Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show

Send us a textMs. Rita El Zaghloul is Director of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature & People Secretariat ( HAC - https://www.hacfornatureandpeople.org/ ), an intergovernmental group of more than 100 countries, co-chaired by Costa Rica and France, and by the United Kingdom as Ocean co-chair, championing a global deal for nature and people with the central goal of protecting at least 30 per cent of land and 30% of the ocean, globally, by 2030. The 30x30 target is a global target that aims to halt the accelerating loss of species and protect vital ecosystems that are the source of our economic security. Prior to this role, Ms. Zaghloul served as Coordinator of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature on behalf of Costa Rica as part of the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment and Energy, as well as Minister Counsellor and International Relations Advisor at the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations. Ms. Zaghloul studied International Relations and Affairs at the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica and Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica and then received a Master of Arts - MA, Conflict, Security and Development King's College London Support the show

Send us a textEpisode Disclaimer - The views presented in this episode are those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) or its components. Dr. Diane DiEuliis, Ph.D. is a Distinguished Research Fellow at National Defense University ( NDU - https://www.ndu.edu/ ), an institution of higher education, funded by the United States Department of Defense, aimed at facilitating high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. Her research areas focus on emerging biological technologies, biodefense, and preparedness for biothreats. Specific topic areas under this broad research portfolio include dual-use life sciences research, synthetic biology, the U.S. bioeconomy, disaster recovery, and behavioral, cognitive, and social science as it relates to important aspects of deterrence. Dr. DiEuliis currently has several research grants in progress, and teaches in foundational professional military education. Prior to joining NDU, Dr. DiEuliis was Deputy Director for Policy, and served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Department of Health and Human Services. She coordinated policy and research in support of domestic and international health emergencies, such as Hurricane Sandy, and Ebola outbreaks. She was responsible for implementation of the Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness Act, the National Health Security Strategy, and supported the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE). From to 2007 to 2011, Dr. DiEuliis was the Assistant Director for Life Sciences and Behavioral and Social Sciences in the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in the Executive Office of the President. During her tenure at the White House, she was responsible for developing policy in areas such as biosecurity and biodefense, synthetic biology, social and behavioral science, scientific collections, and biotechnology. Dr. DiEuliis also worked to help coordinate agency response to public health issues such as the H1N1 flu. Prior to working at OSTP, Dr. DiEuliis was a program director at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she managed a diverse portfolio of neuroscience research in neurodegenerative diseases. She completed a fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research and completed her postdoctoral research in the NIH Intramural research program, where she focused on cellular and molecular neuroscience. Dr. DiEuliis is a National Merit Scholar, and has a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware. She is the author of over 70 publications. Important Episode Link - The Unique Role of Federal Scientific Collections: Infrastructure Generating Benefits, Serving Diverse Agency, published by Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press on behalf of the Interagency Working Group on Scientific Collections - https://doi.org/10.5479/si.24559996 Support the show

Send us a textElizabeth Reynolds is Managing Director, US of Starburst Aerospace ( https://starburst.aero/ ), a global Aerospace and Defense (A&D) startup accelerator and strategic advisory practice championing today’s aerospace renaissance, aligning early-stage technology innovators with government and commercial stakeholders and investors to modernize infrastructure in space, transportation, communications, and intelligence. Elizabeth's team works alongside hundreds of technology startups developing new aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, drones, sensors, autonomy, robotics, and much more. Elizabeth brings 15 years of experience in deep tech entrepreneurship, growth, business operations, and strategy to the team. Prior to joining Starburst, she served as an executive for biotech, medtech, mobility, and interactive media companies, from founding through IPO. She is also an advisor to a number of startups and nonprofits supporting STEM education. Starburst has offices in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Paris, Munich, Singapore, Seoul, Tel Aviv, and Madrid, has grown into a global team of 70 dedicated team members with a portfolio of 140+ startups, 20 accelerator programs, and 2 active venture funds which strive to provide enabling growth services for deep tech leaders disrupting the industry and working towards a safer, greener, and more connected world. SPACE-H Space Heath Accelerator - www.spacehealthaccelerator.com Support the show

Send us a textDr. Roland Roesch, Ph.D. is Director, Innovation and Technology Centre (IITC), of the International Renewable Energy Agency ( IRENA - https://www.irena.org/ ) where he oversees the Agency’s work on advising member countries in the area of technology status and roadmaps, energy planning, cost and markets and innovation policy frameworks. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is a leading global intergovernmental agency for energy transformation that serves as the principal platform for international cooperation, supports countries in their energy transitions, and provides state of the art data and analyses on technology, innovation, policy, finance and investment. IRENA drives the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind energy in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, and energy security, for economic and social resilience and prosperity and a climate-proof future. Dr. Roesch currently leads IRENA´s work on RE Innovation, Grids-Assessments and the Strategies Teams for the Power Sector Transformation and for the Gas Sector Transformation. He actively leads the development of IRENA´s work in the fields of ocean energy, blue economy and decarbonizing the shipping sector. Before becoming Director, Dr. Roesch served as IITC Deputy Director from 2018. With a MSc. in Industrial Engineering, and MBA / Ph.D. in Energy Economics, from Technische Universität Darmstadt, Dr. Roesch joined IRENA in 2012 and has worked in multiple work programs since. For two years prior to joining IRENA, Dr. Roesch had been Professor for Energy Economics at the University of Applied Science in Darmstadt. Previously, he worked for 15 years in the oil and gas and utilities industries for Shell and E.ON, latterly as General Manager Power with Shell and as Head of Division, Project Leader, Project Executive and Technical Project Developer with E.ON. Prior to that, he worked as an Energy Market Consultant for Lahmeyer International and as a researcher in renewable energy. Dr. Roesch has solid business experience in energy markets, energy economics and strategies, renewable integration management, energy project development and project financing. Support the show

Send us a textProf. Isabel Oliver is the Director General of Science and Research & Chief Scientific Officer, at the UK Health Security Agency ( UKHSA - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-health-security-agency ). The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is a government agency in the United Kingdom, responsible since April 2021 for England-wide public health protection and infectious disease capability and replacing Public Health England. It is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). Prior to this role, Prof. Oliver was Director of National Infection Service at Public Health England (PHE) having held other roles previously in the organization. She is also professor and co-director of the National Institute for Health Research, Health Protection Research Unit on Behavioral Science and Evaluation, at the University of Bristol and an honorary professor at University College, London. Prof. Oliver has broad research interests ranging from infectious diseases epidemiology and the evaluation of public health interventions and services, to the surveillance, prevention and control of infectious diseases and environmental hazards, antibiotic resistance, emergency preparedness and response, sexual health and the mental health impact of major incidents. She leads the National Study of Flooding and Health, a longitudinal study aimed at understanding the impact of flooding on mental health and wellbeing. Prof. Oliver received an MSc, Public Health, from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, U. of London and a Medical Degree from Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Arti Garg, Ph.D. is Head of Technology Strategy & Evaluation, Office of the CTO and HPE Sr. Distinguished Technologist, at Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( https://www.hpe.com/us/en/home.html ). Previously Dr. Garg served as Deputy, Global CTO for Data & AI and Lead Sustainability & Edge Innovation Architect, as Chief Strategist for the AI Strategy & Solutions organization, overseeing HPE’s advanced AI technology programs, and as Emerging Market and Technology Director, at Cray Inc. which was acquired by Hewlett Packard Enterprise in September 2019. Over her career, Dr. Garg has held several data science leadership roles in the computing and industrial sectors, including at Datapipe, NRG, and GE. In the past, Dr. Garg has also worked in the U.S. government, at the White House Budget Office where she oversaw over $5 billion of R&D investments at the Department of Energy, and as a legislative adviser in the U.S. Congress, as a American Physical Society-sponsored AAAS S&T Congressional Fellow. with the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Her science policy journey also includes working for the University of California, Office of the President (UCOP). Dr. Garg holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University, an MS in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering from Stanford University, and she did post-doctoral work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as part of the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics. Dr Garg is also founder and chair of Engineers & Scientists Acting Locally ( ESAL - www.esal.us ), a national organization dedicated to increasing city, county, and state level engagement by professionals with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Support the show

Send us a textJill Pellegrino is CEO of AutoCruitment ( https://www.autocruitment.com/ ), a company with a focus on identifying, targeting, and qualifying patients for clinical trials with direct-to-patient recruitment, technology, and engagement services and which has to date been involved in randomizing over 12,000 patients into clinical trials across more than 120 conditions for clients including Pharmaceutical, Biotech, and Contract Research Organizations. Jill has over 15 years of leadership experience in patient recruitment, real world evidence and clinical research site operations and is passionate about growing businesses that rely on innovative, data driven methods to reach patients to provide them with opportunities to participate in research opportunities. Most recently Jill was at CVS Health where she was responsible for establishing and growing the Real World Evidence and Patient Recruitment businesses and her businesses were successful in placing 35,000 patients into research opportunities in both clinical trials and research settings, drastically increasing diversity participation in research studies. Prior to CVS Health, Jill was General Manager of Accelerated Enrollment Solutions, which was comprised of 2,000 employees across 11 countries and encompassed a patient recruitment offering and clinical research site network of 160 sites. Jill received her Bachelors degree from LaSalle University in Mathematics and Computer Science. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Jonas Hannestad, M.D., Ph.D. is Chief Medical Officer of Gain Therapeutics ( https://www.gaintherapeutics.com/ ), a company focused on the discovery and development of groundbreaking medicines that transform lives and provide hope and improved quality of life to people suffering from debilitating neurodegenerative diseases, rare genetic disorders and cancer.Dr. Hannestad joined the Company in March 2024 and brings 25 years of translational and early clinical development experience in CNS. His academic work focused on immuno-neurology, particularly on the effect of systemic inflammation on myeloid cells in the brain, and his drug development expertise spans multiple indications, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and ALS. Previously, Dr. Hannestad served as Chief Medical Officer at Tranquis Therapeutics and Capacity Bio, SVP of Clinical Development at Alkahest, Medical Director at Denali Therapeutics, and Director of Neuroscience Discovery Medicine at UCB Pharma. Prior to his industry career, Dr. Hannestad led the Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit at the Yale School of Medicine. He did postdoctoral work and residency training at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Duke School of Medicine, and the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. He received his Ph.D. in Cell Biology from the University of Messina, Italy, and his M.D. from the University of Oviedo, Spain.Support the show

Send us a textDr. David Latshaw, Ph.D. is Co-Founder and CEO of BioPhy ( https://www.biophy.ai/ ), a Philadelphia based artificial intelligence company which has developed a set of platforms that provide quantitative metrics to drug company partners about what drugs and clinical trials will ultimately succeed. Dr. Latshaw is a computational biomolecular and chemical engineer by training and most recently led the deployment of more than 20 programs that leveraged AI across several drug development functions at Johnson & Johnson’s Advanced Technologies Center of Excellence. This impacted $16 billion in yearly sales, reducing costs by 20 percent, and a 50 percent increase in reliability. His work has been recognized by the World Economic Forum, McKinsey & Company, and the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Latshaw has a BSE in Chemical Engineering from Arizona State University, a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from North Carolina State University, and a Master of Business Administration - MBA, Finance and Operations, from The Wharton School. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Joshua Gonzalez, M.D. is Co-Founder of Popstar Health ( https://popstarhealth.com/ ), a physician-founded sexual wellness company focused on promoting the importance of sexual health for all. Dr. Gonzalez is a board-certified urologist who is fellowship trained in Sexual Medicine and specializes in the management of male and female sexual dysfunctions. He completed his medical education at Columbia University and his urological residency at the Mount Sinai Medical Center. Throughout his career, Dr. Gonzalez has focused on providing improved healthcare to the LGBTQ+ community, a group often left behind in conversations about sexual and reproductive health. Dr. Gonzalez also serves as an official Sexual Health Advisor to Astroglide Lubricants and is on the board of directors for the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health. Dr. Gonzalez has appeared on The Doctors television show, been featured in Vogue, and is a medical contributor to Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan, and Oprah magazines. He is a sexual health expert that continues to build a robust following on TikTok ( https://www.tiktok.com/@joshuagonzalezmd?lang=en ) where he uses social media to educate the public on sexual and reproductive health. Support the show