Researcher Spotlight: Andre Holder

What is your professional background?
I am an assistant professor in the DOM here at Emory. I originally came to Emory as faculty more than six years ago once I finished my clinical training. I am a clinician scientist with specialty backgrounds in emergency medicine, internal medicine, and critical care medicine. More recently, I spend most of my time doing data science research, but I also attend in the medical ICU at Grady Memorial Hospital and a mixed medical/surgical ICU at Emory Midtown Hospital. 

In what division do you work, and who is your mentor? 
I work in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine. I am mentored by a multidisciplinary team, including Timothy Buchman (Departments of Surgery and Anesthesiology), Greg Martin (Pulmonary), and Gari Clifford (Department of Biomedical Informatics).

Briefly describe your research. Why is it important?
My main research interest is using data-driven techniques to predict progression to critical illness in the hospital setting. My goal is to create machine learning algorithms that can guide appropriate timing of interventions to mitigate critical illness (e.g. sepsis progression) by forecasting the evolution of patient decompensation and organ failure. I obsess over the following question: How can we use the data already available to us in the electronic medical record to see subtle dynamics that could tell us something new about where patients are on the “sickness spectrum” and where they are going? Having such insights would be game-changing for the current clinical practice paradigm. We’re so used to putting out the “4-alarm fires”- e.g., acute respiratory failure, shock- on wards and in ICUs once we see half of the building already burning. Imagine how we might improve morbidity and mortality and cut healthcare costs if we saw and snuffed out the “smoke” in the data, long before the “fire” does significant damage! 

What do you like most about Emory?
I love the very unpretentious, collaborative nature of the faculty and staff who work here. What strikes me most is the number of faculty who are nationally and internationally recognized for work in their respective areas, yet are so personable and willing to help each other and those under them.

What is your favorite movie or TV show?
“Friends” is simply the best TV show that ever existed!

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to run/work out, travel (pre-COVID), and make memories with my family.

What is a fun fact about you? 
I’ve always loved attending and participating in Carnivals (“mas”) all over the U.S. and Caribbean. My last trip was to Trinidad Carnival in 2019 with my wife; hope we can do so again soon once COVID is under control.