INTERVIEWS

Edmundo Gonzalez, CEO of Marpai Health discusses bringing AI and deep learning to the self-insurance market. What makes Marpai different is how they are leveraging data, stats, recent claims, and overall health to get ahead of potential health issues by analyzing data and providing predictions. For example if a patient is pre-diabetic, Marpai has TopCare, a group of experts in healthcare who are looking at the patient’s data and will recommend the top 10 experts to possibly see to address the health issue. 

Returning guest, Dr. Kendra Grubb, surgical director of the Structural Heart and Valve Center at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta discusses Medtronic’s announcement of early results from the OPTIMIZE PRO clinical study at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) 2021 Scientific Sessions.  The study evaluated procedure-related techniques and care pathways when using the self-expanding, supra-annular Evolut™ PRO and PRO+ TAVR systems in patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis.

37-year old Mical Roy discusses his stage II prostate cancer diagnosis in 2018 and his participation in the “Your Cancer Story” program which aims to help those living with cancer address the challenges at every stage of the journey via videos which Mical is featured in.  Now cancer free he has taken on the role of an advocate by mentoring, participating in local and national programs and bringing awareness to diversity in cancer care through research.

Dr. Andrew Makin, MD. Global Vice President of Medical Affairs at Oxford Immunotec, makers of The T-SPOT.COVID test discusses T-cell testing and how it can provide vital medical insights as we continue our journey through this pandemic.

Dr. Noam Emanuel, Co-Founder and CSO of PolyPid, a late-stage biopharma company aiming to improve surgical outcomes, discusses the second most prevalent type of Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI), Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) which are responsible for 20 percent of all HAIs in US hospitals and often result in readmission and extended hospital stays. Current SSI prevention lies in IV antibiotic administration, but its systemic administration has limited efficacy and can result in resistance and toxicity. PolyPid is working to tackle this issue with its proprietary PLEX (Polymer-Lipid Encapsulation matriX) technology that pairs with medications, to enable precise delivery of drugs at effective release rates over durations ranging from several days to months.

Ashleigh Burdette, MSN, RN, Sr. Director, Clinical Innovation at Biologics By McKesson explains that though personalized care is typically essential for cancer patients, it’s even more so in a COVID-19 and post-COVID landscape. Cancer patients are among some of the most at risk for contracting COVID-19 and with diminished immune systems, can experience worse symptoms.  She talks about how personalized care plans for oncology patients allow for easier connection to therapies via McKesson’s network of payers, providers, and pharmacies. 

Comedian and actor, Billy Gardell, (star of CBS sitcom, “Bob Hearts Abishola”) shares his journey managing type 2 diabetes during the pandemic. He was diagnosed in the fall of 2018 and has participated in “My Type 2 Transformation“, a 5-episode online series that chronicled his journey to managing his diabetes and he credits this program for teaching him how to make lifestyle changes. 

Returning guest, Dr. Jeffrey Stark, MD, Head of Medical Immunology at UCB discusses the results from the BE RADIANT and BE SURE studies, comparing the efficacy and safety of bimekizumab to secukinumab and adalimumab, respectively, in the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults. Both studies met all primary and ranked secondary endpoints.These data were published in the “New England Journal of Medicine” (April 2021).

Dr. Mark Grijnsztein, MD, allergy and immunology specialist discusses peanut allergies in young children and talks about a new treatment option, the first ever FDA approved oral immunotherapy (OIT) for peanut allergy, PALFORZIA® (Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) Allergen Powder-dnfp). He is joined by Robyn Lao whose daughter has a peanut allergy and is being treated with PALFORZIA.

May is Mental Health Month and Dr. Michael Jablonski, Ph.D., M.S., Vice President of Medical Affairs for the GeneSight test at Myriad Genetics, discusses the results of a new GeneSight Mental Health Monitor national poll that found that 83 percent of those diagnosed with depression say life would be easier if others could understand what they’re going through. He shares other findings from the poll and talks about treatment options.