Business Analytics Professor Pioneers AI-Driven Cancer Care Enhancements
Patrick Fan, a professor of business analytics, is breaking new ground in healthcare research, demonstrating how artificial intelligence can transform cancer care. Despite his background in financial risk assessment and search engine optimization, Fan’s work is making significant strides in patient outcomes.
Collaborating with University of Iowa Health Care, Fan employs AI and machine learning to process extensive medical data, including patient symptoms, prescriptions, and treatment plans. His innovative models assess thousands of patient records to predict risks, assist in early diagnosis, and prevent complications during cancer treatment.
to deliver the prestigious University of Iowa Presidential Lecture about his research (pictured here).
By leveraging machine learning tools, Fan’s approach has dramatically reduced the time and manpower needed to interpret patient records, ensuring data remains HIPAA compliant and de-identified for confidentiality. This holistic data analysis boosts clinician productivity and mitigates doctor burnout.
“It helps doctors focus on what matters most—their patients—instead of getting bogged down in paperwork,” Fan commented.
Fan’s efforts go beyond searching for cures; they aim to enhance patient comfort, even in terminal cases, facilitated by advanced technology.
Working alongside Stephanie Gilbertson-White, an associate professor at the College of Nursing, Fan has developed “person-level” models. These models enable physicians to predict and address adverse symptoms more effectively, enhancing the patient journey through cancer treatment.
Gilbertson-White highlights the advantages of using extensive patient datasets: “If I had five years and $2 million to do a study, I could probably recruit around 500 people. Whereas one of the smaller projects I’ve done with Patrick and his team included more than 20,000 patient records. It’s orders of magnitude higher.”
Large datasets ensure comprehensive analysis, avoiding biases from patient self-selection, which often exclude the most symptomatic individuals. This approach is crucial, as severe symptoms can delay critical treatments like chemotherapy and radiation, worsening patient outcomes.
Fan values cross-disciplinary collaboration, emphasizing the importance of research that addresses real-world problems: “Business analytics is about using technology to solve real-world problems,” he explained. “As a faculty member at the University of Iowa, I have a responsibility to do research that transforms society and benefits people.”
Photography Passion
Beyond his research, Fan enjoys capturing photos of eagles along the Iowa River with his Canon R5 Mark II camera. A long-time admirer of these majestic birds, Fan began photographing them seriously about two years ago. This passion ties into his role as Henry B. Tippie Excellence Chair, naming one of the eagles he photographed, “Henry,” in honor of the benefactor.
More of Fan’s wildlife photography can be seen on his Facebook page.
This article appeared in the Fall 2025 issue of Tippie Magazine.
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