INTERVIEWS

Guest: Dr. Clemens von Schacky

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guests Bio: Prof. Dr. Clemens von Schacky is an internationally known expert on Omega-3 fatty acids. He is a board-certified cardiologist and has been leading the unit of Preventive Cardiology at the Ludwig Maximilians-University of Munich for over 20 years. He is a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology, and a member of the German Heart Association’s Prevention Committee. He works on guidelines for German and Spanish scientific societies, like Deutsche Gesellschaft für Prävention and Rehabilitation. Together with Dr. William Harris, he invented and defined the Omega-3 Index, a standardized method for fatty acid analysis.

Segment overview: Dr. Clemens von Schacky, an internationally known expert on Omega-3 fatty acids and a board-certified cardiologist, discusses the Omega-3 Index that he co-developed as well as the study findings that he contributed to as a member of the Global Nutrition and Health Alliance (GNHA). The GNHA’s findings were published in the most recent issue of Nutrients.

Guest: Dr. Michelle Miller

Presenter: Tabetha Moreto

Guests Bio: Dr Miller has over 20 years of experience in the bioscience industry, with focus on commercial development of early to mid-stage technologies. She completed her PhD in the Faculty of Medicine at Sydney University investigating molecular models of cancer development. She has worked for several years at Johnson and Johnson developing anti-HIV gene therapeutics through preclinical research to clinical trials. She also has finance industry experience from time spent as an Investment Manager with a specialist bioscience venture capital fund.

Segment overview: Dr Miller talks about Biotron’s current lead compound, BIT225, which is in Phase 2 development for the treatment of HIV-1 & hepatitis C. Biotron Limited (Biotron) is a company that focuses on the development of technology that targets viroporin proteins, which are key to enabling the pathogenicity of a number of viruses including hepatitis C, HIV-1, Dengue, Zika, Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

Guest: Alison Verhoeven

Presenter: Tabetha Moreto

Guests Bio: Alison Verhoeven is Chief Executive of the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association. Alison has broad experience in health, education, corporate governance and communications, and has worked in both the private and public sectors in Australia, the Asia-Pacific region, and Europe. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, holds a Masters in Business Administration, and previously was the Senior Executive, Governance and Communications for the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

 Segment overview: Unintended pregnancy in Australia remains prevalent. About 50-60% of Australian women who had an unintended pregnancy were actually using contraception. In fact, the number of abortions amongst Australian women aged under 30 years old is more than double the number of women aged 30 years or above. Alison Verhoeven, Chief Executive of the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association, talks about the issues encountered by women with birth control methods and how to get access with other contraceptive methods.

Guest: Judy Swan  

Presenter: Wayne Bucklar

Guests Bio:  Judy Swan, with over 30 years of experience in legal services, is currently holding the position of Principal at Swan Lawyers. In the past, Judy worked as assistant General Manager at Ord Minnett NZ Pty Ltd and at Cleaners NSW Pty Ltd for sixteen years where she focused on employment matters. Her expertise revolves in Family Law, Commercial Litigation, Employment Law, Commercial Law and helping start-up companies. Judy can speak several languages, which allows her to understand cultural nuances – this includes English, Afrikans, German, and French. Judy sees that law has become unreachable to most people and her aim is to bring the law back to its roots, which is assisting, helping, negotiating and managing unnecessary problems which cause massive stress.  

Segment overview: Courts used to have a traditional idea of how to deal with separation, marriage and divorce, but this has changed as the perception of a nuclear family changed through the years. Judy, being a mother of four, understands the complexities that may result in the separation of couples – most especially the psychological and emotional pain that every child endures in the process. Judy explains how courts deal with modern day issues in marriage, divorce, child support, property ownership, and other common family-related issues.

Guest: Michelle Harris

Presenter: Tabetha Moreto

Guests Bio: Michelle Harris was appointed as the Bethanie Dementia Consultant in January 2014. Her goal is to change the culture of dementia care to improve the quality of life of patients living with the disease. Michelle believes in the importance of effective leadership to challenge the ‘status quo’ in care delivery services. In 2017, she was nominated for a Better Practice Award for the work with Agelink Theatre in Dementia, also a runner up in the Asia Pacific Awards. In 2015, she was a speaker at the World Dementia Congress in Taiwan and the National Dementia Congress in Melbourne raising awareness on the rights of people living with dementia and the need for a National approach for Dementia Care Standards. Michelle is holds Masters of Clinical Science in Nursing specializing in Gerontology and Dementia, Bachelor of Health Care Science, and Bachelor of Midwifery.

Segment overview: September is Dementia Awareness Month. Bethanie, a widely known not-for-profit aged care and retirement living providers in Western Australia, is hosting free seminars entitled “A Time to Live” to provide essential information for the detection and treatment of clients with dementia. Michelle Harris, a Bethanie Dementia Consultant, joins us to talk about dementia and their efforts of raising awareness through public forums.

Guest: Dr. Paul Nyirjesy

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guests Bio: Paul Nyirjesy, MD, is Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Nyirjesy is the director of the Drexel Vaginitis Center and also serves as an attending physician at Hahnemann University Hospital. Dr. Nyirjesy has been a consultant on the Centers for Disease Control’s guidelines on sexually transmitted diseases treatment since 2005 and wrote the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ most recent guidelines on vaginitis. He has served as on the Medical-Scientific Advisory Board of the National Vulvodynia Association since 2002.

Segment overview: Dr. Paul Nyirjesy, MD, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Drexel University College of Medicine and an investigator in the Solosec™ (secnidazole) oral granules clinical trial discusses the findings of that trial and the recent FDA approval.

Guest: Jason M. Hafron, M.D.

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guests Bio: Jason M. Hafron, M.D. is a partner at the Michigan Institute of Urology, P.C. an Associate Professor of Urology at the William Beaumont School of Medicine, Oakland University and the Director of Robotic Surgery at Beaumont Hospital Royal Oak. Dr. Hafron’s field of expertise is in the areas of adult urology, specializing in the minimally invasive treatment of cancers involving the prostate, kidney and bladder utilizing laparoscopic and robotic surgery. Dr. Hafron is the Director of Research at MIU and has published numerous peer reviewed journal articles on topics related to his expertise and presented his work at many national and international scientific meetings. Dr. Hafron’s hospital affiliations include William Beaumont Hospitals, Royal Oak and Troy Campuses. Dr. Hafron currently sees patients at MIU’s Troy and West Bloomfield Offices (Orchard Lake Road).

Segment overview: Dr. Jason Hafron, MD, a partner at the Michigan Institute for Urology discusses prostate cancer and immunotherapy for advanced prostate cancer.

Guest: Andrew Hilew

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guests Bio: Andrew Hilew, a practicing lawyer, was shocked when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009. Another check of his PSA levels years later showed that his disease had progressed. So when his urologist recommended tackling his cancer with a new form of treatment for certain patients with advanced prostate cancer called immunotherapy, he was eager to try it. Today, Andrew’s PSA is down from 88 to 2.1. While he continues to undergo treatment for his disease, he still practices law and spends time golfing. Andrew is sharing his story in the hopes of encouraging men – and their loved ones – to be proactive about early detection of prostate cancer, and get educated on testing and advances in treatment.

Segment overview: Andrew Hilew, 71 years old, a husband and father of 5 from Michigan, discusses his journey with his advanced prostate cancer diagnosis and immunotherapy treatment.

Guest: David L. Stern

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guests Bio: David Stern is the Chief Executive Officer of Symbiomix. Mr. Stern has more than 20 years of biopharmaceutical experience and has launched numerous brands in the U.S. and Global Women’s Health, HIV, and Metabolic markets. He served as the Chief Commercial Officer at Celmatix before joining Symbiomix, responsible for launching the company’s first product, Polaris™. He was also the Executive Vice President of Global Commercial Operations for OvaScience, leading the global launch of Augment®. Before that, he served as Senior Vice President and Head of the Global Business Franchise for Fertility at Merck Serono, responsible for the company’s market leading Fertility portfolio world-wide. Mr. Stern also worked at EMD Serono as Executive Vice President of Endocrinology, managing commercial operations in the Fertility, HIV and Growth Hormone markets. He began his career at Organon Pharmaceutical in Women’s Health. Mr. Stern earned his bachelor’s degree in biology at Brandeis University and holds an MBA from the F.W. Olin School of Business at Babson College. He is a member of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and serves as an independent board member of California Cryobank.

Segment overview: David L. Stern discusses the company’s recent FDA approval of Solosec™ (secnidazole) single dose treatment for bacterial vaginosis and their efforts in bringing innovative medicines to market for prevalent gynecologic infections with serious health consequences.

Guests: Vicki Lawrence & Dr. Travis Miller

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guests Bio: Vicki Lawrence is a comedienne and Emmy® award-winning actress. She is famous for her role on The Carol Burnett Show and Mama’s Family, and more recently on Hannah Montana and NBC’s new sitcom, Great News. Six years ago, Vicki was diagnosed with CIU.

Dr. Miller graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine in 1999. He works in Sacramento, CA and 1 other location and specializes in Allergy & Immunology. Dr. Miller is affiliated with Dignity Health Mercy General Hospital, Sutter Medical Center Sacramento, Sutter Roseville Medical Center and Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital.

Segment overview: Vicki Lawrence, along with Dr. Travis Miller, discusses a condition that she and an estimated 1.5 million Americans have – Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria, and an educational program addressing CIU.