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Teaming Up With Apple to Study AFib

We stand on the front lines of the biggest health challenges of our times, from Alzheimer's disease to HIV, with a long history of firsts to back it up. And today, we're setting our sights on a new challenge: atrial fibrillation (AFib), a quivering or irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke and other negative health outcomes.

We aren't going it alone, either. Working with Apple, we're launching a groundbreaking research study that could potentially accelerate AFib diagnoses and improve health outcomes for the 33 million people living with AFib globally.

At the forefront of this effort is Dr. Paul Burton, M.D., Ph.D, Vice President of Medical Affairs at Johnson & Johnson. What's the exciting collaboration with Apple all about? What does Paul foresee for the future of health tech—and what brought him to Johnson & Johnson in the first place? Read on for answers to those questions and more, including how you can build your own career with us right now.

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Dr. Paul Burton, M.D., Ph.D, Vice President of Medical Affairs

Wearables and the Future of Health Tech

We believe there is tremendous potential for wearables to improve human health. And we also believe that by harnessing our passion, resources and expertise, and bringing them together with the unique competencies of partners like Apple, we can transform the lives of people around the globe.

Our collaboration with Apple, which builds on some of the core strengths of each company, exemplifies that approach: "With the irregular rhythm notification and the ECG app, Apple Watch can help identify signs of an arrhythmia that looks like AFib," Paul explained. “It’s a remarkable piece of technology."

And from our end, leveraging technological breakthroughs for real-world impact is what we're all about. "AFib is linked to high blood pressure and stroke—two areas where we have well-established practices," Paul said. "And because the solution that we're developing with Apple will be geared toward behavior modification, it touches on another focus area for our health tech practice, too."

In terms of the division of labor with the team from Apple, Paul said: "Our team will be primarily responsible for planning and designing the study, then executing it."

Eventually, Paul explained, we'll also be working with Apple on the user experience and app design for the study, which could potentially accelerate AFib diagnoses and improve health outcomes. The study is expected to go live later this year.

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Conducting this study will involve so many internal groups at Johnson & Johnson, from medical affairs to operations, global clinical leaders, biostatistics, our in-house innovation team, World Without Disease stakeholders, our health technology team, legal reviewers, regulatory and compliance experts—as well as many others.

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A Career Dedicated to Making Impact

Today, Paul has 14 years under his belt with Johnson & Johnson. During that time, he's served in a variety of roles, including stints in R&D and as head of medical affairs in the U.S.

But before that, Paul was a physician in the U.K., where he specialized in cardiothoracic surgery. In that capacity, Paul came into contact with future colleagues from Johnson & Johnson, and admired the impact they were making.

So when the opportunity came along to join our team, Paul leapt at it. "It was a chance to join an industry-leading organization—a place where I could truly make an impact at scale. At Johnson & Johnson, our commitment to innovation underpins our commitment to our patients. That's what we're all about."

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What we're doing with Apple is engineering the definitive experiment—because we want to make this tool the definitive solution. Nothing short of that will do.

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Join Us Today

Whether you're here for a day, a month or—like Paul—more than a decade, you'll discover countless opportunities to touch people's lives and drive positive, real-world impact. When your passion meets our collective purpose, never underestimate the enduring impact we can make together.

Ready to follow your interests and forge your own path? Check out all of the ways you can join the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies on the front lines of health innovation today.

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