Innovation isn't a destination. It's a journey of continuous learning. At Acclinate, we're committed to building the future of equitable clinical research, and that starts with empowering our engineering teams to stay at the forefront of technological advancement. This commitment requires us to actively seek out opportunities to expand our knowledge and skills.
As the Director of Engineering at Acclinate, I firmly believe that investing in our team's growth is paramount to our success. We need to provide opportunities for professional development, encourage teams to explore new technologies, and foster a culture of curiosity.
In one of my recent blog posts, I emphasized the effort, curiosity, and persistence it takes to seek out new ideas and apply them effectively. Continuous learning is about creating an environment in which engineers are empowered to learn, experiment, and contribute to meaningful solutions. Events like Google Next are invaluable for this purpose, offering a concentrated dose of the latest advancements in cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and related fields.
Key Insights From Google Next 2025
Google Next provided a wealth of insights that are directly applicable to the work we're doing at Acclinate. Here are a few key takeaways that resonated with me, along with how we can translate them into action.
Startups Should Balance AI With the Human Touch
The talks on AI for startups underscored that AI systems are fundamentally about communication, which is inherently complex and requires a human-centric approach. As such, we must prioritize user interface design and manage expectations to ensure effective interaction with AI.
It was also fascinating to hear varying perspectives on whether teams will need more computer scientists to manage AI. While some believe software agents may reduce the need, others — like Google DeepMind's Vice President of Product, David Thacker — argue that AI will actually increase the demand for skilled professionals.
Experts agreed that it’s important to focus on the problem we aim to solve with AI, rather than getting caught up in the technology's capabilities. This aligns perfectly with Acclinate's mission: We're not just adopting AI for the sake of it. We're strategically applying it to address the unique challenges in achieving equitable clinical research.
For instance, AI can help us streamline the process of identifying and engaging with diverse communities, ensuring that our outreach is culturally sensitive and effective. In fact, the discussion around shifting from “speech to text” to “speech to meaning” is particularly relevant to how we can leverage AI to better understand and respond to the needs of individuals participating in research studies.
AI Advancements Are Yielding a Better ROI
Sessions on Gemini in BigQuery highlighted the increasing mainstream adoption of AI and the persistent challenges companies face in realizing a strong return on investment (ROI). Skill gaps and data access restrictions are significant hurdles.
However, advancements in AI-powered tools for building pipelines, discovering and analyzing data, and simplifying operations are promising:
- The ability to use natural language to build data pipelines and the availability of AI agents for data preparation could revolutionize how we manage and analyze the complex datasets involved in empowering communities and our clients to connect to better healthcare.
- BigQuery's AI Query Engine, which brings the power of large language models (LLMs) to the data warehouse, has the potential to accelerate our research by enabling faster and more insightful data analysis.
- Since LLMs need quality metadata to be effective, the more we maintain rigorous data governance practices, the more we’ll achieve with the technology.
Monitoring Is the Future of Observability
Discussions on the future of observability stressed the critical importance of monitoring AI systems to detect anomalies and undesired results. This includes having sufficient data to evaluate the quality of prompts and incorporating AI early in change management processes.
Relatedly, we discussed:
- The need to have a human in the loop to refine and regenerate AI outputs, especially in the context of clinical research, where accuracy and reliability are paramount.
- The idea of viewing AI agents as team members and building trust in them over time through careful observation, documentation, and refinement.
- How tools like OpenTelemetry can be a means of monitoring AI workflows, which could be valuable for ensuring the transparency and accountability of our AI-driven processes.
Where Cutting-Edge Tech Meets Continuous Learning
These insights from Google Next, combined with other advancements in cloud technology, are directly informing how we enhance Acclinate's products and platforms. We're focused on:
- Scalability, security, and efficiency: We’re leveraging cloud technologies to build scalable, secure, and efficient systems that can support our growing needs and protect sensitive community member data. My experience in building scalable applications at my previous company Landing, including the Ruby on Rails application for automated email triage and the deep integration with NetSuite to manage inventory, directly informs my approach to designing robust and efficient systems at Acclinate.
- Data analysis: We’re applying cloud-based data analysis tools, including BigQuery AI, to improve our ability to gain insights from data and accelerate equitable clinical research. This includes exploring how semantic search and vector search can help us identify relevant information within complex datasets.
- Streamlined workflows: We’re using AI and automation to streamline workflows and improve operational efficiency, freeing up our team to focus on higher-level strategic initiatives. This echoes my experience at ProctorU, where I led the redesign of the machine learning pipeline to create a more robust and scalable solution for video processing.
Investing in our team's growth and embracing the latest technologies are essential to our mission. As I've learned throughout my career — from my early days as a software engineer to leading engineering teams — building skills is just as important as pursuing titles. By prioritizing continuous learning, fostering a collaborative environment, and encouraging experimentation, we empower our engineers to innovate and contribute to Acclinate's success in meaningful ways.
Our work at Acclinate is more than just code. It's about making a real difference in people's lives. By staying at the cutting edge of technology and applying it thoughtfully and ethically, we can accelerate the pace of equitable clinical research and build a healthier future for all.
Schedule a conversation with our team to learn more about our approach.
Watch the Google Next experience.
