INTERVIEWS

Guest: Jeff Andrews, MD

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio: Jeff Andrews, MD, FRCSC is the Worldwide Medical Director for Women’s Health and Cancer, BD Life Sciences. A Board-Certified Obstetrician & Gynecologist, he’s provided women with healthcare in community settings in both metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Washington DC, and as Associate Professor in academic Duke University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.  

Segment Overview: Dr. Jeff Andrews discusses the latest research related to HPV and also highlights a new HPV test that was just approved. This new test detects 14 different types of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) and provides genotyping information for types 16, 18 and 45 – which are associated with over 70 percent of cervical cancers worldwide.

Guest: Sylvie Beljanski, PhD

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio: Sylvie Beljanski was born in New York City after her father, Mirko Beljanski, Ph.D. came to New York to pursue a two-year fellowship with Nobel Prize winner, Severo Ochoa, known for his DNA research on living cells. Raised and educated in Paris, Ms. Beljanski completed her undergraduate studies at The Sorbonne, and after receiving her law degree, she was admitted to the French Bar. Sylvie founded The Beljanski Foundation, a registered not-for-profit, whose mission is to further Dr. Mirko Beljanski’s research within a network of high-profile research institutions.

Segment Overview: Sylvie Beljanski joins us to discuss her new book, “Winning the War on Cancer: The Epic Journey Towards a National Cure”. She also talks about why we don’t necessarily have to lose this war.

Guest: Dr. Ivan Figueroa-Otero

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio: Retired pediatric surgeon, Dr. Ivan Figueroa-Otero, is certified in traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture. He is the author of the award-winning School of Life trilogy: Spirituality 101: For the Dropouts of The School of Life, Spirituality 12: For the Disconnected from The School of Life, and Spirituality 103: The Forgiveness Code. Dr. Figueroa focuses his holistic medicine practice in the use of medical acupuncture treatments, as developed in Traditional Chinese Medicine. He uses needles and laser acupuncture for kids and adults alike in the San Juan, Puerto Rico area. His goal is to help patients in their search for total balance, in order to achieve physical, mental & spiritual wellness. This in turn stimulates the reprogramming of their lifestyles, nutrition habits and stress control skills.

Segment Overview: Ivan Figueroa-Otero, MD talks about his holistic medicine practice and the use of medical acupuncture treatments, as developed in Traditional Chinese Medicine in order to help patients in their search for total balance, in order to achieve physical, mental & spiritual wellness.

Guest: Dr. Jay Yepuri

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio: Dr. Jay Yepuri the Chief Medical Officer at NutriForward, the creators of RiduZone. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Dr. Yepuri is a Gastroenterologist in active clinical practice with Digestive Health Associates of Texas (DHAT), one of the largest Gastroenterology group practices in the United States. Dr. Yepuri practices general Gastroenterology and advanced therapeutic endoscopy. Dr. Yepuri is a member of DHAT’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee. He serves as Medical Director of the GI Lab at Texas Health Harris Methodist HEB Hospital in Bedford, Texas. He is President of the Texas Society for Gastroenterology and Endoscopy (TSGE) and President of the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS). He serves on the American College of Gastroenterology’s Practice Management Committee. Dr. Yepuri also serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Surveyor for the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care.  

Segment Overview: Dr. Jay N. Yepuri, Chief Medical Office for NutriForward, discusses their product RiduZone™, the first and only FDA accepted OEA Dietary Supplement, using natural metabolite Oleoylethanolamide (OEA) to induce satiety and stimulate lipolysis in the body.

Guest: Julie Krop, M.D.

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio: Julie Krop, M.D. serves as AMAG’s chief medical officer and senior vice president of clinical development and regulatory affairs. She joined AMAG in June 2015 and has more than 15 years of experience in drug development. Dr. Krop most recently worked for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where she served as vice president of clinical development. She began her career in the biopharmaceutical industry in 1991 at Pfizer, Inc. and has since held various leadership positions at Stryker Regenerative Medicine, Peptimmune, and Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Krop received a Bachelor of Science degree from Brown University and a medical degree from the Brown University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University Hospital and a fellowship in the Department of Endocrinology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Krop was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar.

Segment Overview: Dr. Julie Krop, AMAG’s Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs discusses Feraheme® (ferumoxytol injection) that has recently been FDA approved for those patients who have intolerance to oral iron or have had an unsatisfactory response to oral iron.

Guest: Rebekah Palmer

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio: Rebekah Palmer is a woman living with Cystinosis, a rare genetic metabolic disease that can lead to progressive, irreversible tissue damage and multi-organ failure, including kidney failure, blindness, and premature death. Her doctors predicted that she wouldn’t live past her twenties. However, at age 30, Rebekah has undergone a kidney transplant, survived lymphoma and is now a successful writer living in the Twin Cities area. Rebekah hopes to share her journey and raise awareness of resources for patients with the disease, including the recently launched website, Cystinosis United.

Segment Overview: Rebekah Palmer talks about her journey living with Cystinosis to help raise awareness of resources for patients with the disease including the recently launched website, Cystinosis United.

Guests: Dr. Andrew Elkwood & Dr. Eric Wimmers

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio:

Dr. Andrew Elkwood is skilled in many of the latest plastic surgery techniques. In addition to his expertise in cosmetic surgery, Dr. Elkwood is an international expert in nerve reconstruction surgery for patients who have lost the use of a limb from nerve damage. He is highly skilled in microsurgery, limb replantation and microsurgical reconstruction after cancer. Dr. Elkwood is a graduate of the prestigious six-year combined B.S./M.D. program at Union College, Schenectady, New York, and the Albany Medical College of Union University, Albany, New York. He completed his general surgery residency at New York University and Bellevue Hospital, and simultaneously received a graduate degree in finance and economics from Columbia University.   

Dr. Eric Wimmers is board certified in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. He is also the Chief of Plastic Surgery at Capital Health Center. He received his medical degree from Howard University in Washington D.C., followed by General Surgery training at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Dr. Wimmers is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgery, the American Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery, and the American College of Surgeons.

Segment Overview: Dr. Eric Wimmers and his colleague Dr. Andrew Elkwood, from the Institute for Advanced Reconstruction discuss being the first surgeons worldwide to perform nerve graft surgery for erectile dysfunction on the first patient ever.

Guest: Dr. Ajay Kirtane, MD

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio: Ajay J. Kirtane, MD, SM specializes in complex coronary and peripheral vascular interventional procedures and assumed the directorship of the New York-Presbyterian / Columbia cardiac catheterization laboratories in 2015. In addition to his clinical commitments, Dr. Kirtane has a strong interest in clinical education and research, serving as Chief Academic Officer of the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy. On the national and international level, he is a co-director of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation’s Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics meeting, has served as a director of several international, national, and regional educational meetings, and has participated on the program committees for the scientific sessions of both the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association. Dr. Kirtane’s research interests are in clinical trial methodology and outcomes of device-based and pharmacologic interventions in Interventional Cardiology. He is/has been Principal Investigator for several multicenter trials of interventional devices and serves on the steering committees of several large-scale clinical trials in interventional cardiovascular medicine.

Segment Overview: Dr. Ajay Kirtane, MD, an Interventional Cardiologist and Endovascular Specialist discusses available treatments and alternatives to open-heart surgery.

Guest: Dr. Bill Harris

Presenter: Tabetha Moreto

Guest Bio: Dr. Bill Harris is the President and CEO of Omegaquant and he is an internationally recognised expert on omega-3 fatty acids and how they can benefit patients with heart disease.

He obtained his PhD in Human Nutrition from the University of Minnesota, and completed post-doctoral fellowships in Clinical Nutrition and Lipid Metabolism with Dr Bill Connor at the Oregon Health Sciences University.  His interest in omega-3 fatty acids began with his postdoctoral work when he published his first study on the effects of salmon oil on serum lipids in humans (1980). Since that time, he has been the recipient of five NIH grants for studies on the effects of omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) on human health. He has over 190 publications relating to omega-3 fatty acids in medical literature and was an author on two American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statements on fatty acids.

Segment Overview: In today’s interview, Dr. Bill Harris joins the program in order to promote a new innovative self-administered Omega 3 Test called Omegaquant. He also highlights the various health benefits of Omega 3 such as having a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Guest: Samantha Cobb

Presenter: Tabetha Moreto

Guest Bio: Samantha “Sam” Cobb is the founding CEO of AdAlta. She has over 15 years’ experience in business development and commercialisation of early stage scientific technologies. As the founding CEO of AdAlta, she has raised over $20m in capital from angel investors and venture capital. Samantha was also involved in taking AdAlta public on the ASX, raising $10m in an oversubscribed IPO. Prior to AdAlta, Samantha was the Business Development Director at the Co-operative Research Centre for Diagnostics. She has also worked for the biotech start-up companies Sensologix Inc and Nephrogenix Pty Ltd, and at the University of Queensland’s technology commercialisation companies Uniquest Pty Ltd and IMBcom Pty Ltd.

Segment Overview: In today’s interview, Sam Cobb joins the programs to talk about her company. AdAlta is a highly innovative drug discovery and development company using its powerful technology platform to generate a promising new class of protein therapeutics for treating a wide range of diseases.