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Metrodora is a new AI-enabled medical and research center for people with neuroimmune axis disorders. <\/o:p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo is helping launch the Metrodora Institute, a for-profit, AI-enabled medical and research center in Salt Lake City for people with neuroimmune axis disorders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The disorders are complex chronic illnesses that trigger dysfunctional interactions across multiple body systems\u00a0including the nervous, immune, endocrine, and gastrointestinal systems.The\u00a0pandemic led to a growing number of people affected by these disorders as they can be a long-lasting symptom of COVID-19, according to research from 2022 in peer-reviewed journals Heart Rhythm and Nature.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Simo was diagnosed with a neuroimmune axis disorder three years ago. She said her experience led her to believe the traditional health system isn\u2019t equipped to treat these patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing through the system, I felt like doctors were looking at me like a set of body parts,\u201d Simo said. \u201cA lot of these [illnesses] are multisystem conditions, which means you\u2019re falling apart from head to toe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The institute’s co-founder is Dr. Laura Pace, a neurogastroenterologist researcher who has served as a co-investigator of the National Institutes of Health\u2019s Undiagnosed Diseases Network.\u00a0The two decided to launch the institute\u00a0to bridge the divide between clinical care and research for these rare illnesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we talk about clinical care and research, one of the reasons that innovation and progress in clinical medicine is slow is that we think about these as two completely separate processes,\u201d Pace said. \u201cIt doesn’t have to be that way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Metrodora has raised $35 million\u00a0from\u00a0private investors.<\/p>\n

Pace said they began seeing patients last month.\u00a0The goal is to treat 20,000 patients per year.<\/p>\n

“The unmet need for this patient population is massive,” Simo said.<\/p>\n

According to research in the peer-reviewed journal\u00a0Gastroenterology, nearly 40% of\u00a0Americans live with at least one chronic disease resulting from the dysregulation of the neuroimmune axis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Metrodora is negotiating contracts with insurers to cover some of their services, which will help address equity issues,\u00a0Pace said.<\/p>\n

The center will rely on digital health and artificial intelligence to help quickly translate research into clinical care. It is partnering with\u00a0PathAI, which has developed AI solutions for pathology; Fabric Genomics, which uses AI to identify and prioritize new genome variants associated with neuroimmune axis disorders; and Biofourmis, which uses analytics and wearables to help patients manage chronic conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen we pitched these companies, it wasn\u2019t too hard because they had challenges [in] working with the traditional health system in advancing care for patients,\u201d Simo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Simo said she remains focused on her job at grocery delivery app Instacart. In September, the\u00a0company launched Instacart Health<\/a>,\u00a0a health and wellness initiative that advances the work it has done with food assistance programs, nutrition education and prescribed meal plans.<\/p>\n

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