Dr. Simrit Parmar, founder of Cellenkos, joins the show to discuss her journey from the lab to the biotech startup world, detailing the inspiration behind launching her company, the challenges of securing funding, and the resilience required to overcome rejections. She shares insights into Cellenkos’ lead product, its progress toward market approval, and the rigorous
Carol Rausch—a healthcare professional, cancer researcher, and former patient with lymphoma—shares how her journey from researcher to patient transformed her understanding of medical language. She discusses the impact of word choice on patients, why certain battle and war metaphors can be harmful, and how language used in clinical settings differs from what resonates with those
Drs. David Braun and Toni Choueiri join to discuss a groundbreaking Nature study on a personalized neoantigen vaccine for adjuvant renal cell carcinoma. They explore the inspiration behind the trial, how the vaccine was developed and administered, and its safety profile. The conversation also covers patient outcomes after 3-4 years, including immune responses and disease
Dr. Jay Giri, Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, joins the show to break down the recent NIH funding cuts and their impact on the medical research ecosystem. Together, he and Chadi explore the distinction between direct and indirect funding, the federal government’s decision to reduce direct research
Dr. Mohammad Jahanzeb, a renowned oncologist specializing in lung and breast cancer who opened his own virtual second opinion clinic, joins the podcast to explore the growing need for second opinion clinics and the challenges patients face in accessing them, from financial barriers to lingering stigmas. He delves into how often second opinions lead to
Returning to the show, Drs. Vincent Rajkumar and Aaron Goodman engage in a dynamic debate over the evolving landscape of smoldering multiple myeloma, focusing on the highly anticipated study recently co-authored by Dr. Rajkumar and published in The New England Journal of Medicine after being presented at ASH 2024. They dissect the study’s findings, which
Dr. Sakhr (Sam) Youness, a Syrian entrepreneur and engineer, provides a comprehensive primer on artificial intelligence (AI), tracing its origins from WWII-era innovations to the breakthroughs of the 1990s that shaped modern AI capabilities. He demystifies key concepts like machine learning, large language models, and the role of labeled data in training AI systems, offering
Amy Abernethy and Brad Hirsch, co-founders of Highlander Health, delve into their mission to transform healthcare through innovative, data-driven strategies. They discuss their firm’s unique approach to investing in companies and technologies that advance personalized care, the creation of the Evidence Accelerator to streamline high-quality real-world data, and their efforts to solve critical challenges in
the award-winning hematologist and a medical oncologist who hosted Outspoken Oncology, a podcast featuring candid discussions of the most pressing, and often controversial, medical topics. Combining his background in cancer research and health care advocacy, Dr. Nabhan brings a unique and powerful perspective to current medical events.
