MON AM News: New research tool envisioned as ‘catalyst’ for innovators; HealthX Ventures leads $2M round for Vinyl Health

October 26, 2026

— A new research tool being developed through the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub is expected to go live by next summer, offering a “catalyst for all the innovators” by unifying fragmented health data.

That’s according to Jomol Mathew, associate dean for informatics with the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. Speaking last week during BioForward Wisconsin’s Biohealth Summit in Milwaukee, she provided an update on one of five projects being funded through the state’s tech hub effort.

Mathew noted healthcare data is split across various hospital systems in Wisconsin, each of which has only an incomplete view of the state’s entire patient population. This poses a challenge for research projects — one that the Wisconsin Health Data Hub is seeking to address.

“So for example if you’re studying sickle cell anemia, we may not have an adequate number of patients in any of our single sites,” she said. “It would be great if we can put it together, so that’s the whole purpose of this.”

By combining data from participating health systems, the project aims to create a more complete picture of the state’s patient landscape while respecting data privacy and enabling better analysis. Partners in the effort aim to create a “federated query” that scientists and others can use to answer complex questions.

“So if you’re an innovator and you want to see, where are the patients with this particular condition, you’ll be able to run a query and see that the patients are either in the northern parts of Wisconsin or southern parts of Wisconsin,” she said, noting this will guide partnerships with specific health systems.

The tool could also provide greater insights about trends in disease over time, as well as contributing factors. Mathew said this could inform policymaking efforts in addition to research, pointing to lead poisoning as one example.

“So if you see a lot of lead toxicity in a particular area, you may be able to then develop a policy or come up with a program to address it,” she said.

Following initial data standardization and work to develop a connected network, partners are developing an “extensive” governance framework given the sensitivity of the information being used. Users will be able to request detailed datasets from participants, to build a registry for specific diseases or other applications.

“If you’re a pharma company and you’re thinking about site identification, this may be a great resource … similarly, if you are a small company trying to develop an AI model, you’ll be able to come and securely develop that model in our our enclave with the right set of data,” she said.

Hear more about the tech hub projects in an earlier podcast.

— Madison-based HealthX Ventures led a recent $2 million investment in New Jersey’s Vinyl Health, a startup developing ambient AI applications.

Mark Bakken, the venture capital firm’s managing partner, says the startup is addressing a “major gap” in healthcare by allowing patients to record and manage their own personal health information.

“By using AI to document the visit, Vinyl allows patients to be more present in the conversation with their doctor instead of worrying about remembering every detail,” he said in the announcement. “That creates a stronger, more informed relationship between patients and clinicians.”

Along with recording care visits, the app can incorporate health records from connected providers. It can also “flag time-sensitive opportunities” for patients and clinicians, including clinical trials or therapies, according to details from the company.

Vinyl Health says it will use the capital to support a public launch and continue development of its personal health assistant, emphasizing its “privacy-forward” approach for the tool.

The company was founded by Dr. Kaitlan Baston, who previously led University Hospital in Newark and served as New Jersey’s health commissioner. She says patients often leave appointments or hospital stays “without a clear understanding” of their own care or what to do next.

“Time is of the essence in healthcare, and access has been a problem for far too long,” Baston said in a statement. “People are desperate for answers and guidance, and it is up to us to give them a trusted resource that has the full context of who they are.”

See more at Madison Startups.

— Marquette University alumnus Nanda Alapati has donated $2 million to the university for biological sciences research, funding scientific and lab equipment, student experiences and research assistants.

The university recently announced the donation, made to honor Alapati’s father, Dr. A. Krishna Kumaran, who was a professor in the university’s Biological Sciences Department from 1969 to 1997. Alapati, who graduated in 1982, said Kumaran “really enjoyed challenging his students” and making them think.

“My father believed that, in addition to teaching, a professor’s role was to push the boundaries of knowledge through research and inspire students to engage in research themselves,” he said in a statement.

See the release.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

— South-central Wisconsin’s housing market is showing “resiliency” in the face of upward-creeping mortgage rates, according to the latest analysis by Stark Company Realtors CEO David Stark.

Stark’s fall newsletter notes Dane County’s residential sales have increased 6.4% so far this year, while sales in nearby Sauk and Columbia counties have been “more or less flat.”

This comes as 30-year mortgage rates have risen above 7% in what Stark describes as “the year of the whipsaw,” noting they fell as low as 5.98% in February, briefly raising hopes for a turnaround.

“Since then, due to the war, a new and more hawkish Fed Chair, stubborn inflation due largely to higher oil prices because of the war, and heavy demand for debt from both the federal government and the tech industry, rates have been drifting steadily upward,” Stark wrote.

While he touted strong sales in Dane County, Stark noted its residential supply has also risen 14% from last year, though combined Sauk and Columbia inventories have fallen by 2% over the same period. Residential median prices for Dane County increased 3.36% from last year to $465,000. Stark said these indicators point to gradual improvement locally.

He also argues the current mortgage rate environment is far from a crisis, instead indicating a return to a “more normal and sustainable equilibrium.” Since the early 1970s, the average mortgage rate over the decades was 7.68%, slightly higher than the current level.

Stark notes the first time mortgage rates ever dropped below 5% in the history of the survey was in 2009, when the Fed had begun buying mortgage securities through a policy called quantitative easing after the 2008 financial crash.

“Rates then stayed below 5% for 13 straight years, due entirely to Fed intervention,” Stark wrote. “Inevitably, these artificially low rates, coupled with high federal spending, especially during the pandemic, caused inflation to start to rage out of control.”

Stark argues the reason housing prices are so high now is because the Fed kept mortgage rates too low for too long.

While he expects rates to settle downward once the war with Iran ends, he said rates in the 6-7% range are “not only here to stay but are also necessary” for a return to a more balanced market.

“We’re already seeing signs that it’s working,” he wrote. “The increases in condo inventory and the leveling of price increases are signs that the condo market is more balanced than it’s been in years. Over time, as inventories continue to rise, single-family prices should also continue to level off.”

See the report.

Madison rezones 4,000 properties to help home projects, cut paperwork

Takeaways from MadWaukee event on connecting the Madison to Milwaukee corridor

TOPICS

AGRIBUSINESS

– Cultivate and Connect brings new ideas to agriculture

– Soil health advocate Jim Luedtke receives IMPACT award

CONSTRUCTION

– Union construction speaker pitches AI as a tool for apprenticeship

HEALTH CARE

– VA Medical Center lands millions of dollars in federal funding for maintenance projects

LEGAL