Meet the experts behind Google Health's healthcare technology advancements

Dr. Michael Howell’s career focuses on improving the quality, safety, and experience of care, including how technology can help improve health. A nationally recognized expert on healthcare delivery science, he has served on advisory panels for the Centers for Disease Control, Medicare, and the National Academy of Medicine. His writings, cited by other researchers more than 10,000 times, have had an impact on the field and are incorporated in several national guidelines. A pulmonary and critical care physician, he also spent many years caring for patients at Harvard and at the University of Chicago, where he served as Chief Quality Officer.

Bakul Patel is focused on building a unified digital health strategy that is aligned with evolving global regulatory needs. Mr. Patel's vision is to help realize the potential of technology and its role in democratizing access to high quality, equitable healthcare. Prior to joining Google, Mr. Patel held the position of the Chief Digital Health Officer of Global Strategy and innovation and Director for Digital Health Center of Excellence, at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In these roles, he provided thought leadership and expertise, and shaped responsible regulation for digital health. Mr. Patel coined the term “Software as a Medical device” (SaMD), and built a risk framework for medical device regulators globally. He was also the architect of the software precertification pilot program and the framework for Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML)-based software.

Lara is a health compliance leader who has more than 15 years of health compliance experience. Prior to joining Google, she held senior compliance roles in top Fortune 500 health companies. She has successfully led global teams dedicated to advancing trust and integrity through innovative compliance program design and delivery. Lara also started her professional career in Silicon Valley at two early healthcare start-ups. Lara received her Master's in Public Health from the University of California, Los Angeles and her Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from the University of California, San Diego.

Dr. Sohini Stone, MD, MBA, leads the Global Employee Health team at Google, focused on cross-company strategy to provide an integrated portfolio of equitable, evidence-based programs and services to promote health and wellbeing of Google’s workforce, their family members, and the community around them, across the spectrum of physical, mental and social health. Dr. Stone has a background in quality, patient safety, and process improvement. Prior to joining Google, she led clinical, quality, and business analytics teams at a late stage Silicon Valley health start-up. Dr. Stone received both her Medical Degree and Masters in Business Administration from Boston University, completed Pediatrics residency at Dartmouth Medical School, and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship at Stanford/Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.

Amy is passionate about the power of partnerships to co-create solutions that accelerate innovation and drive health impact at scale. The Strategic Health Solutions team brings industry insight and intelligence into our product roadmaps, ensuring that we are identifying the highest and best use of Google’s technology and tools to improve the health for billions around the world. SHS builds on the strong foundation created by the Fitbit Health Solutions team Amy built from the ground up, which partnered with the healthcare ecosystem to improve care and impact outcomes. Prior to Fitbit, Amy held strategic roles at CNET Networks focused on Strategic Partnerships and Audience & Content Development. Amy has a bachelor’s degree from Merrimack College in N. Andover, MA and a Professional Certificate in Integrated Marketing Communications from UC Berkeley.

Heather Cole-Lewis, PhD, MPH, MA has been a health equity leader at Google since 2022. Dr. Cole-Lewis is a seasoned expert in digital health and responsible AI, driven by a passion to improve lives through deep understanding of individuals and their contexts. With expertise in applied research and product development, she combines methodologies from social science, human-computer interaction, and data science to drive innovation at scale. She has successfully spearheaded health technology and AI initiatives in multiple sectors, including Tech, Pharma, Consumer Packaged Goods, Startups, Government Consulting, and Global Health Development. Before joining Google, Dr. Cole-Lewis served in the roles of Director of Behavior Science and Global Lead for Health Equity Investments at Johnson & Johnson. She earned her PhD in Chronic Disease Epidemiology from Yale University, MPH in Behavior Science from Emory University, and MA in Biomedical Informatics from Columbia University.