INTERVIEWS

Dr. Katherine Tomasino, PhD, co-director of the Behavioral Medicine for Digestive Health Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago discusses the importance of identifying the causes of problems with gut health, treatment options, and tips to help treat the condition. For more information visit www.nm.org/radio

Dr. MeiLan Han, MD, MS, Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at the University of Michigan discusses chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the importance of correctly identifying COPD risk, symptoms and exacerbations, knowing what to ask your doctor to make for a productive conversation and prioritizing treatment. She is joined by Tracy, a patient living with COPD who shares her journey and what she wished she knew before her COPD diagnosis. They talk about why websites like ListentoYourLungs.com and SpeakUpforCOPD.com can help patients prevent and manage flare-ups and the MY COPD Action Plan Dr. Han developed in partnership with the COPD Foundation to improve patient/physician communication.

Many service members who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan following 9/11 are left struggling today with debilitating lung and respiratory conditions. The combination of exposure to toxic burn pits, diesel fuel, industrial pollution and dust clouds has created long-lasting issues for veterans unlike pulmonary experts have ever seen. Dr. Cecile Rose, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Center of Excellence on Deployment-Related Lung Disease and Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at National Jewish Health is here to discuss the creation of the Center for Deployment-Related Lung Disease to advance research and better diagnose and treat the complex range of respiratory illnesses that veterans face. Today, the center is leading several clinical trials and has shared its ongoing research with pulmonologists and Veterans Affairs medical centers across the country to help veterans find the specialized respiratory care they need.

Matt Zemon, MSc, author of the book “Psychedelics for Everyone: A Beginner’s Guide to These Powerful Medicines for Anxiety, Depression, Addiction, PTSD and Expanding Consciousness” and CEO and Co-Founder of HAPPŸŸ, a mental wellness company discusses psychedelics and how they can treat depression, anxiety, and trauma, the 100 clinical trials and 300+ studies underway, and the top five myths and rumors of psychedelics. He talks about what’s FDA approved and who is investing in psychedelics and why.

Dr. Grace C. Wright, MD, PhD, a consultant rheumatologist in New York City and President of the Association of Women in Rheumatology discusses the challenges faced by people of color with plaque psoriasis (PsO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) such as delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and limited access to testing, treatment, and care. These gaps can have serious consequences on health outcomes, mental health, and overall quality of life. To address these gaps, Determi-Nation, a health movement led by diverse patients, healthcare providers (HCPs), advocates, and Janssen Immunology, has announced two new solutions; Beyond the Textbook: Psoriatic Disease in People of Color, which can help HCPs understand how psoriatic disease presents in people of color and how to navigate patient conversations in a culturally inclusive way and a new patient navigation program in partnership with SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University which focuses on care coordination.

Dr. Richard Browne, MD, FACC, Senior Medical Executive, Health Systems Strategy and the Leader of the Cardiovascular Health Equity Advisory Council for Janssen and Pamela Price-Parker, a Health and Physical Education Teacher and PAD patient advocate, discuss Janssen Pharmaceutical’s health equity initiative, Save Legs, Change Lives™ a multi-year initiative focused on creating awareness, urgency and action around the hidden threat of peripheral artery disease (PAD) related amputation, with an initial focus on Black Americans, who are up to 4X more likely to undergo a PAD-related amputation versus white Americans. Dr. Browne will discuss PAD, the signs and symptoms of the disease, and his personal connection to PAD. Pam will share her personal story as a patient living with PAD and provides advice to people and communities placed at increased risk of the disease.  Since the campaign launched earlier this year, Save Legs. Change Lives™ has actioned more than 12 programs across three focus areas: empowering individuals and communities placed at an increased risk of PAD, collaborating with powerful partners, and driving research. Learn more at www.savelegschangelives.com

Ben Lejfer, leader of the DaaS (“Diagnostics as-a-Service”) team at Innovative Health Diagnostics (IHD) Labs, an FDA/EUA-approved, CLIA-accredited lab that offers both at-home clinical tests for individuals and white-label tests for companies/brands for a range of health conditions discusses​ IHD’s overarching goal and mission, the Diagnostics-as-a-Service and at-home offerings, why at-home testing is so important in today’s day and age and what’s next for IHD in 2023.

To help baby boomers maintain their quality of life and physical functionality, it’s critical to encourage healthy aging, yet up to 1 in 3 adults are at risk of malnutrition which can have significant health and cost implications. A first-of-its-kind study in Clinical Nutrition from Abbott, and Colombia’s Javeriana University and San Ignacio Hospital demonstrates that a simple nutrition care program can drive health benefits like physical functionality, cognitive function, psychological well-being and quality of life among malnourished or at-risk older adults. For more information visit www.nutritionnews.abbott

Eugene Chan, MD, MPH, is the chairman and co-founder of Abpro, a company working to advance monoclonal antibodies to be used to treat Covid-19. He joins Neal to discuss the importance of protecting the immunocompromised population amidst mutating Covid-19 variants and shares the latest on the development of Abpro’s infectious disease antibody treatment that has demonstrated best-in-class efficacy against the multiple Omicron variants. For more information, visit: www.abpro.com.

Ethan Settembre, PhD, Vice President, Research, CSL R&D Seqirus Vaccines Innovation Unit and study author, discusses key findings from the data published in Molecular Therapy – Methods and Clinical Development and the company’s next sa-mRNA technology platform.