Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show

Send us a textDr. Lara Nyman, Ph.D. is the Vice President of Research & Discovery at AG1 ( https://drinkag1.com/learn/research/scientific-research ), responsible for leading the company's innovative research efforts to develop cutting-edge nutritional products. In this role, she oversees the research and development of new formulations, ensures the scientific integrity of product claims, and collaborates with cross-functional teams to drive product innovation. Dr. Nyman previously served as the Chief Scientific Officer at Weo, a water augmentation company, providing strategic guidance and scientific oversight to the company's product development and research initiatives, working closely with their R&D team to identify emerging trends, evaluate new technologies, and translate scientific insights into compelling consumer offerings.Prior to Weo, Dr. Nyman served as Senior Principal Scientist in the Claims Center of Excellence for Consumer Health & Wellness at PepsiCo, leveraging her deep understanding of consumer needs and scientific principles to develop innovative, evidence-based claims for the company's health and wellness products. Dr. Nyman holds a Master of Science (MS) in Exercise Physiology from Southern Connecticut State University, a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Physiology from University of Alabama at Birmingham, and was a Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Medicine, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.#LaraNyman #AG1 #AthleticGreens #ExercisePhysiology #Endocrinology #Metabolism #FoundationalNutrition #Wellness #NutrientGaps #NutrientSynergy #Nutrigenomics #Synbiotics #Microbiome #WholeFood #Superfoods #Probiotics #Adaptogens  #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Technology #Science #ResearchSupport the show

Send us a textPedro Sanchez de Lozada is Co-Founder and CEO of Canid ( https://www.canid.io/ ), a company which is modernizing every aspect of providing vaccines in pediatrics, from operations, to finances, to maximizing care. Canid focuses the details of executing a vaccine program so that pediatricians can instead focus on the children. Pedro is a seasoned CEO with a background in early-stage startup development, operations, and marketing at prominent venture-backed companies, including roles as: Director Of Marketing at Merlin, Head of Launch in Washington DC at Rinse, Growth Engineer at Koding, Business Development and Marketing professional at Udemy, and Vice-president of Marketing at Road to Innovative Social Entrepreneurship.Pedro has also served as a Curator at TEDxUChicago, Founder of LogiMD, and was a Fellow at On Deck. Pedro has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Chicago.#PedroSanchezDeLozada #Canid #Vaccines #Vaccination #Pediatrics #VaccineAcquisitionCosts #ReimbursementRates #Overhead #InventoryManagement #ImmunizationInformationSystems #StateImmunizationRegistries #AdvisoryCommitteeOnImmunizationPractices #ACIP #PatientEligibility #Procurement #Pediatricians #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Technology #Science #ResearchSupport the show

Send us a textDr. Marc Salzberg, MD is President, Chief Executive Officer & Chief Medical Officer of Airway Therapeutics ( https://www.airwaytherapeutics.com/ ), a biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of biologics to break the cycle of injury and inflammation for patients with respiratory and inflammatory diseases.Dr. Salzberg has more than 25 years of academic and pharmaceutical experience in the management of drug development and clinical research, including medical management of anti-viral drugs clinical development and market introduction including saquinavir and ganciclovir. He spent several years at Roche’s headquarters in Basel, Switzerland as well as its affiliate in Toronto, Canada. As Head of Clinical Cancer Research at the Basel University, he co-founded and managed a clinical research network in Switzerland (CCRC).During his career, Dr. Salzberg has successfully managed the growth and acquisition of two contract research organizations benefitting shareholders. He was a founder and President of Pharma Brains, a European boutique CRO, which has been acquired by Medpace, a US based global CRO, after 10 years of successful growth under his leadership. He then served as Vice President of Medical Affairs at Medpace.Dr. Salzberg earned his Medical Doctorate degree from the University of Basel, Switzerland. His medical training and practice include pediatrics/ neonatology and oncology.#MarcSalzberg #AirwayTherapeutics #HumanSurfactantProteinD #Collectin #PathogenRecognition #RespiratoryDiseases  #InflammatoryResponse #BronchopulmonaryDysplasia #ZelpultideAlfa #Covid #Asthma #COPD #Influenza #RSV #ARDS #AcuteRespiratoryDistressSyndrome #ChronicObstructivePulmonaryDisease #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Technology #Science #ResearchSupport the show

Send us a textPaul Keable is Chief Strategy Officer at Ashley Madison ( https://www.ashleymadison.com/ ) - the global online dating and social networking platform, specifically catering to individuals in committed relationships seeking discreet connections.As Chief Strategy Officer, Paul oversees the strategic direction of Ashley Madison, emphasizing discretion, authenticity, and innovation within the dating industry. Under his leadership, the platform has implemented initiatives such as user verification through government IDs to combat fraudulent activity and build trust among members. Paul has become a prominent figure at the intersection of technology, culture, and societal norms, offering insights on shifting dynamics in relationships and online dating.Prior to Ashley Madison, Paul spent the past two decades in communications, public relations and branding, at agencies including Ketchum and MSL, working with a lot of tier-one brands across both the technology and consumer goods sectors.Paul studied Corporate Communications at Centennial College and English at York University.Important Episode Links - Decoding Gen Z: A global report on non-monogamy, sex, and the desire for discretion - https://www.ashley.date/wp-content/uploads/Gen-Z-Report-USA.pdfYouGov Survey: Relationships, April 2025 - https://ygo-assets-websites-editorial-emea.yougov.net/documents/Relationships_poll_results.pdf#PaulKeable #AshleyMadison #OnlineDating #CommittedRelationships #DiscreetConnections  #SocietalNorms #DatingTrends #RelationshipNorms #MarriedDating #Discretion #Privacy #Authenticity #Trust #Culture #Polyamorous #Monogamy #MatchingAlgorithms #DigitalIntimacy #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Technology #Science #ResearchSupport the show

Send us a textWilliam Ho is a Co-Founder, and has served as the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of IN8bio ( https://in8bio.com/ ), a biotech company with a mission of developing next-generation therapies for treating cancer, with a focus on gamma-delta T cells, since its inception.  Mr. Ho has worked in the biotechnology industry for nearly 24 years. Prior to the founding of IN8bio, from 2014 to 2017, Mr. Ho was the Founder and Managing Partner at AlephPoint Capital, a private healthcare investment fund. Prior to that, Mr. Ho was at New Leaf Venture Partners, a leading healthcare venture capital firm, where he launched and managed the public investments and cross-over portfolio and served as its Public Investment Director from 2010 to 2014. Previously, Mr. Ho served as a Senior Equity Research Analyst at Bank of America from 2006 to 2009 and an Equity Research Analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co. from 2003 to 2006, covering the biotechnology and life-science tools sectors. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ho was responsible for FP&A and operational analysis at CuraGen Corporation and worked as an Associate on the Healthcare Investment Banking team at Cowen, Inc. Mr. Ho was an inductee into the McMaster University Alumni Gallery in 2020 and previously served as a member of their Dean’s Advisory Board for the Faculty of Science. Mr. Ho received an MBA from the University of Notre Dame and a B.S. in Biochemistry from McMaster University.#WilliamHo #IN8bio #GammaDeltaTCells #ImmuneSystem #Glioblastoma #AcuteMyeloidLeukemia #NonSignalingCART #InducedPluripotentStemCells#Oncology #Immunooncology #Cancer #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Technology #Science #ResearchSupport the show

Send us a textDr. Thomas Ehmer, Ph.D.  ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/tehmer/ ) is a seasoned technology strategist with over two decades of experience in IT innovation, business development, and R&D within the pharmaceutical industry, and co-founder of the Quantum Interest Group, at Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany ( https://www.emdgroup.com/en ). Dr. Ehmer currently is in the Sector Data Office - AI Governance and Innovation Incubator at Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany, where he scouts emerging and disruptive technologies, demonstrating their potential value for R&D applications, with a focus on quantum technologies. Throughout his career at Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany, Dr. Ehmer has played a pivotal role in shaping IT strategy, business process optimization, and digital transformation across the entire pharmaceutical value chain, currently focusing on transparent AI and how and where emerging technology can help patients live a better life. His expertise spans technology scouting, business analysis, and IT program leadership, having successfully driven major global projects. Beyond his corporate career, Dr. Ehmer is an active private seed investor and has contributed to quantum computing research and applications in drug discovery, authoring publications on the potential of quantum computing and machine learning in pharmaceutical R&D ( https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9783527840748.ch26 ). Dr. Ehmer holds a Ph.D. in Physics, Biophysics, and Physiology from Heidelberg University and continues to mentor within the German Physical Society / Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG). His forward-thinking approach, combined with deep technical expertise, has earned him multiple innovation awards, and he remains dedicated to bridging the gap between emerging technologies and real-world industry applications.Important Episode Link - Entangled Health Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/entangled-health/id1819364423#ThomasEhmer #MerckKGaADarmstadt #Physics #Biophysics #Physiology #GermanPhysicalSociety #QuantumComputing #QuantumSensing #MolecularImaging #Spectroscopy #DrugScreening #Diagnostics #QuantumSensors #QuantumMagnetometers #QuantumGravimeters #Biomanufacturing #QualityControl #Neuroscience #BrainDrugInterface #ReservoirComputing #QuantumMachineLearning #Bioconvergence  #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Technology #Science #ResearchSupport the show

Send us a textJosh Haimson is Co-Founder and CEO of Inductive Bio ( https://www.inductive.bio/about ), a technology company focused on democratizing artificial intelligence (AI) models to transform small molecule drug discovery, eliminating Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion and Toxicology (ADMET) bottlenecks with state-of-the-art AI models and generative chemistry, powered by a unique pre-competitive data consortium.Josh has spent his career focused on the intersection of machine learning, product, and life sciences/healthcare.Prior to Inductive, Josh was the Director of Product for the ML and data curation organizations at Flatiron Health, where his teams worked to generate real-world evidence (RWE) at scale across Flatiron’s network of over 2 million active cancer patients for use by researchers in pharma, academia, and government.Prior to Flatiron, Josh was at MIT studying computer science and working with researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital to use ML and NLP to predict patient response to cardiac resynchronization therapy.#JoshHaimson #InductiveBio #SmallMolecule #DrugDiscovery #Absorption #Distribution #Metabolism #Excretion #Toxicology #ADMET #AI #GenerativeChemistry #MachineLearning #CardiacResynchronizationTherapy #MolecularGlue #FlatironHealth #PreCompetitiveDataConsortium #RealWorldEvidence #RealWorldData #RWE #ArtificialIntelligence  #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Technology #Science #ResearchSupport the show

Send us a textDr. Shai Melcer, Ph.D. is Head of the National Bioconvergence Program ( https://bioconvergence.org.il/ ) at the Israel Innovation Authority ( https://innovationisrael.org.il/en/ ).In this role, Dr. Melcer, who brings 15 years of experience and entrepreneurship in the bio-medical ecosystem, leads the implementation of the bioconvergence goals for TELEM – the National Infrastructure Forum for Research and Development ( https://innovationisrael.org.il/en/programs/telem-the-national-infrastructure-forum-for-research-and-development/ ). Dr. Melcer has both an LLM in Law and Ph.D. in genetics from the Hebrew University, and has collaborated with various entities such as the Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical Center, IBM, the Jerusalem Development Authority (Bio-Jerusalem), and others to establish numerous innovative bio-med ventures, including BioGiv, BIOHOUSE, and Hadassah Accelerator.In his public and private sector activities, Dr. Melcer has worked with hundreds of biomedical companies in Israel and around the world in the fields of pharma-biotech, medical devices, and digital health, many of which are in the bioconvergence sector. He also served as the Chief Business Officer at Minovia, a company in the liquid biopsy consortium established by the Israel Innovation Authority as part of the bio-convergence program.#Bioconvergence #IsraelInnovationAuthority #ShaiMelcer #BugEra #Biotic #ClimateTech #Biomanufacturing #Biofuel #Biodiesel #SustainableAviationFuel #BlackSoldierFly #BiodegradablePolymers #BioBased #Microplastics #CarbonFootprint #Renewable #Sustainable #TechnologicalIncubators #InnovationCenters #AngelInvestors  #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #Podcasting #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Science #Technology #ResearchSupport the show

Send us a textDr. Robert Schwab, MD is a Resident Physician, Research Specialist, and Hematology-Oncology Fellow at Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Health System ( https://www3.pennmedicine.org/departments-and-centers/department-of-medicine/divisions/hematology-and-oncology/education-and-training/hematology-oncology-fellowship/fellows ).Dr. Schwab’s work to date has focused on leukemia and bone marrow transplantation, and previously, he worked as a research specialist in Dr. Carl June's laboratory, investigating cancer immunotherapy and CAR-T cell treatments. More recently Dr. Schwab's research is centered on studying novel CAR-T cell therapy applications for addressing inflammation and atherosclerosis related to malignancies. In 2019, he founded Cartio Therapeutics, a biotech startup dedicated to developing cellular immunotherapy for cardiovascular disease. Dr. Schwab received his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) and Master of Science - MS, Translational Research, from the University of Pennsylvania and Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Biophysics and Biochemistry from Amherst.#RobertSchwab #PennMedicine #UniversityOfPennsylvaniaHealthSystem #CART #CarlJune #CancerImmunotherapy #CardiovascularDisease #AtheroscleroticPlaques #Atherosclerosis #Macrophages #OxidizedLDL #FoamCells #CARTregs #ChimericAntigenReceptor #TRegulatoryCells #ClonalHematopoiesisOfIndeterminatePotential #CVD #CheckpointInhibitors #Autoimmune  #Cancer #Oncology #HematologyOncology #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #Podcasting #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Science #Technology #ResearchSupport the show

Send us a textDaniel Schmitt is President & Chief Executive Officer of Actuate Therapeutics, Inc. ( https://actuatetherapeutics.com/ ), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for the treatment of high-impact, difficult-to-treat cancers through the inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK-3β).Mr. Schmitt brings over 30 years of successful industry experience in operations management, new product development, and business development, having held senior executive positions in both large pharmaceutical and small biotechnology companies, including Fujisawa, Searle / Pharmacia, and Ilex Oncology. During his career, Daniel has led and contributed to the successful development and launch of multiple pharmaceutical products, and has constructed and executed numerous high value licensing, acquisition, and development deals for biotech and pharmaceutical companies, totaling nearly $1 billion in upfront and potential milestone payments.Mr. Schmitt received his M.B.A and a B.S. in Chemistry from West Virginia University, and has held research positions affiliated with the National Foundation for Cancer Research and at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. He has served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Northwestern University, and as an external expert consultant for the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois-Chicago. Mr. Schmitt is also a founding member of Chicago Innovation Mentors.#ActuateTherapeutics #GlycogenSynthaseKinase3Beta #GSK3β #Oncology #Cancer #Elraglusib #PancreaticDuctalAdenocarcinoma #PDAC #EwingSarcoma #Melanoma #ProgressionFreeSurvival #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Technology #Science #ResearchSupport the show