Neel Butala is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Medical Director of Structural Heart Disease and Intervention for the VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, and Interventional Cardiologist at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center and the University of Colorado Hospital. The Butala lab focuses on answering key questions at the intersection of cardiovascular disease, clinical trials, and data science.
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Using artificial intelligence to extend clinical trials
We are examining the use of deep learning natural language processing algorithms to ascertain clinical trial endpoints, leveraging the VA electronic health record (EHR) in concert with data from the VA Collaborative Studies Program. We are exploring the use of EHR-based endpoints to conduct extended long-term follow up of completed landmark clinical trials, such as COURAGE and REGROUP. We are also investigating the use of EHR-based endpoints to make ongoing clinical trials more efficient.
Stroke after transcatheter aortic valve replacement
Stroke remains a feared yet persistent complication after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). We have evaluated the use of a device to reduce the risk of stroke during TAVR using observational datasets. As a part of this, our group has validated the use of observational data to investigate post-TAVR stroke with multiple ongoing studies in this space.
Use of novel methods with observational data
Our group has also pioneered the use of cutting-edge statistical and bioinformatics methods to answer impactful questions with observational data. Applications include transportability of clinical trials to real-world populations, evaluation of practice patterns and outcomes for novel devices in interventional cardiology, understanding care patterns and outcomes of cardiovascular care within vs. outside the VA healthcare system, evaluating data quality in healthcare, and quantifying lifetime risk of chronic disease.