Q&A with Daniel Buckland, MD, PhD (he/him), associate professor of emergency medicine
Hometown: Marietta, Georgia (suburb of Atlanta)
Educational and professional background: I have an undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech, a PhD in aeronautics/astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and my medical degree (MD) from Harvard Medical School. I did a postdoc in medical device development at the University of Basel in Switzerland and my emergency medicine residency at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Prior to joining the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, I was an assistant professor of emergency medicine and mechanical engineering at Duke University, where I did robotic device development and researched how the healthcare system could be changed by automation. I also served as Medical Director for the Laboratory for Transformational Administration in the Duke Department of Surgery, where I was responsible for medical oversight, development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) for the department.
In addition to my university commitments, I served for five years as Deputy Human System Risk Manager for Human Spaceflight in the Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In this role, I focused on determining the human system risks of spaceflight and how to mitigate risk using standards, countermeasures and mission design.
Do you have an area of clinical interest, and how did you get into it? My research is on the implementation of autonomy in safety critical systems. Originally, I was interested in how to provide medical care in exploration spaceflight with limited resources and people, but my scope has expanded into the emergency department waiting room, prehospital care, and rural medicine — all places where there are more clinical needs than resources and where automation is already proposed as a way to improve access to and quality of care. I’m hoping to bring my NASA-funded research to UW–Madison, building collaboration between the Department of Emergency Medicine and College of Engineering to explore how automation can improve our clinical work.
What attracted you to UW–Madison? A great engineering and medical school with a university-wide effort toward developing and understanding AI.
Do you feel your work relates to the Wisconsin Idea — that our efforts should influence people’s health and well-being beyond the care they receive in our emergency departments? If so, please describe how. I work to bring our hospital-level care to wherever the patient is; from their home to other planets and everywhere in-between.
What do you hope trainees will learn from you and your work? How to communicate individual risk acceptance and understand others’ risk tolerance
My first job: Moving large objects and cleaning the bathroom in a furniture store
My most unusual job: Night pool hall manager. I learned many de-escalations tactics.
What are some things you’re exciting to do/visit/try in the Greater Madison area? Moving from the south, I am looking forward to a proper winter and tolerable summer that I can spend outdoors with my family.
My hobbies outside of work: Coffee and science fiction
Read an extended interview with Dr. Buckland on the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s website.