Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show

Send us a textDr. Syra Madad, DHSc, MSc, MCP is the Senior Director of the System-wide Special Pathogens Program at NYC Health + Hospitals ( https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/institute-for-disease-and-disaster-management/the-team/ ). Her work focuses on the preparedness for, response to and recovery from infectious disease outbreaks with an emphasis on healthcare and public health biopreparedness. Dr. Madad built NYC Health + Hospitals special pathogens program from the ground up, maintaining readiness for the nation’s largest municipal healthcare delivery system for all infectious disease threats through ongoing training, education, drills, developing protocols, and processes and more. She’s responded to multiple infectious disease outbreaks as an infectious disease epidemiologist including Ebola, Measles and Zika. In addition, Dr. Madad is a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs ( https://www.belfercenter.org/person/syra-madad ) where she regularly publishes on the latest public health guidance, epidemiological concepts and scientific literature to help the public understand complex topics using infographics and simplified science communication. She was prominently featured in the Netflix docuseries, Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak ( https://www.netflix.com/title/81026143 ), and the Discovery Channel documentary, The Vaccine: Conquering COVID ( https://go.discovery.com/tv-shows/the-vaccine-conquering-covid/full-episodes/the-vaccine-conquering-covid ). Dr. Madad received a B.S. in Psychology and a master's degree in Biotechnology with a concentration in Biodefense and Biosecurity, from the University of Maryland, College Park and then received an DHSc degree in health science with a concentration in Global Health from Nova Southeastern University. She holds numerous professional certifications, licenses and training certificates including Master Continuity Practitioner Certification (FEMA), Advanced Emergency Planning Certification, All Hazard Response (CBRNE) Training for Laboratory Personnel, Infection Control and Prevention Certification, Biosafety Level III Training, and Identification of the Primary Select Agents of Bioterrorism Training. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Mohammed Alhamali, is Chairman of the National Innovation & Regulatory Sandbox Committee, And Chief Innovation Officer & Regulatory Sandbox, SEHA Virtual Hospital & Enablement Centre, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia (https://www.moh.gov.sa/). Dr. Alhamali is also Cofounder / General Manager of the Society of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and has served as a Strategy Consultant for Health Sector Transformation Program (HSTP) and Director of Research & Development at the Model of Care Vision Realization Office 2030. Dr. Alhamali has a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery - (MBBS, Dentistry), from King Saud University, and a Master of Science - (MS, Oral Biology and Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology) from UCLA. Support the show

Send us a textKaren Zaderej is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Axogen Corporation ( https://www.axogeninc.com/ ), a leading company focused specifically on the science, development and commercialization of technologies for peripheral nerve regeneration and repair, with a primary goal of restoring peripheral nerve function and quality of life to patients with physical damage or discontinuity, providing innovative, clinically proven and economically effective repair solutions for surgeons and health care providers. Karen joined the company in May 2006 and has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Member of the Board of Directors since September 2011 and became Chairman of the Board of Directors in May 2018, and has previously held positions as Chief Operating Officer and as Vice President of Marketing and Sales. Previous to joining the company, Karen founded Zaderej Medical Consulting, which assisted medical device companies build and execute successful commercialization plans. From 1987 to 2004, Karen worked at Ethicon, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, where she held senior positions in marketing, business development, research & development, and manufacturing. Karen is a member of the University of Tampa Board of Trustees and sits on the Board of Directors for EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Karen has an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University. Support the show

Send us a textEric Olson is Founder, Chief Operating Officer, and Chairman, of Babson Diagnostics ( https://www.babsondx.com/ ), a company bringing medically-accurate blood testing to the retail pharmacy setting, and empowering people to take charge of their health, by reimagining the entire blood testing process from ordering, collection, handling, analyzing, and reporting of results, making it less invasive and more convenient, accessible, and patient-centered. Eric is a 20-year veteran of the diagnostics industry. Prior to incubating Babson Diagnostics at Siemens Healthineers, Eric was Siemens’ VP, Portfolio & Product Management, responsible for its $3 billion global product portfolio of central laboratory technologies. He was also responsible for the company’s web properties and $1 billion in e-commerce operations as the global head of Siemens’ clinical laboratory automation and IT business, which advanced from #2 to #1 in market share during his tenure. Eric earned his BS in Biology from MIT and his MS in Technology Management from the University of Pennsylvania. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Steven H. Landers, MD, MPH is President and CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife ( https://www.hebrewseniorlife.org/services/profiles/steven-h-landers-md-mph ), a nonprofit Harvard Medical School affiliate offering senior living communities and senior health care services for older adults in the Boston metropolitan area. They also conduct aging research that is improving the way we grow older, and education for the next generation of health care providers and caregivers. Dr. Landers is a practicing physician, certified in family medicine, geriatric medicine, and hospice and palliative medicine. Dr. Landers is also a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, and holds an appointment as clinical associate professor of medicine and community health at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Prior to joining Hebrew SeniorLife, Dr. Landers served for 11 years as president and CEO of Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) Health Group, Inc., a multistate home health, hospice, and community health organization. He previously served as the director of the Center for Home Care and Community Rehabilitation and director of post-acute operations for the Cleveland Clinic. In 2014, Dr. Landers received the NJBiz 40 Under 40 Award, a recognition of New Jersey’s most accomplished young business leaders. Dr. Landers is a graduate of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (MD) and the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health (MPH). He has authored several articles in national publications on the role of home care, including in the New England Journal of Medicine and Journal of the American Medicine. He was also a regular blogger for the Huffington Post, focusing on health policy, family caregivers, and nurses and finding ways to improve quality and value in American health care. Dr. Landers is a recognized leader and innovator in home health, primary care, and aging services and is an outspoken advocate for nursing, the front-line workforce, and improving care for older Americans. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Mitchell Lee, Ph.D. is the Chief Executive Officer of Ora Biomedical ( https://orabiomedical.com/ ), a biotech company developing small molecule therapeutics that extend lifespan and delay chronic illness by targeting the underlying molecular mechanisms of aging. Dr. Lee’s research interests are focused on identifying healthy aging therapeutics, understanding the connections between aging and age-related disease, and investigating how natural genetic variation modifies disease and therapeutics efficacy. He has earned awards for science communication, multiple NIH training grants, and in 2015 was awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study. Dr. Lee has centered his career around leading and managing scientists. During graduate and postdoctoral studies, he mentored over 45 trainee researchers ranging from high schoolers, community college and university undergraduates, to post-baccalaureates and grad students. In recognition of his research mentorship, Dr. Lee was awarded a UW Undergraduate Research Mentor Award in 2018. Dr. Lee was the founding Chair of the American Aging Association (AGE) Trainee Chapter and served on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for AGE. During this time, Dr. Lee established standing leadership committees, founded and managed the GeroScience Peer Review Training Program, and organized multiple research conferences. Dr. Lee received a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Philosophy from Western Washington University in 2010. He remained at WWU and completed an M.S. in Biology in 2012. He received his PhD in Experimental Pathology from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 2018. Most recently, Dr. Lee completed a certificate in Biotechnology Project Management from UW/UCSD in 2022. Support the show

Send us a textAshley Gaines is Vice President, Head of Breast Cancer Franchise, US Oncology Business Unit, at AstraZeneca ( https://www.astrazeneca-us.com/az-in-us/ashley-gaines.html ) where she is responsible for overseeing commercialization in the US for ENHERTU, TRUQAP and future breast cancer assets and indications. Ashley joined AstraZeneca in 2014 and has led commercial teams across various US and Global franchises, including Infectious Disease, Women’s Cancers, Lung Cancer and Hematologic Cancers. Her experience prior to AstraZeneca includes marketing and strategy, investment banking and management consulting roles at Pfizer, McKinsey & Co. and Goldman, Sachs & Co. Ashley has a Bachelor of Arts, Math and Urban Studies, from University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Business Administration, General Management, from Harvard Business School. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Alejandro (Alex) Dorenbaum, M.D., is the Chief Medical Officer of Reneo Pharmaceuticals ( https://reneopharma.com/ ), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies for patients with rare genetic diseases, including mitochondrial diseases, with significant unmet medical needs. Previously, Dr. Dorenbaum was Chief Medical Officer at Allakos, where he achieved proof-of-concept in clinical trials for novel therapeutic antibodies targeting inflammatory cells. He also served as Chief Medical Officer at Lumena Pharmaceuticals until its acquisition by Shire Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, Dr. Dorenbaum worked at Genentech, where he was responsible for the respiratory programs for asthma and cystic fibrosis, and at BioMarin Pharmaceutical, where he conducted the clinical development of Kuvan. He began his career at Chiron Corporation, gaining broad expertise in several areas of drug development including biologics, small molecules and vaccines. Dr. Dorenbaum received his M.D. from the National Autonomous University in Mexico City. He completed his residency in pediatrics at University of Texas Health Science Center and held a fellowship in allergy and immunology at Baylor College of Medicine. He maintains an active academic position as Clinical Professor in Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he specializes in allergy and immunology. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Julia Allen is Chief Scientist, Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence, at Saab ( https://www.saab.com/ ) where her team’s primary focus is developing AI technologies to support the organization’s customers across all U.S. Department of Defense branches, helping government research and development leaders take on their hardest challenges. Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions from military defense in all domains to civil security. Previously, Dr Allen was the director of artificial intelligence and tactical space research at BAE Systems FAST Labs(TM) and was the Principal Investigator of the DARPA MindfuL(TM) Competency-Aware Machine Learning and ONR Advanced Long Range Targeting programs. Prior to joining BAE Systems, Dr. Allen was a member of the Senior Professional Staff at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and a Military Intelligence Officer in the Army National Guard. Dr. Allen is a graduate of Dickinson College (B.S. - Mathematics) and Johns Hopkins University (M.S. - Applied and Computational Mathematics) and has a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, Department of Mechanical Engineering, with a focus on Explainable Artificial Intelligence. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Nigel McCracken, Ph.D. is Chief Operating Officer of Virax Biolabs ( https://www.viraxbiolabs.com/ ), an innovative diagnostics and detection biotech company developing a game-changing T-Cell immunology technology platform to provide early diagnosis for post viral syndromes, and indications associated with chronic inflammation and T cell exhaustion, to enable early treatment interventions. Dr. McCracken brings over 25 years of research & development experience in drug development, within a number of indications, including oncology and infectious disease. Prior to joining Virax, Dr. McCracken was the Chief Scientific Officer at BerGenBio AsA where he drove the plan for BerGenBio AsA’s companion diagnostics and assay development. Prior to that role, he served as COO at NuCana PLC, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on significantly improving treatment outcomes for patients with cancer, where he provided oversight and direction to the operations of the business, research and development and execution of corporate strategy. Dr. McCracken also spent time over his career at major biopharma companies including Debiopharma, Shire, Nycomed, and Abbott. Dr. McCracken obtained a Master’s degree in Clinical Pharmacology from Kings College London, a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biochemical Toxicology from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Pharmacology from Strathclyde University. Support the show