Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show

Send us a textDr. Andrew Hebbeler, Ph.D., is Principal Assistant Director for Health and Life Sciences, Office of Science and Technology Policy at The White House (https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/ostps-teams/health-and-life-sciences/), and has extensive foreign affairs, national security, global health, and science and technology (S&T) policy experience. Most recently, Dr. Hebbeler was Senior Director and Lead Scientist for Global Biological Policy and Programs at the non-profit Nuclear Threat Initiative and previous to that served in leadership positions at the State Department's offices of Science and Technology Cooperation (OES/STC), the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State (E/STAS), and Cooperative Threat Reduction (ISN/CTR). From 2013-2015, Dr. Hebbeler was Assistant Director for Biological and Chemical Threats at the Obama White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where he oversaw American S&T efforts to combat infectious disease and chemical weapon threats. Prior to his White House position, Dr. Hebbeler led the State Department's Biosecurity Engagement Program, a $40M program that prevents terrorist access to potentially dangerous biological materials and dual-use infrastructure and expertise, while supporting efforts to combat infectious disease and enhance public and animal health worldwide. Dr. Hebbeler received his Bachelor’s degree in biology and philosophy from Thomas More College, and completed his doctoral work in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology in the laboratory of C. David Pauza at the University of Maryland, Baltimore where he focused on understanding an unconventional lymphocyte population that is important during immune responses to infectious disease and cancer. Before joining the State Department, Dr. Hebbeler was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Warner C. Greene at The J. David Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, California.Support the show

Send us a textBill Taranto is President of the Global Health Innovation Fund at Merck (https://www.merckghifund.com/taranto.html) and founding partner since inception in 2010. Merck Global Health Innovation Fund (Merck GHI) is a corporate venture capital group utilizing a healthcare ecosystem strategy, investing globally in platform companies with proven technologies or business models where Merck's expertise can accelerate revenue growth and enhance value creation to ultimately develop integrated healthcare solutions. Merck GHI has $500M under management per an evergreen model and invests broadly in the domain of digital health, and other segments, and has made over 60 investments in portfolio companies, and has over 20 exits. They invest across the segments of Therapy Planning, Care Management, Health Analytics & AI, eClinical Trials and enabling technologies. Bill has more than 30 years of health care experience including over 20 years of healthcare investing. In addition to his experience in venture investing, Bill has more than a decade of management operations experience. Bill is also the chairman of the Merck Innovative Ventures Board, a group that manages the identification and funding of portfolio businesses; and is also Chairman of the GHI Fund LLC Management Board. Prior to joining Merck, Bill spent 18 years at Johnson & Johnson in various venture capital, marketing, sales and business development roles. Before J&J, Bill spent eight years in investment banking. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration from St. Bonaventure University.Support the show

Send us a textLisa R. Sanders is the Director of Science and Technology for Special Operations Forces, Acquisition, Technology & Logistics (SOF AT&L), U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM - https://www.socom.mil/), located at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, where she is responsible for all research and development funded activities (https://www.socom.mil/SOF-ATL/Pages/eSOF_cap_of_interest.aspx) Ms. Sanders has over 30 years of civilian Federal service. She entered Federal Service as an Electronics Engineer at Naval Avionics Center in Indianapolis, Indiana where she served in quality engineering, production engineering and program management. In 1996, she transferred to Naval Air Warfare Center and Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), Patuxent River, Maryland, serving as an Electronics Engineer and Program Manager for the E-2C Hawkeye aircraft. In 2003, she assumed responsibility for the production and modification of the CV-22 (a Vertical takeoff and landing aircraft). During her time at NAVAIR, she managed one of the first Multi-Year Procurements, and executed the modification and delivery of CV-22 production and developmental test aircraft. Ms. Sanders transferred to USSOCOM in 2005, where she retained responsibility for CV-22 production and worked as the Systems Acquisition Manager for the C-130 program in Program Executive Office Fixed Wing managing all C-130 projects across the Special Operations Forces inventory. In 2010, Ms. Sanders was promoted to position of Deputy Director for the Science and Technology Directorate; and in 2011, was assigned to the position of Director, Science & Technology. In 2014, Ms. Sanders left USSOCOM to attend the Defense Acquisition University Senior Service College Fellowship in Aberdeen, Maryland. She graduated in 2015, and was assigned to Headquarters, Air Force serving as the chair of the Air Force Capability Development Working Group. In 2016, she was selected as a Defense Intelligence Senior Leader. Ms. Sanders has her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, from GMI Engineering & Management Institute (Kettering University), Flint, MI, her Master’s in Business Administration, from St. Leo University, St. Leo, FL, and did a Senior Service College Fellowship, Aberdeen MD in Senior Professional Military Education.Support the show

Send us a textDr. Greg Lieberman, Ph.D. (https://www.arl.army.mil/arl25/meet-arl.php?gregory_lieberman) is a Neuroscientist, and Lead, Optimizing Human-System Performance, at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Army Research Laboratory (DEVCOM ARL). DEVCOM ARL, as an integral part of the Army Futures Command, is the Army’s foundational research laboratory focused on operationalizing science to ensure overmatch in any future conflict. DEVCOM ARL shapes future concepts with scientific research and knowledge and delivers technology for modernization solutions to win in the future operating environment. With a Ph.D. from the University of Vermont in Neuroscience, a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cognitive Neuroscience from University of New Mexico, and a BA from University of Massachusetts Amherst in Psychology, Dr. Lieberman’s research and research leadership experience ranges from genetics to learning theory, animal behavior to artificial intelligence, and human variability to team dynamics; with additional expertise in S&T strategy and the opportunities afforded by the Future of Work. Specific areas of Dr. Lieberman’s technical expertise include maximizing human potential, human-autonomy teaming; neuroanatomical organization and connectivity; brain structure-function coupling; learning-driven neuroplasticity; non-invasive neurostimulation and cognitive enhancement; neuroimaging; mind-body medicine and mindfulness meditation; and the mechanisms of neurodegenerative disease, neuropathology, and brain injury.Support the show

Send us a textAngel Eduardo (http://angeleduardo.com/) is a writer, musician, photographer, and designer based in New York City, who serves an Advisory Board member, FAIR in the Arts Fellow, and Director of Messaging & Editorial for the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR - https://www.fairforall.org/), where he helps shape the organization's pro-human approach to our often contentious and divided discourse. He is also a contributor to the Center for Inquiry’s blog, where he writes on science, communication, skepticism, and morality for a column entitled Searching for Better Angels, and is best-known for coining and promoting the rhetorical concept of star-manning. Angel holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from CUNY Hunter College, and has had writing featured in Newsweek, Areo Magazine, Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, and The Caribbean Writer, among other print and online publications. Angel's photographs have been featured in various exhibitions and used as cover art for books—most notably in Personal Effects: Essays on Memoir, Teaching and Culture in the Work of Louise DeSalvo for Fordham University Press, which makes use of his photograph, “Early Bird.” Angel has been writing, performing, and recording music since the age of 15, and has been intimately involved in every creative facet of his projects, from songwriting, producing, mixing, and mastering, to designing and overseeing the creation of album artwork, concert posters, and merchandise. Be it with music, writing, photography, or design, Angel is an artist inspired to inspire. His hope is to pay it forward—providing others with the same solace, inspiration, perspective, and opportunity for personal and intellectual growth that the work of others has done for him. In the social realm, Angel advocates for a compassionate, honest, and civil approach to discourse, even when we’re incentivized to bare our teeth and dig in our heels. Through his work he hopes to foster more productive conversations on the topics of the day, all bolstered by his own six words of advice: Be kind; we’re all first drafts.Support the show

Send us a textDr. Brad Stanfield, MD (https://drstanfield.com/) is a general medical practitioner from Auckland, New Zealand, as well as the host of the rapidly growing Extend Healthspan channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpcvPcHJVOkO9Qp79BOagTg) on YouTube. Dr. Stanfield graduated in 2015 from the University of Auckland, New Zealand with his MD, worked in hospital medicine for several years, including a role as an orthopedic registrar, before moving into general community practice focusing on healthspan-centric medicine. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Uwe Schoenbeck, Ph.D., (https://www.pfizer.com/research/science_and_technology/meet_our_scientists/uwe_schoenbeck) is Chief Scientific Officer, Emerging Science & Innovation (ES&I) and Senior Vice President, Worldwide Research and Development & Medical (WRDM) at Pfizer. Part of Worldwide Research, Development & Medical, ES&I is charged with enhancing Pfizer’s pipeline through translation of external emerging science into breakthrough therapies for patients and through dedicated outreach to academia, consortia and biotech. Through its Emerging Science Liaisons located around the globe, they work across Pfizer’s Therapeutic Areas to harness external cutting edge pre-clinical assets and breakthrough technologies applying a broad range of partnering vehicles, including research collaborations, consortia, licensing, and acquisitions. ES&I also engages in equity investments as well as seed investments and formation of new companies. It has a Target Sciences team which is focused on novel target and biology discovery research to introduce differentiated First-in-Class programs with enhanced confidence in rationale into the WRDM portfolio. And through its new Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI - https://www.pfizercti.com/), ES&I prosecutes cutting edge science sourced from leading academic and medical centers globally, working in close partnership with external PIs and building an exciting pipeline across the range of Pfizer’s core areas. Dr. Schoenbeck brings fifteen years of pharmaceutical drug development experience to Pfizer’s R&D executive leadership team. Prior to joining the company, he served as Vice President, Emerging R&D Innovation for Wyeth and Vice President, Cardiovascular Research for Boehringer Ingelheim. Before joining industry, he held an Assistant Professor of Medicine position at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He has served as a reviewer for multiple peer-reviewed journals and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, review articles, book chapters and abstracts with particular contributions in molecular and cell biology, cardiovascular research, immunology and metabolism. Dr. Schoenbeck earned his Ph.D. from the University of Kiel, Germany, and completed postdoctoral training in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, before joining as a faculty member.Support the show

Send us a textMr. Tomas Diagne is the Director of the African Chelonian Institute (https://africanchelonian.org/), an organization with a mission to promote the long-term conservation of turtle, tortoise and terrapin populations, across the African continent, through research, education, and grassroots collaboration. Mr. Diagne is an African freshwater turtle and tortoise expert who has been working to save threatened and endangered turtle species in Senegal for the past 20 years. He began rescuing endangered African spurred tortoises (Centrochelys sulcata) as a teenager and in 1992 he created S.O.S. (Save Our Sulcata), a non-profit conservation organization. He also co-founded and built the Village des Tortues in Noflaye, Senegal - a sanctuary and captive breeding facility for sulcata tortoises that now houses over 300 individuals and has re-introduced numerous others back to the wild. Mr. Diagne has also been actively involved in freshwater and marine turtle research throughout Africa. He is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. In 2009 he decided to create the African Chelonian Institute (ACI) in order to expand turtle research, captive breeding, and re-introduction to all African turtle species. Mr. Diagne is a 2019 winner of Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa.Support the show

Send us a textGeneral Stan McChrystal, is Founder and CEO of the McChrystal Group (https://www.mcchrystalgroup.com/people/stan-mcchrystal/) an advisory firm focused on delivering innovative leadership solutions to businesses globally in order to help them transform and succeed in challenging, dynamic environments. A retired four-star general, Stan is the former commander of US and International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) Afghanistan and the former commander of the nation’s premier military counter-terrorism force, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). He is best known for developing and implementing a comprehensive counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, and for creating a cohesive counter-terrorism organization that revolutionized the interagency operating culture. Throughout his military career, Stan commanded a number of elite organizations, including the 75th Ranger Regiment. After 9/11 until his retirement in 2010, he spent more than 6 years deployed to combat in a variety of leadership positions. In June 2009, the President of the United States and the Secretary General of NATO appointed him to be the Commander of US Forces Afghanistan and NATO ISAF. His command included more than 150,000 troops from 45 allied countries. On August 1, 2010 he retired from the US Army. Stan is a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, where he teaches a course on Leadership. He also sits on the boards of Navistar International Corporation, Siemens Government Technology, and JetBlue Airways. He is a sought-after speaker, giving speeches on leadership to organizations around the country. In 2013, Stan published his memoir, My Share of the Task, which was a New York Times bestseller; and is an author of Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, which was a New York Times bestseller in 2015. Stan also co-authored Leaders: Myth and Reality, a Wall Street Journal Bestseller based on the epochal Parallel Lives by Plutarch, and his most current book is Risk: A Users Guide. A passionate advocate for national service and veterans’ issues, Stan is the Chair of the Board of Service Year Alliance (https://www.serviceyearalliance.org/). In this capacity, he advocates for a future in which a year of full-time service—a service year—is a common expectation and opportunity for all young Americans. Stan is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the Naval War College. He also completed year-long fellowships at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Council on Foreign Relations.Support the show

Send us a textDr. Robert A. Montgomery, MD, DPhil, FACS, (https://nyulangone.org/doctors/1467404137/robert-montgomery) is the Director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, and Chair and a Professor in their Department of Surgery, where he oversees a diverse team of medical and surgical specialists who provide a wide variety of surgery and transplantation services including bone marrow, heart, kidney, liver, lung, and facial transplantation. Dr. Montgomery received his Doctor of Medicine with Honor from the University of Rochester School of Medicine, his Doctor of Philosophy from Balliol College, The University of Oxford, England in Molecular Immunology, and completed his general surgical training, multi-organ transplantation fellowship, and postdoctoral fellowship in Human Molecular Genetics at Johns Hopkins. For over a decade Dr. Montgomery served as the Chief of Transplant Surgery and the Director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Montgomery was part of the team that developed the laparoscopic procedure for live kidney donation, a procedure that has become the standard throughout the world. He and the Hopkins team conceived the idea of the Domino Paired Donation (kidney swaps), the Hopkins protocol for desensitization of incompatible kidney transplant patients, and performed the first chain of transplants started by an altruistic donor. He led the team that performed the first 2-way, 3-way, 4-way, 5-way, 6-way, and 8-way domino paired donations, and in the first 10-way open chain donation. Dr. Montgomery's current research focuses on stem cell therapies and gene- and cell-based therapies in transplantation. He was co-lead of a clinical trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health involving simultaneous donor bone marrow and live donor kidney transplantation. He also runs multiple clinical trials for novel desensitization therapies. Dr. Montgomery is credited in the 2010 Guinness Book of World Records with the most kidney transplants performed in 1 day, is a world expert on kidney transplantation for highly sensitized and ABO incompatible patients, and is referred the most complex patients from around the globe. Dr. Montgomery has received several awards recognizing his experience in patient care and research, including the American Society of Human Genetics’ Postdoctoral Basic Science Award, the Johns Hopkins Clinician Scientist Award, the Fujisawa Faculty Development Award from the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, the Champion of Hope Award from the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland, and the Terasaki Medical Innovation Award from the National Kidney Registry. Dr. Montgomery is also a transplant recipient himself so he has unique perspectives as both patient and clinician.Support the show