Empowered Patient Podcast

Arya Massarat, Harvey Mudd College Class of 2020 graduated with Bachelor of Science degree in mathematical and computational biology and is continuing his studies at the University of California San Diego in the PhD program in bioinformatics and system biology.  Arya talks about the reasons he has chosen to become a scientist, the value of his internship at the Salk Institute, and the need for an interdisciplinary approach combining math, computer science and biology to manage and make sense of the vast amount of biological data that is being generated. @HarveyMudd @SalkInstitute @UCSDBiosciences Download the transcript here

Rhonda Collins, DNP, RN, FAAN and Chief Nursing Officer, Vocera is deeply concerned about the mental anguish and physical burdens that COVID-19 has placed on nurses and other front-line healthcare workers.  She talks about ways in which hospitals can ease the stress by providing contextual information that the healthcare worker can immediately act on, the need to use technology to help mitigate cognitive overload, and ways in which healthcare workers can build their own resilience to the additional challenges that COVID-19 has added to their daily lives. @RhondaCNO @VoceraComm #cognitiveoverload #COVID19 Vocera.com Download the transcript here

Sonny Hsiao, CEO, President, and Co-Founder Acepodia Biotech discusses how Acepodia is transforming the cell therapy landscape through a flexible and cost-effective platform that can be used to develop potent treatments for a broad range of indications. Sonny describes how they are applying this technology to enhance and energize immune cells with antibodies so that the immune cells can bind to tumor cells and overcome the challenges of treating solid tumors. @acepodiainc #CellTherapy #Antibody #AntibodyCellConjugation #CancerTherapy #CancerTreatment #oncology Acepodia.com Download the transcript here  

Eddie Sullivan, President, CEO, Co-Founder, SAb Biotherapeutics talks about their innovative technology to generate targeted highly potent immunotherapies on a large scale.  SAb is producing fully human polyclonal antibodies targeted to COVID-19 without the need for convalescent plasma blood donations by using genetically engineered cattle which produce the fully human antibodies. @SABBantibody  #COVID19 #immunotherapies #antibodies SAbbiotherapeutics.com/covid-19 Download the transcript here

Dr. Laurence Cooper, CEO, Ziopharm Oncology points to earlier work in immunotherapy to explain the advances in cancer treatment that revolve around the genetic engineering of cells to control gene expression and manipulation of the DNA of cells such as T-cells to go after cancer cells. The next generation immunotherapy will allow cells and agents to adapt in real time to overcome resistance and empower T-cells to go after the cancer weak spots. @ziopharm #cancer #CancerResearch #Immunotherapy #oncology Ziopharm.com Download the transcript here

Laura Mitchell, CEO, GrandCare has been working for many years to bring digital technology to the aging population and those facilities that are supporting senior housing communities. While remote sensing and telehealth have seen significant growth, COVID-19 has accelerated the need for family members, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to have remote access to seniors as well as the disabled.  While necessity is the mother of invention, crisis may be the father of adoption. @LauraHMitchell @GrandCare #GrandCare #COVID19 #telemedicine #telehealth #digitalhealth GrandCare.com Download the transcript here  

Dr. George Shapiro, Chief Medical Officer, Organicell describes the regenerative medicine challenges to regenerate tissue and avoid surgery in patients.  Organicall is using extracellular vesicles and perinatal derived nano-particles from amniotic fluid taken in the operating room from planned C-section US births. Their technology has strong anti-inflammatory benefits and keeps the cytokine release syndrome from a virus or other causes to a minimum.  George also describes the origins of the discovery of the power of the nano-particles found in the amniotic fluid. @OrganicellTM #organicell #COVID19 #exosome #SARS #biotechnology Organicell.com Download the transcript here    

Dr. Mark Erlander, CEO, Cardiff Oncology identifies the unmet needs of those suffering from metastatic colorectal cancer who have the oncogene KRAS mutation that hyper-drives the tumor growth.  Mark talks about the company's investigational drug, onvansertib that is being evaluated in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).  Onvansertib is a first-in-class, third-generation, oral and highly-selective inhibitor of PLK1, an enzyme that is over-expressed in most types of cancers. Onvansertib works synergistically in combination with approved chemotherapies and targeted therapeutics. @CardiffOncology #onvansertib #cancer #oncology #drugdevelopment #colorectalcancer #KRAS Cardiffoncology.com Download the transcript here  

Dr. Rachna Patel moved from a career as an emergency room doctor to become a medical marijuana doctor treating patients with a combination of cannabinoids like CBD and THC.  She shares her insights about how the brain processes pain, how cannabinoids can reduce inflammation in the body, and how cannabinoids can impact the emotional processing of the pain.  Dr. Patel also talks about the use of cannabis in conjunction with prescription pain medication to better manage symptoms.  She is also the author of The CBD Oil Solution. #cannabis #cannabinoids. #CBD #THC DocPatels.com Download the transcript here

Jeff Stein, President and CEO, Cidara Therapeutics talks about  their antifungal platform rezafungin now in Phase 3 clinical development to address the needs of the vulnerable population of patients hospitalized for something else who get a life-threatening fungal infection in the hospital. Jeff also explains their Cloudbreak Antiviral Conjugates platform that is being used to target influenza and COVID-19.  Cidara is not developing vaccines or monoclonal antibodies rather long-acting drugs that are virucidal and that recruit the immune system to clean up the infection. He also clearly describes the differences between fungi and viruses. @CidaraThera @JeffStein #coronavirus #COVID19 #influenza #fungalinfections #antifungal #antiviral Cidara.com Download the transcript