Dr Sharon Walsh
University of Kentucky, United States

Professor and Director Sharon Walsh is the principal investigator of a US$87 million grant — the largest the University of Kentucky has ever received — under the National Institute of Health’s HEALing Communities study. Kentucky is one of the states hit hardest by the opioid epidemic, this grant aims to reduce overdose deaths by 40 per cent over four years.

“Everyone knows someone with a substance use disorder,” says Dr Walsh. “You see so many unjust regulations put in place due to stigma or ignorance, but this is a biological issue and it can be treated.”

To support her important research and communication, Dr Walsh chooses Apple technology for her entire workflow. With iPad, her team collects offline data in communities throughout the state with the REDCap app. She then uses Qualtrics XM on iPad and Mac to analyse the team’s data and create evidence-based recommendations.

Working on Mac, Dr Walsh uses Microsoft Office to create research publications and presentations. And with built-in apps working seamlessly across the Apple ecosystem, her team uses iPad and Mac to create flyers and videos that deliver educational public health messages for reducing stigma and educating on how to respond to opioid misuse.

In clinical research, it can be easy to forget that data sets and stats represent real people. “We’re leveraging good data and stories, and packaging that in a way that shares our common humanity.” For Dr Walsh, that empathetic perspective is key to the university’s goals and making a positive impact across the state and beyond.