Top health innovation role for Gates Cambridge Scholar

  • February 6, 2026
Top health innovation role for Gates Cambridge Scholar

Lina Scroggins has been named chief product officer at a leading US healthcare company.

My first job is to listen. Our patients show us every day what’s working and what isn’t. I want to understand their experiences so we can make care easier at every step and create a path that truly supports them.

Lina Scroggins

Gates Cambridge Scholar Lina Scroggins has been appointed chief product officer at leading US health firm Mercy.

Lina [2005], who did her MPhil in Biological Science, has been working for nearly two decades for Google, where she helped shape Google Health and led digital transformation projects for major health systems. Her work focused on creating tools that make care easier to access and more personalised.

Mercy  is one of the 15 largest US health systems, serving millions annually. It has 55 acute care and specialty (heart, children’s, orthopaedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centres and pharmacies. It also has over 1,000 physician practice locations and outpatient facilities, more than 5,000 physicians and advanced practitioners and more than 50,000 caregivers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. In addition, Mercy runs clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

Lina’s role will be to make health care simpler and more connected for patients. She will lead efforts to improve online tools like mercy.net, the MyMercy app and the contact centre, ensuring patients can connect to care quickly and conveniently.“Roles like this are uncommon in healthcare, but innovation is truly part of Mercy’s DNA,” said Steve Mackin, Mercy’s president and CEO. “Lina has a remarkable ability to turn big ideas into practical solutions that make care easier for our patients. Her leadership will elevate the digital experience across Mercy – from scheduling to follow-up care – helping create a seamless, flexible and friction-free journey for every patient we serve.”

Lina said:  “My first job is to listen. Our patients show us every day what’s working and what isn’t. I want to understand their experiences so we can make care easier at every step and create a path that truly supports them.”

Latest News

Scholar to command NASA space mission

Gates Cambridge Scholar Kayla Barron [2010] will serve as spacecraft commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-14 mission to the International Space Station which will launch no earlier than spring 2027. The […]

Aerial maps reveal successful woodland expansion in Scotland

A University of Cambridge team, co-led by Gates Cambridge Scholar Aland Chan, has used aerial surveys across a huge swathe of the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland to create detailed […]

Gates Cambridge Originals: Martin Kaonga

Martin Kaonga [2001] has two PhDs, one in Carbon Biogeochemistry at the University of Cambridge and the other in Christian Apologetics at NTS Indiana which explored the interactions between science […]

Gates Cambridge Originals: Riikka Hofmann

Education always matters, says Riikka Hofmann, Professor of the Learning Sciences at the University of Cambridge. “And because it matters so much it is always a contested area. But I […]