Faces of Baseline: Scott
Scott Jung, 31, a self-proclaimed "gadget guy," said he originally joined the Project Baseline study to contribute his health data to a good cause and use cool technology. "I joined the Project Baseline study because I love medical technology, and I love the potential it has for literally transforming and saving lives," he shared.
Since high school, Scott has felt passionate about medical technology. Now, he's not only a Senior Editor for Medgadget, but also a biomedical engineer by day at a medical device startup in Silicon Valley and a student by night pursuing a masters in medical product development at San Jose State University. "I'm attracted by the flashing lights. It's amazing to see the direction technology and specifically sensors and micro sensors are heading," says Scott.
Scott completed his initial site visit at Stanford Medicine and enjoyed the staff's enthusiasm. He said, "Each staff member expressed a lot of excitement for the study and was very open to share what each test was and why they needed to do it." This is actually the second study Scott has participated in. A few years back he was a part of an experimental peanut vaccine trial so he was familiar with the general process for participating in a study. Scott says he is driven to participate in studies because of the potential for medical innovation and impact on many people's health in the future. We are grateful that he continues to volunteer for science advancement!
We are also grateful to Scott for joining our panel at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, in March. The panel was called "Empowering People to Own Their Own Health Data" and examined how initiatives like Project Baseline and All of Us are developing tools and strategies to bridge the gap between clinical research and clinical care, as well as how we can empower everyday people to understand and manage their health. The panel discussion was led by Verily's Scarlet Shore and featured Scott, Bray Patrick-Lake, Director of Patient Engagement at Duke Clinical Institute, and Rob Califf, former FDA Commissioner and Verily Advisor. The panel was the first of its kind for Project Baseline and was named the best health-track panel by MM&M.
During the panel, Scott shared his perspective as both a study participant and a medical technology expert. Going into the study he had low expectations about receiving any type of results, but after receiving a holiday card with his own unique snowflake he's looking forward to seeing what else Project Baseline will be able to share.