Health Professional Radio - Podcast

Forensic pathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu, the man behind the movie "Concussion" discusses his experience as an International Medical Graduate (IMG). He is joined by returning guest, Dr. William Pinsky, President, and CEO of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) who will discuss the growing physician shortage and the importance of IMGs to meeting U.S. and global health care needs.

Returning guest Dr. Doug Manion’s current work developing cancer therapeutics has been uniquely informed by his connections to family and friends who have suffered from the disease. While his drug development work began with HIV therapies, the last 10 years of his career have focused on cancer therapies. Dr. Manion joined Kleo Pharmaceuticals in 2017. Kleo is a unique immune-oncology company developing next-generation bispecific compounds designed to emulate or enhance the activity of biologics. The company’s mission is to create fully synthetic compounds that recruit the immune system to destroy cancer cells, but with significant advantages compared to biologics. Kleo’s small molecule and synthetic peptide compounds function similar to highly complex biologics, yet offer enhanced versatility, improved safety, and efficacy and are faster and cost less to develop. Kleo’s lead compound is expected to commence human studies in 2020.

Dr. Susan Mitmesser, VP of Science and Technology at Pharmavite, LLC, maker of Nature Made vitamins and supplements discusses a study published in MDPI that showed a significant association between the prevalence of getting less than seven hours of sleep and the inadequate intake of several micronutrients, including calcium, magnesium and vitamin A, C, D, and E.

John Davenport, Chief Scientist of Energy Focus, discusses fluorescent lighting and first generation LED lights and how the flicker can affect us and may also interfere with hospital equipment. He discusses the recent advances in LED lighting that is flicker free and the advantages to having fluorescent lighting retrofitted with state of the art LED lighting. LED lighting is also poised to transform ordinary environments into smart environments as health care institutions adopt the Internet of Things (IoT) across their facilities.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Dr. Elliot Hirsch, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and The Chief of Plastic Surgery at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center, discusses whether a breast cancer diagnosis will require surgery or if there are other options, current treatments, and what women and men can do to improve the healing process. He also discusses what can be done to prevent a dangerous diagnosis.

Dr. Meredith Schultz with AveXis discusses the FDA approval of Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi), the first gene therapy for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric patients less than 2 yrs of age. It is given as a one-time infusion into the vein. Zolgensma was not evaluated in patients with advanced SMA.

Dr. Phil Dormitzer, VP and CSO, Viral Vaccines at Pfizer Vaccines Research and Development discusses the significance of new data presented at the 2019 IDWeek conference for a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate. The vaccine is currently in Phase 2b trials in pregnant women in the United States and the Phase 1/2 data being presented at IDWeek show encouraging safety and immune response. No vaccine is currently licensed for use specifically in pregnant women to protect infants.

Dr. Gustavo Alva, psychiatrist, discusses mood episodes, such as depression, mixed episodes, and mania, why diagnosing bi-polar disorder remains challenging and complex, and a new option for treating bi-polar depression which can streamline a treatment decision. Interview on behalf of Allergan.

Richard Carreon, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer at ImpediMed discusses SOZO®, bioimpedance spectroscopy that enables healthcare professionals to non-invasively measure, monitor and better manage lymphedema, particularly in breast cancer surgery patients at a much earlier point.

Stacy Kaiser, celebrity psychotherapist, discusses coping with medical issues such as overactive bladder (OAB). She talks about "Coping Confessions" a new campaign sponsored by Astellas that sheds light on when coping has gone too far and is unproductive and how to take action to prevent coping from ruling our lives.

Dr. Marcia Rabinowits with Rogers Behavioral Health in Miami, discusses the paralyzing disorder of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), what it is and how to identify its symptoms. She also discusses how to get properly diagnosed and what treatment options are more effective.

Dr. Jayaram Thimmapuram, internist, discusses professional burnout amongst physicians and how meditation can mitigate the effects of stress and anxiety and improve personal wellness. He also discusses a study he completed on physician burnout

Dr. Jonathan Cheng with Merck Research Laboratories discusses data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2019 Congress on the phase 3 KEYNOTE-522 trial of Merck's KEYTRUDA® plus chemotherapy in early stage triple negative breast cancer.

Returning guest Dr. Scot Ebbinghaus with Merck Research Labs discusses positive data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2019 Congress on the phase 3 PAOLA-1 trial of Merck and AstraZeneca's LYNPARZA® (olaparib) added to Bevacizumab for newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer

Returning guest Dr. Scot Ebbinghaus with Merck Research Labs discusses data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2019 Congress on the phase 3 PROfound trial of Merck and AstraZeneca's LYNPARZA® (olaparib) evaluating a targeted treatment in biomarker-selected metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients.

Dr. Gustavo Cumbo-Nacheli, board-certified interventional pulmonologist talks about the Zephyr® Endobronchial Valve, a small umbrella-like object placed in the airway with a camera scope. This new device is made by Pulmonx, was approved by the FDA in 2018 and is helping patients with COPD and Emphysema live better, healthier lives.

Lee Holmes comes to Health Professional Radio to talk about gut health and a cooking demo

Grammy winner and breast cancer survivor Sheryl Crow is here to share her experience and share with other women the importance of screening. Dr. Jessica Shepherd, leading OB/GYN and women's health expert discusses the top reasons women avoid annual mammograms. She also talks about a more comfortable and accurate mammogram experience with the Genius™ 3M Mammography™ exam and the SmartCurve™ breast stabilization system.

For World Heart Day 2019 Amgen released findings from a global survey of heart attack survivors. Dr. Elizabeth Ofili, Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta,Georgia discusses these findings that show that heart attack survivors may not fully understand the connection between cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. This World Heart Day is meant to encourage anyone with CVD to make a promise to protect their heart health and to learn about how cholesterol can be reduced.

Dr. Karen Cox, president of Chamberlain University discusses the latest statistics on the current and projected nursing shortage, how to structure a nursing program that will not only graduate ready-prepared individuals but also how to make nursing education available to many, including those from underserved communities, and how Chamberlain is the largest provider of BSN degrees to underrepresented minority students, as well as the largest nursing school in the United States.