Analytics and big data have revolutionized how we operate across all industries, micro and macro; for people whose passion lies in pursuing machine learning, algorithms, and AI, there’s no shortage of professional opportunities today. For those also called to effect change in society, we’re at a turning point, and Polaris Genomics is fortunate to have Chief Data and Analytics Officer Rick Herrera, PhD, using his diverse decades of experience, focused on the betterment of advancing molecular screening tools and diagnostics for PTSD and other mental health conditions. In 2022, he joined the team with expertise and dedication to drive us forward. Here, Rick shares a little about his background and why he is passionate about Polaris’ mission.

Q: What brought you to this field? 

Rick Herrera: It’s quite interesting because big data is very related to biology. The Human Genome Project was just underway when I finished my Ph.D. in computational biology and bioinformatics and started working within data science and biology. One of the fundamental challenges is that data is always outpacing the capacity of analysis. And we now have the capacity to produce more data as well. Plus, you use the same techniques and the same computer power across fields like sports, finance, and advertising, all of which big data touches.

Big data and machine learning have transformed how things are done. Traditionally, you looked for causality. So causality is not that important anymore; rather, it’s the association between events that really matters, and that those associations can be observed, thanks to big data. Even, for example, sports and the NFL analyze everything. I teach AI and data science at Marymount University. For their capstone project, one of my students analyzed NFL data just like the same data from kaggle, and you can track what happens with extreme precision. And yet, in biology, our challenge is that it is harder to convince the public of the relevance of these results.

Before I joined Polaris, I was a faculty member at Johns Hopkins for a decade, focused on the genetic epidemiology of cardiovascular disease. I also worked at the Mayo Clinic, Columbia University, the US NAVY, and the US ARMY, most recently. The last company I worked for didn’t do research or experiments; they were exclusively in the business of managing data relevant to cancer; packaging it, and selling it to pharmaceutical companies and researchers. As a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, there’s a lot of interest in finding solutions so these companies get funded and can innovate more quickly. It’s excellent that the field has moved in a positive direction for cancer diagnostics, but it substantially lags in mental health.

Pharmacogenetics is already in the commercial space, and when it branches more deeply into mental health care further, it stands to benefit so many.

Q: What do you think needs to pivot more? What changes are happening or have actually happened to bring mental health to the same level? 

Rick Herrera: There are two ways to look at this. One is in the field. In general, the overall view of mental health, the tremendous issue of stigma, is not related to the data. Stigma stifles mental health care because it is still seen as something negative—something that is your fault. This issue of stigma has substantial negative connotations and repercussions in our society; people do not receive the care they need, they don’t get a diagnosis, or receive treatment, and ultimately, they suffer in silence.

Second, we have the capacity to point out the biological underpinnings of mental health disorders, and it’s hard for people, even today, to understand that. You might have some kind of behavioral health issue, but it is not necessarily just circumstantial, or it is not just mental; it is also biological. And that, I think is the challenge for all of us at Polaris, to show that this is true. We see these mental and behavioral health disorders manifested in the biological markers.

We are revolutionizing this field. And, we will publish scientifically and across the mainstream to show that this is all grounded in solid data. That’s the essential part that needs to be done. It needs to be out there; that’s the challenge, educating and changing the general view.

Q: From data on cardiovascular disease and cancer to focusing on mental health, how did you personally pivot?

Rick Herrera: When Polaris approached me, it interested me personally because I had PTSD. I struggled for a long time and it was very damaging in my life. I went to therapy, and it took me probably a year of therapy for a diagnosis of PTSD. When I finally got the treatment for PTSD, cured: Completely gone. It was all gone, all of the symptoms. All of it. Imagine what could have happened If I had just gotten a simple test to diagnose it? It would have saved me years of all that damage that it had on my life. I know I am not alone in this struggle, and this is what I am here to change.

Q: What does that look like in the day-to-day, on the ground? 

Rick Herrera: We are curating data around the clock. We have a thousand relevant subjects for which we have data. And we have much sequencing to do. But actually, harmonizing all this data is complex, because what happens is data points that exist in one study don’t exist in another.

So our key objective is to continue to increase sensitivity and specificity by increasing our data and sample sizes.

In addition to the PTS-ID test and our work in PTSD, I am excited about our ADAPT Discovery panel, which measures the RNA expression of 1003 genes. It can empower us to identify the genetic fingerprints of neuropsychiatric conditions from anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, substance use disorder, traumatic brain injury, and more.