Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show

Send us a textDr. Sofiya Milman, MD, MS ( https://www.einsteinmed.edu/faculty/12865/sofiya-milman/ ) is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Geriatrics, and is the Director of Human Longevity Studies at the Institute for Aging Research, at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Milman’s research focuses on a unique population of centenarians and their families ( https://www.superagersstudy.org/ ) who are generally free of age-related diseases, where extreme healthy longevity runs in most of these families, suggesting a heritable basis for this phenomenon. Dr. Milman's team conducts translational research focused on the discovery of genomic mechanisms that regulate endocrine and metabolic pathways that protect against common age-related diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's. Dr. Milman became fascinated by both physiology and genetics during her college years and at SUNY Stonybrook School of Medicine, from which she received her medical degree. Following internal medicine residency and fellowship in endocrinology, both at Montefiore, the opportunity arose to combine her passions for physiology and genetics through work with Dr. Nir Barzilai, MD, Director of Institute for Aging Research, the Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Biology of Aging, and of the Glenn Center for the Biology of Human Aging at Einstein. During her two years of post-doctoral training in translational gerontology and genetics at Einstein’s Institute for Aging Research under Dr. Barzilai’s mentorship, she got hooked on the study of aging and found what has become her life’s work. Support the show

Send us a textPete O’Heeron, MSHA, is the CEO of FibroBiologics ( https://fibrobiologics.com/ ), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing fibroblast cell-based therapies for patients suffering from chronic diseases. Mr. O’Heeron has over 25 years of medical technology and biotech development experience and brings together the resources necessary to commercialize unique technologies with expertise from business start-ups and biologics, to medical devices and patient centered healthcare delivery. Prior to founding FibroBiologics, Mr. O’Heeron founded an operational investment group, Advanced Medical Technologies, LLC, that identified early-stage opportunities in the medical field with strong intellectual property potential. He also founded NeoSurg Technologies that developed the T2000 Minimally Invasive Access System. The sale of NeoSurg Technologies to Cooper Surgical occurred in 2006. Mr. O’Heeron brings decades of executive-level experience at Christus Health Care Corporation and strategic advisory to healthcare companies in the areas of biologics, advanced surgical instrumentation, and telemedicine to the company along with an academic foundation rooted in healthcare administration. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Healthcare Administration at Texas State University, his Masters in Healthcare Administration from the University of Houston Clear Lake, and his Executive Management Certification in Mergers and Acquisition from University of Chicago. Support the show

Send us a textKaushik Gune is Head of Healthcare (US) for Huma ( https://www.huma.com/ ), a global digital health technology company that uses AI to advance a digital-first care delivery and research model to help people live longer, fuller lives. Huma's regulated Software as a Medical Device is the only disease agnostic platform to hold both EU MDR (The European Union Medical Device Regulation) Class IIb and US FDA Class II regulatory status and has applications including - - Digital first care for health systems, - Companion apps to support patients through treatment and drug therapies, and - Virtual clinical trials to accelerate research. Kaushik has over 20 years of operational, financial and strategic experience in companies such as McKinsey & Co, NuVasive and United Airlines. Before joining Huma, Kaushik was responsible for building Smith+Nephew’s digital health business within the musculoskeletal space. Kaushik has a BE, Mechanical Engineering, from University of Mumbai; an MS, Industrial Engineering, from Purdue University; and an MBA, Strategy & Finance, from INSEAD. Support the show

Send us a textMarcie Finney is the Executive Director of the Cleveland Cord Blood Center ( https://clevelandcordblood.org/about-us/leadership/ ) where her responsibilities include strategic planning, finance, administration and quality product development. With an extensive background in the field of cord blood, she spent over 10 years at Case Western Reserve University where she participated in all aspects of cord blood research and she is active in the cellular therapy community, sharing knowledge and experiences in cord blood banking research and cellular therapy throughout the U.S. and globally. The Cleveland Cord Blood Center (CCBC), a not-for-profit 501(c)(3), is an independent public cord blood bank serving as a leader in the collection, processing, storage and distribution of quality cord blood stem cell units for transplantation in patients with life threatening disorders such as leukemia, lymphoma and immune system disorders. The Center is one of only eight FDA-approved cord blood Centers in the U.S. Prior to her current role, Marcie served as the organization’s Director of Hospital Relations where she headed the education and training of collection coordinators and medical staff at hospital collection sites. She received a Master of Science in Chemistry and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University, and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Slippery Rock University. Marcie also serves on the Board of Directors for the Cord Blood Association, one of the industry’s foremost organizations. She is a member of the Advisory Board for Gamida, a cell therapy company that is pioneering new standards of care for patients with blood cancers and other blood diseases. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio. Dr. Frances Verter, Ph.D., is Founder & Director of Parent's Guide to Cord Blood ( https://parentsguidecordblood.org/en/staff ), an organization she started in 1998 in memory of her daughter Shai, who when unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer, led her to become a patient advocate in order to take better care of her child. Dr. Verter started her career as a research scientist, earning a BS in physics from Brooklyn College and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Princeton University, and she found that her training as a scientist enabled her to review medical research on Shai's diagnosis and seek out treatment from the best doctors and the best hospitals. After Shai passed away, Dr. Verter formed the Parent's Guide to Cord Blood organization and in 2006 she made a career out the project. Since then, she has thrown herself even deeper into following everything about cord blood, from education for expectant parents to the use of cord blood in clinical trials. She regularly attends conferences, gives talks, and publishes articles and is LinkedIn to professionals around the world. Dr. Verter also launched CellTrials.org as a subsidiary of the Foundation in 2017 which aims to provide the world’s most complete and most accurate data on clinical trials of advanced cell therapies. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Carl Dieffenbach ( https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/carl-w-dieffenbach-phd ) is the Director of the Division of AIDS at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Dr. Dieffenbach has oversight of a global HIV/AIDS research portfolio of over one billion dollars and a staff of over 150 federal employees and is responsible for planning, implementing, managing, and evaluating programs in 1) fundamental basic laboratory research, 2) discovery and development of therapies and treatment strategies for HIV infection and its co-infections and/or complications through basic research and clinical trials, and 3) discovery and development of vaccines, topical microbicides, and other prevention strategies through basic research and clinical trials. Over the years Dr. Dieffenbach played a key role in restructuring the DAIDS-supported clinical trials research networks and has actively fostered collaboration and partnerships with other federal agencies, international research organizations, professional societies, foundations, community advocacy groups, and industry. Dr. Dieffenbach received his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Maryland and his Ph.D. in biophysics from The Johns Hopkins University and completed his postdoctoral fellowship with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) Department of Pathology. Support the show

Send us a textLeslie Orne ( https://trinitylifesciences.com/our-experts/leslie-sandberg-orne/ ) is President & Chief Executive Officer of Trinity Life Sciences, a fast-growing consultancy in the healthcare industry and with a reputation as a trusted strategic partner, delivering evidence-based solutions for the life sciences, including: advisory services, insights and analytics, and technology, to meet the unique needs of established pharmaceutical companies, and emerging biotech firms. Leslie oversees the delivery of integrated consulting, insights and analytic services to Trinity’s customers and has been a critical advisor to hundreds of customers across thousands of projects, spanning an array of therapeutic areas and business models, and has supported billions of dollars in strategic transactions and the launches of dozens of products which gives her a unique vantage point on the industry. Leslie graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College with a BS in Biology. While at Dartmouth, she was also an All-American and captain of the National Championship varsity sailing team. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Malin Grape, Ph.D. is Ambassador on Antimicrobial Resistance, at the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of Sweden ( https://www.government.se/government-of-sweden/ministry-of-health-and-social-affairs/ ), a role she has held since March 2022 ( https://www.government.se/articles/2022/10/swedens-ambassador-for-work-against-antimicrobial-resistance/ ). Previous to this position, Dr. Grape was Deputy Head of Department for Communicable Disease Control and Health Protection, and Head of Unit for Antibiotics and Infection Control, at the Public Health Agency of Sweden, where she was responsible for national coordination and international cooperation on antimicrobial resistance and healthcare associated infections. Dr. Grape is a licensed pharmacist and holds a Ph.D. in medical science from the Karolinska Institute. Her research and previous professional experience span a broad field from clinical microbiology to global health. Dr Grape has been the chair of the national sector-wide coordinating mechanism on antibiotic resistance, including 22 governmental agencies, as well as director of a WHO Collaboration Centre for antimicrobial resistance containment. She was a member of the program committee of the national research program on antibiotic resistance and council member of the National Council for Patient Safety. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Alex Colville, Ph.D. is Co-Founder and General Partner of age1 ( https://age1.com/ ), a venture capital firm focused on catalyzing the next generation of founder-led, longevity biotech companies, with a strategy of building a community of visionaries advancing new therapeutics, tools, and technologies targeting aging and age-related diseases. With a recent initial closing of US$35 million, age1 will be focusing on founders and companies at the earliest stages of first-money in, pre-seed and seed funding, and is resourced to continue to support companies through later rounds. Dr. Colville previously established the biotech arm of Starbloom Capital and served as founding Chief of Staff of Amaranth Foundation, where he led: the foundation’s support of skilled researchers and ambitious moonshot projects in the longevity field, and helped to advance their lobbying efforts; the TIME Initiative (a group with mission to activate undergraduate students' interest in aging biology); the Marine Biology Laboratory Biology of Aging Summer Course, among other programs. Dr. Colville completed his Ph.D. in Genetics at Stanford University studying the biology of aging in Dr. Thomas Rando's lab while consulting for several family offices, the R&D team of Rubedo Life Sciences, and the business development team of Maze Therapeutics. Prior to his Ph.D., while at Northeastern University completing his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Chemical Engineering with a Minor in Biochemical Engineering, he advised pharma companies as a management consultant at Putnam Associates, a boutique life sciences consulting firm. Support the show

Send us a textLinda Burger is Director of the Office of Research and Technology Applications ( https://www.nsa.gov/Research/Technology-Transfer-Program/Research-and-Technology-Applications/ ), at the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) where her team is focused on accelerating and improving the exchange of expertise between NSA and other government agencies, academia, and industry, to ultimately hasten national research breakthroughs. She has been with the ORTA program since 2011, serving as director since 2014. Prior to NSA, Ms. Burger previously worked in the economic development offices in Howard and Frederick counties and launched her own IT consulting firm providing management consulting to hundreds of emerging technology companies in Maryland. Recently, in addition to her NSA role, Ms. Burger was elected to serve as the Federal Laboratory Consortium ( FLC - https://federallabs.org/ ) Executive Board Chair, the highest elected position of that organization, which represents more than 300 federal laboratories, agencies, and research centers. Ms. Burger has a BS in Information Systems Management from University of Maryland Baltimore County, and a Master's in Management from The Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School. The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for global monitoring, collection, and processing of information and data for foreign and domestic intelligence and counterintelligence purposes, specializing in a discipline known as signals intelligence (SIGINT). The NSA is also tasked with the protection of U.S. communications networks and information systems. The NSA has roughly 32,000 employees. Support the show

Send us a textENA Respiratory ( https://enarespiratory.com/ ) is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing innate immune modulators for the prevention of complications associated with respiratory viral infections in at-risk populations, including the elderly, those with chronic lung conditions and individuals with occupational risk (e.g. first responders, military or essential services personnel). The company is also developing its innate immune modulators as vaccine adjuvants. ENA Respiratory is based in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia Dr. Ruth Tal-Singer, Ph.D., Medicine Development Leader, ENA Respiratory, is an internationally recognized healthcare leader and clinical scientist with extensive Research and Development experience including recent roles as Vice President of Respiratory Medical Innovation R&D Value Evidence & Outcomes and Senior Fellow at GSK Pharmaceuticals where during her career she led many projects that resulted in new insights, bringing new treatments to the market. She also formerly served as Chief scientific officer and CEO of the COPD Foundation, where she led the patient-centered research, education, and global community outreach advocacy organization focused on the prevention and early diagnosis and treatment of chronic lung diseases. Her vision led to the creation of World Bronchiectasis Day, observed on July 1. Dr. Tal-Singer’s idea resulted in global awareness of the under-researched and under-represented bronchiectasis disease in partnership with 20 other global patient advocacy, academic, and research organizations. As the leader of COPD360Net, the COPD Foundation’s digital health, medical devices, and therapeutics development accelerator network, she championed the partnership between ENA Respiratory and the COPD Foundation and served as a member of its Board of Directors on behalf of the COPD Foundation until March 31, 2023. Dr. Tal-Singer has a proven history of successfully leading international public and private partnerships and non-profit organizations through critical advancements and progress of clinical trials and large observational cohorts. As a researcher, Dr. Tal-Singer has authored 180+ peer-reviewed papers including highly cited scientific publications. She has a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Molecular Biology / Microbiology, from University of Pennsylvania, did post-doctoral work at the Wistar Institute, and continues to lecture at the Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics at Penn. Dr. Scott M. White, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, ENA Respiratory, is an infectious diseases physician who has spent over 17 years working in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Most recently he served as Vice President Clinical Development for the infectious diseases therapeutic area of Inovio Pharmaceuticals where he was responsible for the clinical development of immunotherapeutic and prophylactic DNA-based vaccines. Prior to this he was a Physician Project Leader for GlaxoSmithKline. In this role he was accountable for several development programs spanning pre-candidate selection through early stage clinical development of assets in the therapeutic areas of infectious diseases, hematology, and dermatology. During this time at GlaxoSmithKline, in collaboration with AstraZeneca, the EU Innovative Medicines Initiative, and medical and scientific leaders throughout Europe, he led the establishment of COMBACTE; a European antibacterial clinical trial network supporting the development of antibiotics targeting resistant organisms.  Dr. White has his M.D. from Pennsylvania State University College, and did an Infectious Diseases Fellowship at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Support the show