International Ballroom III/IV
Our Monday evening banquet will include another sumptuous feast with two special keynote presentations sure to pique your interest!
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Advancing Research in Rare Disease Using SAS Viya
Laurie Smith, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Rare diseases, defined in the United States as conditions affecting fewer than 200,000 individuals, collectively impact approximately 30 million Americans and 350 million people worldwide. Despite their prevalence, research in this domain faces significant challenges, including limited patient populations, underdiagnosis, insufficient funding, and regulatory hurdles. The Rare Disease Clinical Research Network (RDCRN), established under the Rare Diseases Act and funded by the NIH, addresses these challenges by fostering collaboration across 20 research teams conducting over 125 active studies on more than 200 rare diseases. The Data Management Coordinating Center (DMCC) at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital plays a pivotal role in standardizing data collection, ensuring compliance, and supporting analysis and reporting. Key initiatives include migrating legacy data into REDCap® and developing tools for data quality and regulatory compliance. Current applications focus on leveraging SAS Viya® for providing standardized and custom reports, and analysis datasets with continuing advancements for automated reporting and interactive dashboards, enhancing data accessibility and usability. These efforts aim to accelerate research, improve patient outcomes, and strengthen the infrastructure for rare disease studies. |
Quantum AI: The Next Frontier
Amy Stout and Bill Wisotsky, SAS Quantum AI, the combination of quantum computing and artificial intelligence, is a burgeoning field that is expected to bring immense value to real-world problems across industries. From new drug discovery in life sciences, to better risk management in finance, quantum AI is primed to help us solve problems once thought insurmountable. However, the technology is still nascent and much research and development lies ahead before this value can be realized. It can be difficult to discern the hype from reality, but SAS’s quantum AI team is here to help. SAS is a growing leader in the quantum AI space and is working to develop novel hybrid quantum-classical approaches and tools to bridge the gap from R&D to real-world value for customers. Join the SAS Quantum AI leadership team, including Head of Quantum Product Strategy Amy Stout and Principal Quantum Systems Architect Bill Wisotsky, to learn more about what SAS is doing in this space across research, product development, and customer pilot projects. |
Meet the Presenters
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Laurie Smith, MS, is a Senior Data Programmer for the Data Management and Analysis Collaborative at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center with more than 18 years programming and database design experience. As a certified base SAS programmer, in addition to working on many complex research projects with multiple divisions, she has also presented original papers at various SAS conferences and has served as co-author for multiple research papers. |
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Amy Stout is the Head of Quantum Product Strategy at SAS, where she drives the direction and strategy for Quantum AI tools. Amy has nearly a decade of experience working in the quantum computing industry and has a deep expertise in commercializing quantum. Prior to SAS, Amy led emerging technology and quantum programs at Deloitte Consulting and drove commercial efforts at quantum hardware companies including IBM Quantum and Pasqal. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Management, Information, and Systems with Honors in Liberal Arts from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, USA. |
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Bill Wisotsky began his academic journey at SUNY Albany, graduating in 1994. While pursuing a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience at CUNY, he conducted research on neural pathways in the human visual system using visual evoked potentials. It was during this time—while studying photon absorption in the retina—that he first encountered the principles of quantum physics. Concepts like superposition and entanglement, initially explored out of necessity, quickly sparked a deep and lasting fascination.
This curiosity evolved into a passion as Bill delved into the emerging field of quantum computing. He immersed himself in the theoretical foundations and practical applications of quantum mechanics in computation, laying the groundwork for what would become a defining focus of his career. Bill has been with SAS since 2002 as part of US Professional Services. Throughout this tenure Bill continued to nurture his interest in quantum technologies. He actively pursued coursework, attended seminars, and experimented with platforms such as IBM Qiskit, PennyLane, Cirq, Pytket and Classiq. His hands-on exploration led to the development of several small-scale proofs of concept, which ultimately catalyzed the launch of the Applied Quantum Initiative at SAS. Today, Bill serves as the Principal Quantum Systems Architect in Research and Development, leading efforts to integrate quantum computing into real-world business solutions. He has recently been named as a 2025 CEO Award of Excellence Winner and is an inventor on three patents with one accepted (U.S. Patent No. 12,373,720) and two pending. |