The Keck School of Medicine of USC and Keck Medicine of USC have launched collaborations with Tempus AI, Inc., a technology company at the forefront of applying AI to precision medicine, to integrate clinical care, clinical trials and research through a unified framework. The goal of this strategic collaboration, which will span the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Keck Hospital of USC, USC Verdugo Hills and all USC-affiliated hospitals and clinics across Southern California, is to enhance patient care and accelerate research and innovation.
The new framework intends to create an ongoing cycle of learning between patient care and research, with a primary goal of improving outcomes for the more than 1.5 million annual patient visits to Keck Medicine of USC hospitals and clinics. It is designed to promote more personalized and precise care to patients across the Keck Medicine of USC health system with tailored recommendations informed by large-scale clinical data. At the same time, it seeks to use clinical data to inform and accelerate research to develop innovative therapies and algorithms that may translate for public benefit.
By working closely with Tempus, and in collaboration with clinical, research and operational leaders across USC, we are aligning research, clinical care and innovation priorities. Our patient-focused commitment is to ensure discoveries and clinical innovations move thoughtfully and responsibly into practice, expanding access to personalized care and clinical trials, supporting physicians and improving patient outcomes."
Vasiliki Anest, PhD, chief innovation officer, Keck School of Medicine
Building a scalable model
At the heart of the USC -Tempus collaboration is the pioneering research and patient care delivered by the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. This collaboration will start with a focus on precision oncology, with the intension of creating a proven model for integrating care and research, that can then be extended over time to other specialties, including cardiology, neurology and radiology.
"Fundamentally, this agreement helps accelerate precision medicine for our patients - aiming to guide them to the most appropriate clinical trials and treatments," says Steven Shapiro, MD, senior vice president for health affairs at USC. "By leveraging large data sets, we can better understand disease - particularly cancer - on an individual level. That will mean faster, more accurate diagnoses and the ability to predict treatment outcomes tailored to each patient's specific disease, down to the molecular level."
Tempus is an industry leader in applying AI to health care and supporting clinicians with data-driven precision medicine tools. The collaboration aims to develop a model for how academic medical centers and industry leaders can work together to accelerate innovation and improve patient care.
"We're excited to embark on this collaboration with USC, an institution that shares our commitment to advancing health care through data and technology," said Ezra Cohen, MD, chief medical officer of oncology at Tempus. "By bringing together Tempus' AI-powered platform with USC's world-class research and clinical expertise, we have the opportunity to create a powerful, integrated ecosystem that meaningfully transforms care delivery."
Connecting patient care and research with the help of AI
The strategic undertaking is anchored by four key pillars. These include clinical testing, which can enable detailed molecular and genetic profiling at the patient level; clinical trials matching, which automatically matches eligible patients with novel targeted therapies; clinical care gap pathways, which uses AI-driven insights to promote evidence-based patient care; and research collaboration and co-development, aimed at moving academic discoveries into real-world diagnostics and treatments. Together, these elements have the potential to create an integrated ecosystem that connects patient care and research.
The Keck School of Medicine of USC and Keck Medicine of USC are leaders in research, patient care, and innovation. This strategic collaboration aims to build on those strengths by aligning advanced technology with academic and clinical expertise to more closely integrate discovery and care. By bringing together leaders in clinical testing, clinical trials, research, and innovation, USC and Tempus aspire to advance a scalable model that connects data, discovery, and patient care to help advance patient outcomes and accelerate innovation.
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