Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show

Send us a textDr. Philip Nitschke, MD, Ph.D. is a medical doctor, humanist and founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International (https://www.exitinternational.net/), a leading end-of-life rights advocacy and information non-profit. Dr. Nitschke has written extensively in the area of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide, including three books, including: Killing Me Softly: Voluntary Euthanasia and the Road to the Peaceful Pill, The Peaceful Pill eHandbook, and Damned if I Do. Dr. Nitschke holds a Ph.D. in applied physics from Flinders University and is a graduate of Sydney Medical School. He is a seven-time nominee for Australian of the Year and is the recipient of many awards including the Rainer Humanitarian Award and Australian Humanist of the Year. Dr. Nitschke successfully campaigned to have a legal euthanasia law passed in Australia's Northern Territory and assisted four people in ending their lives before the law (Rights of the Terminally Ill Act) was overturned by the federal government. He was the first doctor in the world to administer a legal, voluntary, lethal injection. Dr. Nitschke remains a strong advocate of dying with dignity, spending time lecturing on the topic, and developing innovative technology concepts, including several end-of-life machines, including the Deliverance Machine, CoGen and Destiny devices, and his most recent, the SARCO capsule (https://www.exitinternational.net/sarco/).Support the show

Send us a textSøren Smed Østergaard is Vice President of Digital Health globally for Novo Nordisk (https://www.novonordisk.com/), where he leads the company’s initiatives in Digital Health as well as leading the Digital Health solutions in development. Furthermore, Søren is responsible the commercial development all digital health injection & other devices in development, as well as Novo’s partner strategy, data integration and commercial development strategies with their partners. Søren is a thought leader within the field. During his more than 16 years in Novo Nordisk, Søren has been able to unite and excite people towards how Digital Health can add value to pharma, the health care system and people's lives, and is passionate about the interplay between pharmaceuticals and technology and how this can be used to improve people's lives. Before this current role, Søren was the Executive Advisor to the EVP of Commercial Strategy & Corporate Affairs and ran the EVP Office for more than 2½ years. Prior to that he worked in various positions, mostly within Global Marketing centered around product management of medical devices and needles, as well as portfolio management. Søren also managed and developed two iterations of the Novo Nordisk launch framework, has led global launch preparations for 20+ launches, has done portfolio analysis and valuation for development assets, and has sat on global project teams leading the commercial development work for drug and device assets. Søren has a Master of Science, in Management of Innovation and Business Development, and a Bachelor of Science, in Computer Science and Business Administration, from Copenhagen Business School. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Douglas E. Willard, PhD, (https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/game_changing_development/about/program-leadership/doug-willard/) is Program Element Manager, Game Changing Development Program, Space Technology Mission Directorate, at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Game Changing Development (GCD) Program advances space technologies that may lead to entirely new approaches for the Agency’s future space missions and provide solutions to significant national needs. GCD collaborates with research and development teams to progress the most promising ideas through analytical modeling, ground-based testing and spaceflight demonstration of payloads and experiments and their efforts are focused on the mid Technology Readiness Level (TRL) range , generally taking technologies from initial lab concepts to a complete engineering development prototype. The Program employs a balanced approach of guided technology development efforts and competitively selected efforts from across academia, industry, NASA, and other government agencies. GCD strives to develop the best ideas and capabilities irrespective of their source. The Program’s investment in innovative space technologies directly supports NASA’s mission to “Drive advances in science, technology, and exploration to enhance knowledge, education, innovation, economic vitality, and stewardship of Earth”. GCD’s focus on transformative space and science technologies will enable science missions and NASA’s Artemis Program. Additionally, GCD’s technology developments serve as a stimulus to the U.S. economy while providing inspiration and opportunity to our nation’s youth. Previously, Dr. Willard was the Deputy Division Chief of the Laboratories, Development and Testing Division at the NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. He served in many leadership roles at Kennedy, including Chief Engineer for Research & Technology Development and Branch Chief of the Engineering Analysis Branch within the Engineering Directorate. He also served for many years as a research physicist in Kennedy’s Applied Physics Lab. Support the show

Send us a textColonel (ret) Dr. Samantha "Combo" Weeks, Ph.D. is the Science & Research Director, of the Polaris Dawn Program (https://polarisprogram.com/dawn/), a planned private human spaceflight mission, operated by SpaceX on behalf of Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman, planned to launch using the Crew Dragon capsule. Polaris Dawn is the first of three planned missions in the Polaris Program (https://polarisprogram.com/), which endeavors to rapidly advance human spaceflight capabilities by demonstrating new technologies and conducting extensive scientific research to expand our knowledge of humans adapting, living and working in space. Much of this research also has purpose and applicability to improve life here on Earth. Colonel Dr. Weeks, is a retired United States Air Force Colonel, with over 2,200 hours flying the F-15C, F-16, and T-38, including 105 combat hours. She commanded at the squadron, group, and wing level in the Air Force, and today also serves a corporate Vice President at the Shift4 Payments company, focusing on transformation and change management. Her position as Science & Research Director with Polaris comes after two and a half decades of focus on human performance in aviation. Colonel Dr. Weeks has a BS in Biology from the United States Air Force Academy, a Masters in Human Relations from University of Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. in Military Strategy / Leadership from the United States Air Force, Air University.Support the show

Send us a textDr. Gaurav Bansal, Ph.D. is Senior Manager, Computer Vision and Machine Learning at Blue River Technology (https://bluerivertechnology.com/), a company of innovators focused on driving radical change in agriculture by creating intelligent machinery, to empower their customers – farmers – to implement more sustainable solutions, optimize chemical usage, re-imagine routine processes, and improve farming yields. In 2017, Blue River was acquired, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of, John Deere (https://www.deere.com/en/index.html), a leading American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drive trains used in heavy equipment, and lawn care equipment. Dr. Bansal has a PhD in Statistical Signal Processing, Optimization and Machine Learning, from The University of British Columbia, and a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering, from the Indian Institute of Technology. He has been with the Blue River organization for about 2 1/2 years. Prior to Blue River, Dr. Bansal has spent time as a researcher at various organizations including Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America Inc., Toyota InfoTechnology USA, and Acubed; the Silicon Valley innovation center of Airbus.Support the show

Send us a textDr. Adam Wolfberg, MD, MPH, is the Chief Medical Officer at Current Health (https://currenthealth.com/), a Best Buy Health company (https://healthcare.bestbuy.com/) and part of the American multinational consumer electronics retailer. Current Health is an organization that enables the delivery of healthcare services in the home to enable healthcare organizations to deliver high-quality, patient-centric care at a lower cost. The company integrates patient-reported data with data from biosensors – including their own continuous monitoring wearable devices – to provide healthcare organizations with actionable, real-time insights into the patient’s condition. Leveraging clinical algorithms that can be tailored to the individual patient, Current Health identifies when a patient needs clinical attention, allowing organizations to manage patient care remotely or coordinate in-home care via integrated service partners. The Current Health platform brings together tele-health capabilities, patient engagement tools, and in-home connectivity to provide a single solution to manage all care in the home. Dr. Wolfberg also leads implementation and account management at the organization. Previously, Dr Wolfberg worked in medical affairs at Ovia Health, a leading maternity and family benefits solution for employers and health plans (which was acquired by LabCorp), athenahealth (network-enabled services, mobile apps, and data-driven insights to hospitals and medical organizations) and Ariosa Diagnostics. Dr. Wolfberg trained in OB/GYN and maternal-fetal medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and has an MPH from Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. Before going to medical school, Dr. Wolfberg was a print journalist. He blogs at www.adamwolfberg.com, and has written for magazines and websites including the Boston Globe Magazine, Slate.com, Huffington Post, and WSJ.com. His first book, Fragile Beginnings : Discoveries and Triumphs in the Newborn ICU, was published by Beacon Press in 2012.Support the show

Send us a textDr. Lamya Abdulaziz AlOmair, Ph.D. is the Head of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and Bioinformatics, at King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (https://kaimrc.ksau-hs.edu.sa/), and an affiliated faculty member in the systems biology group at George Mason University. Dr. AlOmair is one of the first Saudi women to obtain a Bachelor Degree in Computer Science, from King Saud University, following which she joined the Saudi National Guard Health Affairs (NGHA) initially as a Programmer and Database Specialist, and was later promoted to Database Administrator and Manager of Human Resource Management System, working on trending topics such as Big Data, and related initiatives and projects. She then decided to further her career in the newly emerging field of Health Informatics when she obtained a Master degree in Health Informatics from King Saud Bin Abdul-Aziz University for Health Sciences in 2007. Dr. AlOmair then applied her skills to many I.T. projects at the NGHA and even participated in a few national initiatives in the field of Health Informatics. Her initiatives lead her towards more advanced field of computational Bioinformatics. At this point she decided to focus more on this promising new field. In 2017, Dr. AlOmair earned her PhD in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology from George Mason University, USA. In recent years, Dr. AlOmair has been examining the rapidly evolving field of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), exploring its current and potential applications in healthcare sectors. She organized, with passion, a successful A.I. & Bioinformatics symposium in April 2021 to increase awareness and improve skill in AI among young professionals. Dr. AlOmair is an active supporter and enabler in the fields of both A.I. and Big Data, and regularly utilizes her exposure to healthcare officials and healthcare projects, both locally and internationally, to promote their advancements and implementations.Support the show

Send us a textDr. Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian, Ph.D. is Director of the Department of Social Inclusion at the Organization of American States (https://www.oas.org/en/). For more than 15 years, she has led missions, programs, and projects and conducted research on issues of democracy and elections, and equity and social inclusion, among others. At the Department of Social Inclusion, Dr. Muñoz-Pogossian leads work on the inclusion of populations in vulnerable situations and on the promotion of the full exercise of their human rights. Among her responsibilities, she directs work on migration and refugees in support of the OAS Secretary General and the Member States. Born in Venezuela, Dr. Muñoz-Pogossian holds a PhD in political science from Florida International University, Miami, and a master’s degree in international relations from the University of South Florida, Tampa. She is the author of various academic publications and opinion columns on issues of democracy, human rights, migration and refugees, gender equity and social inclusion, among other topics. The Organization of American States is an international organization that was founded on April 30th, 1948 for the purposes of solidarity and co-operation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in the US capital, Washington, D.C., the OAS has 34 members, which are independent states in the Americas.Support the show

Send us a textDr. Marilyn Roossinck Ph.D. (https://plantpath.psu.edu/directory/mjr25) is Professor Emeritus of plant pathology, environmental microbiology and biology at Penn State University. Dr. Roossinck is an expert on viruses, from their evolutionary pressures and mechanisms, to the ecology of viral diseases. She performed some of the first experimental evolution studies on plant viruses and pioneered the first virus discovery work in a terrestrial system, by deep sequencing wild plant samples. A specialty of hers is the symbiotic relationships between plants and so-called “beneficial viruses.” Dr. Roossinck completed her undergraduate work at the University of Colorado, Boulder, receiving a biology degree in 1982. Four years later, she earned her doctorate in microbiology and immunology from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Dr. Roossinck joined Penn State as professor of plant pathology and environmental microbiology and of biology in 2011, holding appointments in the College of Agricultural Sciences and the Eberly College of Science. She taught courses in virus ecology for several years at Penn State, and also has published both a popular press book about viruses entitled "Virus: An Illustrated Guide to 101 Incredible Microbes" as well as the academic text "Plant Virus Evolution".Support the show

Send us a textDr. Wilhelmina Hoffman, MD, is a geriatric physician, who serves Headmaster and CEO of Silviahemmet (https://www.silviahemmet.se/), a non-profit foundation devoted to improving the quality of life for persons affected by dementia and their families. The foundation was inaugurated by H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden on Valentines Day in 1996. Silviahemmet’s philosophy of care includes person-centered care, family support, teamwork and communication – all aiming at the highest possible quality of life for both the person with dementia and the family. Silviahemmet also offers training in various professional categories within the healthcare and social care sectors and arranges courses for families and other informal caregivers. Dr. Hoffman is also President of the Swedish Dementia Center (https://www.demenscentrum.se/), the national center for excellence in the field of dementia which collects, structures and disseminates knowledge about dementia. One of Swedish Dementia Center's principal tasks is to strengthen the links between research and practice and to communicate evidence based knowledge in a practical setting to health and social care givers. In collaboration with authorities and organizations, they work to inspire and promote the development of a more dementia-friendly society.Support the show