A&M University, discussed how they view the health care industry's future — and what they are doing to make sure future health care providers and innovators are ready.

“You want the next generation to get equally as excited about what’s happening in that world (of health tech) and realize how much opportunity there is to disrupt the field of health care,” Schwartz says on the panel. “It’s so natural to us at Houston Methodist to say, ‘please come along and see the opportunities there are and seize them.’”

The panelists noted on where the conversation was taking place — TAMU's new EnMed building, which was constructed and dedicated to engineering medical students. Dr. Pettigrew says the new field is meant to train problem solvers.

“When you consider scientific progress throughout history and in the future, you realize that technological innovation is the engine of scientific progress,” he says. “When you think about what profession in our society solves problems for the benefit of society, it’s engineering."

The full panel recording is available on this week's Houston Innovators Podcast. Listen to it below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.



Photo courtesy of Houston Methodist

This week's innovators to know roundup includes Roberta Schwartz of Houston Methodist, Jani Tuomi of imaware, and Jill Chapman of Insperity. Photos courtesy

3​ Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

Editor's note: In today's Monday roundup of Houston innovators, I'm introducing you to three innovators across industries — including some with COVID-19 news.

Roberta Schwartz, executive vice president of Houston Methodist Hospital

Roberta Schwartz is leading the innovation initiative at Houston Methodist. Courtesy of Houston Methodist

Houston Methodist and its Center for Innovation — led by Roberta Schwartz, executive vice president of Houston Methodist Hospital — has been in the innovation news around Houston in a few ways. First, the health care innovation hub was recognized with the Listies award for corporate innovation and Schwartz accepted the award on behalf of her team.

Last week, Houston Methodist was announced to be on the short list for the COVID-19 vaccine being developed and distributed by Pfizer.

And finally, Schwartz shared details about a new voice technology the hospital has implemented into their operating rooms. The technology uses ambient listening to help surgeons operate hands free from typing or note taking and focus on their patient. Read more.

Jani Tuomi, co-founder of imaware

Jani Tuomi, co-founder of imaware, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss his company's, early disease screening, COVID-19 testing, and more. Photo courtesy of imaware

As COVID-19 was emerging as an international threat across January and February, Jani Tuomi and his team at imaware — a Houston health tech startup providing at-home testing for chronic conditions — quickly jumped on a way to provide at-home coronavirus testing.

"Right away there was an amazing reception," Tuomi says, adding that big companies were looking to provide their employees on-site training. "There was way more need for testing than supply was available."

Imaware formed strategic partnerships with other Texas companies, including Austin-based startup Wheel — the telemedicine partner. Basically, users take a quick assessment online and if they are high risk, a health care worker is deployed to the patient's site to conduct the test. Once finished, the lab analyzes the sample and telemedicine professionals reach out with results and next steps. Read more and stream the podcast.

Jill Chapman, senior performance consultant with Insperity

Jill Chapman is a senior performance consultant with Insperity. Photo courtesy of Insperity

With Thanksgiving in the rearview, the holiday season is in full swing. And, as some companies in Houston have either partially or completely resumed in-office workdays, businesses might also be looking to spread some holiday cheer around the workspace. Jill Chapman, a senior performance consultant with Insperity, shared in a guest column for InnovationMap her ideas for safe virtual and in-person festivities.

"Business leaders should consider hosting holiday celebrations that honor their employees and align with their ongoing safety protocols," she writes. "For companies that continue to conduct in-person business, holiday celebrations may be safely held outside in Houston's temperate climate. For companies that plan to proceed with virtual celebrations, think outside the box for developing an event that colleagues will enjoy." Read more.

Meet MIA — Houston Methodist's new voice technology assistant. Photo via Getty Images

Houston hospital introduces first-of-its-kind voice technology into its operating rooms

Hey, MIA

Hey, MIA. Start surgery.

These are the words Houston doctors are learning to say in the operating rooms, thanks to a first-of-its-kind voice technology developed by the Houston Methodist's Center for Innovation in collaboration with Amazon Web Services. In the same way we use programs like Alexa or Siri to make our everyday tasks easier, the Methodist Intelligent Automation, or MIA, is allowing medical professionals to improve the way they interact both with technology and patients alike.

"There's been a push in the industry for a long time that people sitting behind computers and typing and staring at a computer screen is inadequate," says Houston Methodist Chief Innovation Officer Roberta Schwartz. "There's been a desire to return people back to each other rather than physicians and look at a screen and patients look at a doctor looking at a screen."

Currently in its pilot phase, MIA is working to do just that through two key functions that shift the way medical professionals work in what Schwartz calls the "era of electronic medical records."

The first is through operating room voice commands. Here medical professionals can run through a series or checklists and initiate important actions, such as starting timers or reviewing time of anesthesia, through voice instead of by typing or clicking, which can become cumbersome during lengthy and highly detailed surgeries. Information is displayed on a large 80-inch TV in the operating suite and following surgery all of the data captured is imported into the traditional EMR program. The technology has been prototyped in two Houston Methodist O.R. suites so far and the hub aims to trial it in a simulation surgery by the end of the year.

Additionally, the hub is developing ambient listening technology to be used in a clinical setting with the same goal. Houston Methodist and AWS have partnered with Dallas-based Pariveda to create specialized hardware that (after gaining patient permission) will listen into doctor-patient conversations, transcribe the interaction, and draft a note that is then coded and imported directly into the EMR.

"For EMR the feedback is that it's clunky, it's click-heavy, it's very task oriented," says Josh Sol, who leads digital and clinical innovation for Houston Methodist. "Our goal with the Center for Innovation and this technology hub is to really transform that terminology and bring back this collaboration and the patient-physician relationship by removing the computer but still capturing all the pertinent information."

The ambient listening technology is further off and is currently in user acceptance testing with clinicians.

"They've had some great feedback, whether it's changing how the note is created, changing the look and feel of the application itself," Sol adds. "All feedback is good feedback at this point. So we've taken it in, we prioritize the work, and we continue to improve the application."

And the hub doesn't plan to stop there. Schwartz and Sol agree that the next step for this type of medical technology will be patient facing. They envision that in the near future appointment or surgery prep can be done through Alexa push notifications and medication reminders or follow up assessments could be done via voice applications.

"It's all going to be of tremendous value and it's coming," Schwartz says. "We may be taking the first baby steps, but each one of these voice technologies for our patients is out there on the horizon."

Houston Methodist will receive the vaccine soon after the it gets Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA. Courtesy of Methodist Hospital/Facebook

Houston hospital in line to receive COVID-19 vaccine

getting ready

Americans could be just weeks away from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, but who will get it first and how fast will it be distributed to the rest of us?

A lot goes into planning the distribution of a vaccine, and here in Houston, some hospitals have already identified places where the public could go to get vaccinated.

Houston Methodist is on the list to get the Pfizer vaccine once it rolls out in the middle of December. It'll ship to them within 24 to 48 hours after the vaccine gets Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA.

"We put in our orders and have been named as a pre-position site, which means we have the facilities and the freezers to accommodate receiving the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccine, and then be able to break into smaller quantities and distribute it out to our workers," says Roberta Schwartz, executive vice president of Houston Methodist Hospital.

Roberta Schwartz is leading the innovation initiative at Houston Methodist. Courtesy of Houston Methodist

Pfizer's vaccine must be kept at extremely cold temperatures so before giving the vaccine, employees must be trained on when to take it out from the freezer and how long it can be left out.

According to Texas' vaccine distribution plan, the first group that's set to get it are health care workers. That includes workers who provide direct care for COVID-19 patients and vulnerable residents, including staff at hospitals and long-term care facilities.

Once Houston Methodist is able to deliver it to the public, they have a plan in place.

Promising news from Pfizer and Moderna about their potential breakthroughs on a COVID-19 vaccine offer hope. In order for any vaccine to be effective, people must be willing to take the injections. But here's why some people are already saying why they won't take it.

"We've located, we believe, 14 different places where we will distribute vaccines to the public. We know how many people we can safely get through there a day and how we would do it. We're working through the last of how you would make your appointment, how you would get that scheduled," says Schwartz.

Their hospitals are among the 14 locations, and a lot was factored into making those locations accessible, like parking.

With all the planning comes flexibility. Schwartz said they're ready to adjust for what could be a big change in just a matter of weeks.

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For more on this story, including video, visit our content partner ABC13.

Houston Exponential has announced the 38 finalists for the inaugural Listies Awards. Photo via Getty Images

Exclusive: HX names finalists for inaugural Houston innovation awards

the listies go to...

Ever wonder what Houston startups and innovators are the best of the best? Here's your chance to figure it out. The inaugural Listies awards program has named its finalists.

The Listies, brought to you by Houston Exponential in partnership with InnovationMap, will name the winning companies and people across 12 awards on November 20 at 3 pm at a virtual event as a part of Impact Hub's annual The Houston Innovation Summit (THIS). Click here to register for the free event.

Nominations were open until Friday, November 6, and then a group of judges made up of members of the Houston innovation ecosystem reviewed the submissions to settle on the finalists. Below, in alphabetical order, the 38 finalists are listed for each category.

DEI champion

  • Heath Butler
  • Maria Maso
  • Grace Rodriguez

Individual contributor

  • Michael Matthews
  • Slawek Omylski
  • Brad True

Mentor of the year

  • Keith Kreuer
  • Wade Pinder
  • Landi Spearman

Outstanding leadership

  • Stephanie Campbell
  • Grace Rodriguez
  • Roberta Schwartz

Corporate innovation

  • Chevron Technology Ventures
  • Houston Methodist
  • Shell Ventures

Investor of the year

  • CSL Capital Management
  • Golden Section VC (GSTVC)
  • Integr8d Capital

SDO superstar

  • MassChallenge Houston
  • Rice Alliance
  • TMCx

Welcome to Houston

  • Greentown Labs
  • TestCard
  • Win-Win

Civic engagement

  • Annapurna
  • Luminare
  • McMac Cx

COVID pivot/phoenix

  • Luminare
  • re:3D
  • sEATz

People choice

  • INK
  • Liongard
  • Luminare
  • re:3D
  • Topl

Soonicorn

  • GoExpedi
  • Liongard
  • Medical Informatics Corp.
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Houston-area lab grows with focus on mobile diagnostics and predictive medicine

mobile medicine

When it comes to healthcare, access can be a matter of life and death. And for patients in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living or even their own homes, the ability to get timely diagnostic testing is not just a convenience, it’s a necessity.

That’s the problem Principle Health Systems (PHS) set out to solve.

Founded in 2016 in Clear Lake, Texas, PHS began as a conventional laboratory but quickly pivoted to mobile diagnostics, offering everything from core blood work and genetic testing to advanced imaging like ultrasounds, echocardiograms, and X-rays.

“We were approached by a group in a local skilled nursing facility to provide services, and we determined pretty quickly there was a massive need in this area,” says James Dieter, founder, chairman and CEO of PHS. “Turnaround time is imperative. These facilities have an incredibly sick population, and of course, they lack mobility to get the care that they need.”

What makes PHS unique is not only what they do, but where they do it. While they operate one of the largest labs serving skilled nursing facilities in the state, their mobile teams go wherever patients are, whether that’s a nursing home, a private residence or even a correctional facility.

Diagnostics, Dieter says, are at the heart of medical decision-making.

“Seventy to 80 percent of all medical decisions are made from diagnostic results in lab and imaging,” he says. “The diagnostic drives the doctor’s or the provider’s next move. When we recognized a massive slowdown in lab results, we had to innovate to do it faster.”

Innovation at PHS isn’t just about speed; it’s about accessibility and precision.

Chris Light, COO, explains: “For stat testing, we use bedside point-of-care instruments. Our phlebotomists take those into the facilities, test at the bedside, and get results within minutes, rather than waiting days for results to come back from a core lab.”

Scaling a mobile operation across multiple states isn’t simple, but PHS has expanded into nine states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arizona. Their model relies on licensed mobile phlebotomists, X-ray technologists and sonographers, all trained to provide high-level care outside traditional hospital settings.

The financial impact for patients is significant. Instead of ambulance rides and ER visits costing thousands, PHS services often cost just a fraction, sometimes only tens or hundreds of dollars.

“Traditionally, without mobile diagnostics, the patient would be loaded into a transportation vehicle, typically an ambulance, and taken to a hospital,” Dieter says. “Our approach is a fraction of the cost but brings care directly to the patients.”

The company has also embraced predictive and personalized medicine, offering genetic tests that guide medication decisions and laboratory tests that predict cognitive decline from conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s.

“We actively look for complementary services to improve patient outcomes,” Dieter says. “Precision medicine and predictive testing have been a great value-add for our providers.”

Looking to the future, PHS sees mobile healthcare as part of a larger trend toward home-based care.

“There’s an aging population that still lives at home with caretakers,” Dieter explains. “We go into the home every day, whether it’s an apartment, a standalone home, or assisted living. The goal is to meet patients where they are and reduce the need for hospitalization.”

Light highlighted another layer of innovation: predictive guidance.

“We host a lot of data, and labs and imaging drive most treatment decisions,” Light says. “We’re exploring how to deploy diagnostics immediately based on results, eliminating hours of delay and keeping patients healthier longer.”

Ultimately, innovation at PHS isn’t just about technology; it’s about equity.

“There’s an 11-year life expectancy gap between major metro areas and rural Texas,” Dieter says. “Our innovation has been leveling the field, so everyone has access to high-quality diagnostics and care, regardless of where they live.”

Aegis Aerospace appoints Houston space leader as new president

moving up

Houston-based Aegis Aerospace's current chief strategy officer, Matt Ondler, will take on the additional role of president on Jan. 1. Ondler will succeed Bill Hollister, who is retiring.

“Matt's vision, experience, and understanding of our evolving markets position us to build on our foundation and pursue new frontiers,” Stephanie Murphy, CEO of Aegis Aerospace, said in a news release.

Hollister guided Aegis Aerospace through expansion and innovation in his three years as president, and will continue to serve in the role of chief technology officer (CTO) for six months and focus on the company's technical and intellectual property frameworks.

"Bill has played an instrumental role in shaping the success and growth of our company, and his contributions leave an indelible mark on both our culture and our achievements," Murphy said in a news release.

Ondler has a background in space hardware development and strategic leadership in government and commercial sectors. Ondler founded subsea robots and software company Houston Mechatronics, Inc., now known as Nauticus Robotics, and also served as president, CTO and CSO during a five-year tenure at Axiom Space. He held various roles in his 25 years at NASA and was also named to the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium Executive Committee last year.

"I am confident that with Matt at the helm as president and Bill supporting us as CTO, we will continue to build on our strong foundation and further elevate our impact in the space industry," Murphy said in a news release. "Matt's vision, experience, and understanding of our evolving markets position us to build on our foundation and pursue new frontiers."

Rice University launches new center to study roots of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

neuro research

Rice University launched its new Amyloid Mechanism and Disease Center last month, which aims to uncover the molecular origins of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other amyloid-related diseases.

The center will bring together Rice faculty in chemistry, biophysics, cell biology and biochemistry to study how protein aggregates called amyloids form, spread and harm brain cells. It will serve as the neuroscience branch of the Rice Brain Institute, which was also recently established.

The team will work to ultimately increase its understanding of amyloid processes and will collaborate with the Texas Medical Center to turn lab discoveries into real progress for patients. It will hold its launch event on Jan. 21, 2026, and hopes to eventually be a launchpad for future external research funding.

The new hub will be led by Pernilla Wittung-Stafshed, a Rice biophysicist and the Charles W. Duncan Jr.-Welch Chair in Chemistry.

“To make a real difference, we have to go all the way and find a cure,” Wittung-Stafshede said in a news release. “At Rice, with the Amyloid Mechanism and Disease Center as a catalyst, we have the people and ideas to open new doors toward solutions.”

Wittung-Stafshede, who was recruited to Rice through a Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas grant this summer, has led pioneering work on how metal-binding proteins impact neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Her most recent study, published in Advanced Science, suggests a new way of understanding how amyloids may harm cells and consume the brain’s energy molecule, ATP.

According to Alzheimer’s Disease International, neurodegenerative disease cases could reach around 78 million by 2030 and 139 million by 2050. Wittung-Stafshede’s father died of dementia several years ago.

“This is close to my heart,” Wittung-Stafshede added in the news release. “Neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are on the rise as people live longer, and age is the largest risk factor. It affects everyone.”
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