Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show

Send us a textTessy Antony De Nassau is a Social Entrepreneur, Business Woman, Philanthropist, Advocate, Public Speaker, Activist, Mother, and Jazz Aficionado (https://www.instagram.com/tessy_from_luxembourg/?hl=en​). Tessy is founder and partner of the Global consultancy Finding Butterflies Consulting LTD (http://findingbutterflies.com/​), co-founder of the fashion brand Human Highness (https://www.human-highness.com/​), host of the podcast series Tessy Antony de Nassau’s Zoom O’Clock, and an associate at LSEideas at the London School of Economics. Tessy actively promotes a number of issues, including global health and women’s rights and serves as a UNAIDS Global Advocate for Young Women and Adolescent Girls and is a patron to United Nations Association – UK. Her commitments to education can be seen in her Foundation, Professors Without Borders, which brings top level educators and global experts to the doorsteps of students worldwide, in order to develop talent. In the past, Tessy spent five years in the Luxembourg military, during which she was deployed in Kosovo as a peacekeeper and only woman of her draft. Tessy received the Woman of the Decade award from the Women Economic Forum, the Mrongovius Medal for humanitarian involvement, the Global Empowerment Award for her work in Africa, named “Leader of the Year 2019” by the Leadership Academy in Luxembourg, and received an Honorary Doctorate from the Paris College of Arts in 2019 to recognize her work in the domain of education. Tessy has been an active member of the Luxembourg “Groupe de Support Psychologique” (GSP) for the past five years, and was awarded in 2020 the Freedom of the City of London for her humanitarian work and her work in education worldwide. Tessy graduated from Richmond, The American International University in London with a B.A. in International Relations, where she wrote her thesis on the rise of nationalism in Europe. She earned her master’s degree from SOAS, University of London in Institutions and Diplomacy where she wrote her masters thesis on Biological Terrorism. Additionally Tessy has a trauma psychologist certification, and a Teaching Assistant certification. She holds certifications in sustainable business from Harvard Business School Online and a Pandemics and Epidemics from the University of California.Support the show

Send us a textDr. Ellen de Brabander, is Senior Vice President, Research and Development, at PepsiCo, the American multinational food, snack, and beverage company. Dr. de Brabander has broad set of responsibilities at Pepsico and currently leads their global R&D functions including the Food Safety, Quality, Strategy & Portfolio Management, and their Sensory and Regulatory Affairs teams. She also leads their R&D Digital Transformation initiatives to transform the innovation process to bring new, innovative products to the market. Dr. de Brabander is also a member of the board of governors at the New York Academy of Sciences and has served as Treasurer and board member International Life Science Institute of North America, an organization that brings together scientists from government, academia and industry to uphold the scientific integrity and objectivity of nutrition and food safety science in order to ethically improve food systems for the betterment of public health. Additionally, Dr. de Brabander has also served as the interim and founding CEO of EIT Food (part of the EU’s European Institute of Innovation and Technology), which is a unique $1.5 Billion Euro innovation consortium with more than 50 partners from industry and academia, focused on transforming the food sector by designing and delivering unique and high impact research, innovation, business creation and education programs. Dr. de Brabander has worked in a variety of industries, including pharmaceuticals, health/nutrition, coatings and chemicals. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Dr. de Brabander was chief scientific officer and global head of research, development and regulatory affairs for Merial Limited, where she led a global team to discover and develop innovative animal health products for companion and production animals. Prior to her role at Merial, she held executive R&D, regulatory, business strategy and program management positions at Intervet, and specialty chemical company DSM. Dr. de Brabander earned her PhD cum laude in bio-organic chemistry from Leiden University in The Netherlands and completed post-doctoral work in molecular biology at MIT with Nobel Laureate H.G. Khorana. Her PhD was awarded as best PhD for natural sciences from Leiden University (1990; Kock award); she has also been awarded a Golden Medal from the Royal Dutch Chemical Society. In 2020 she was given the US Power 50 award. Support the show

Send us a textColonel (ret) Dr. Geoffrey Ling, MD, PhD is the Founder and CEO of On Demand Pharmaceuticals (ODP), an innovative pharmaceutical manufacturing company creating the world’s first distributed and reconfigurable medicine production systems to enable rapid response when conditions are uncertain and changing. On Demand Pharmaceuticals mission is to provide an adequate, safe, and reliable supply of medicines, to any community across the world, when needed. In addition to his role as CEO at On Demand Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Ling is an attending neuro-intensive care physician and Professor of Neurology at Johns Hopkins, Director of the Neurotrauma Laboratory, and founder of the Center for Military Clinical Neurosciences at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). Dr. Ling is also the former founding Director of the Biological Technologies Office at DARPA. Dr. Ling is Vice-Chair of Research in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Inova Fairfax Medical Center, Fairfax, VA, where he provides leadership for the research programs in neurosurgery, neurology and physical medicine rehabilitation. Dr. Ling earned his PhD in Pharmacology at Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and his MD at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Derek Yach, has been a global health expert and anti-smoking advocate for more than 30 years, is the Founder, President, and Board Member of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW - https://www.smokefreeworld.org/​), and is also a passionate advocate for health promotion and disease prevention. Dr. Yach is a former World Health Organization (WHO) cabinet director and executive director for noncommunicable diseases and mental health where he was deeply involved with the development of the world’s treaty on tobacco control, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). He is also the former chief health officer of the Vitality Group, executive director of the Vitality Institute, Senior Vice President, global health and agriculture policy at PepsiCo, director of global health at the Rockefeller Foundation, and a professor of global health at Yale University. Dr. Yach has authored or co-authored more than 250 peer-reviewed articles on global health and has served on several advisory boards, including the World Economic Forum, Cornerstone Capital, and the Wellcome Trust. From 2007 to 2016, he served on the program advisory committee of the Clinton Global Initiative. Dr. Yach is a dual citizen of the United States and South Africa. He has an honorary DSc from Georgetown University, Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Cape Town, BSc (Epidemiology), University of Stellenbosch, and an MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) is an independent, nonprofit organization that funds research, promotes innovation, and supports collaborative initiatives committed to reducing deaths and diseases caused by smoking, and ending smoking in this generation. They strive to identify and address the unique needs of the developing world as they relate to tobacco cessation and harm reduction, and serves as a convener of global research supporting the reduction of tobacco use, while helping to address the impact of decreased smoking rates on agriculture and economies. The Foundation’s work focuses on three core areas: Health, Science, and Technology (HST); Agriculture and Livelihoods; and Industry Transformation. Disclaimer - How is the FSFW Funded? At its inception, the FSFW entered into a Pledge Agreement in which it agreed to accept charitable gifts from Philip Morris International (PMI) each year for the period 2018 through 2029 to fund their mission of solving the global health crisis and ending smoking in this generation. Recently, that agreement was revised, and PMI’s annual charitable gifts have been reduced. While FSFW is aware that there are challenges associated with accepting any funding from the tobacco industry, given the urgency of the problem – 1.1 billion smokers, more than 8 million dying each year, and a trajectory toward a billion deaths this century, the FSFW was compelled to help save lives, and took the bold step of accepting funding from PMI. The FSFW operates with integrity, as they abide all legal requirements, and holds itself to the highest ethical and scientific standards. Independence and transparency are core principles of the Foundation. To that end, FSFW adheres to the criteria laid forth by Cohen et al., particularly those relevant to transparency and independence, and has established an independent research agenda.Support the show

Send us a textIrakli Beridze is the Head of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI). With a Master’s Degree in International Relations and National Security Studies, and a law degree, Mr. Beridze has more than 20 years of experience in leading multilateral negotiations, developing stakeholder engagement programs with governments, UN agencies, international organizations, private industry and corporations, think tanks, civil society, foundations, academia, and other partners on an international level. Mr. Beridze advises governments and international organizations on numerous issues related to international security, scientific and technological developments, emerging technologies, innovation and disruptive potential of new technologies, particularly on the issue on crime prevention, criminal justice and security, and is now actively focused on supporting government’s worldwide on the strategies, action plans, roadmaps and policy papers on Artificial Intelligence. Since 2014, Mr. Beridze has initiated and managed one of the first United Nations Programs on AI, initiating and organizing a number of high-level events at the United Nations General Assembly, and other international organizations, finding synergies with traditional threats and risks, as well as identifying solutions that AI can contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Mr. Beridze is a member of various international task forces, including the World Economic Forum’s Global Artificial Intelligence Council, the UN High-level panel for digital cooperation, and the High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence of the European Commission. He frequently lectures and speaks on subjects related to technological development, exponential technologies, artificial intelligence and robotics and international security, has numerous publications in international journals and magazines and is frequently quoted in the media on the issues related to AI. Mr. Beridze is an International Gender Champion supporting the IGC Panel Parity Pledge. Prior to joining UNICRI he served as a special projects officer at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) undertaking extensive missions in politically sensitive areas around the globe, and contributed to global anti-terrorism efforts to fight against chemical terrorism and was recipient of recognition on the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Support the show

Send us a textDr. David Stoudt, is a Senior Executive Advisor and Engineering Fellow for Directed Energy at the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., where he is responsible for providing clients with leadership and guidance on the science and business of advancing directed energy capabilities for American warfighters. Dr. Stoudt is also President of the Directed Energy Professional Society. With a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from Old Dominion University, in electrical engineering, Dr. Stoudt spent 32 years serving in the Department of Navy, 12 of them as the Navy’s first distinguished engineer for directed energy, an executive position where he was responsible for establishing and staffing world-class directed energy programs and facilities at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWCDD). From 2008 through 2012, Dr. Stoudt was the first Naval Sea Systems Command technical authority warrant for directed energy and electric weapon systems, including high-energy lasers (HEL), the electromagnetic rail gun, and high-power microwave (HPM) weapon systems. At the Naval Surface Warfare Center, he established and technically directed a number of high-power microwave and high-energy laser technology programs, including airborne electronic attack, counter-improvised explosive devices, and the beginning of the Navy’s laser weapon system, currently deployed on the Austin-class amphibious transport dock ship, the U.S.S. Ponce. Dr. Stoudt established several prototype weapon development initiatives aimed at mitigating the impact of IEDs during Operation Iraqi Freedom and these resulting prototypes represented the first ever successful tactical employment of directed energy weapons. As the senior director for capabilities and concepts in the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of the Navy for Policy from 2011 to 2015, Dr. Stoudt initiated and served as the executive secretary for the directed energy steering group, which was chartered by the undersecretary of the Navy to develop the Department of Navy vision, strategy, and roadmap for directed energy weapons. Dr. Stoudt also established and served as the executive secretary for both the Navy non-acoustic anti-submarine warfare steering group and the naval space board, chartered by the undersecretary of the Navy and the secretary of the Navy, respectively. Among his many honors, Dr. Stoudt has received multiple Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, the Navy Distinguished and Superior Civilian Service Awards, and the Naval Sea Systems Command Scientist of the Year Award. Support the show

Send us a textAs we approach the end of 2020, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), we have had approximately 1,806,590 new cases of cancer diagnosed in the United States, with 606,520 deaths. Cancer continues to be the leading causes of death worldwide. In 2018, there were 18.1 million new cases and 9.5 million cancer-related deaths worldwide. By 2040, the number of new cancer cases per year is expected to rise to 29.5 million and the number of cancer-related deaths to 16.4 million. Dr. Azra Raza, MD, is the Chan Soon-Shiong Professor of Medicine, in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology / Oncology, and Director of the Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) Center, at the Columbia University Medical Center. Previously, Dr. Raza was the Chief of Hematology-Oncology and the Gladys Smith Martin Professor of Oncology at the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Raza is an international authority on pre-leukemia / MDS, and acute leukemia, and is both a physician and scientist who divides her time equally between caring for patients and supervising a state-of-the-art basic research lab which is well-funded by multiple large grants. Dr. Raza started collecting blood and marrow samples on her patients in 1984 and now her Tissue Bank, the largest and oldest in the country with over 60,000 samples, is considered a unique national treasure. Dr. Raza has published her original clinical and basic research comprising over 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts in high profile journals like Nature, New England Journal of Medicine, Cell, Molecular Cell, Cancer Research, Blood, Leukemia. She has published over 1,000 abstracts, dozens of book chapters and edited a book devoted to MDS, entitled "Myelodysplastic Syndromes & Secondary Acute Myelogenous Leukemia: Directions for the New Millennium". Dr. Raza is the recipient of numerous awards including The Hope Award in Cancer Research 2012 (shared with the Nobel Laureate Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn). She was named as one of the 100 Women Who Matter by Newsweek Pakistan. Dr. Raza is a member of the Founder Group designing Breakthrough Developments in Science and Technology with President Bill Clinton, and was involved with Vice President Joe Biden to discuss the Cancer Moonshot initiative. Dr. Raza is the author of the recently published book "The First Cell: And the Human Costs of Pursuing Cancer to the Last". In addition to her scientific accomplishments, Dr. Raza is a dedicated reader of Urdu literature, and co-authored a book on the poems of the 19th century Indian poet Ghalib, entitled "Ghalib: Epistemologies of Elegance". Support the show

Send us a textRyland Engelhart, is Executive Director & Co-Founder of Kiss The Ground (https://kisstheground.com/​), a non-profit organization dedicated to planetary regeneration, and is the producer of Kiss The Ground, the Movie, recently released on Netflix. Mr. Engelhart has spent the last 15 years as an entrepreneur working in hospitality and building a family business of organic, plant-based restaurants called Cafe Gratitude and Gracias Madre, located in Southern California. He is also a co-creator of the award-winning, documentary film, “May I Be Frank” on the transformational aspects of a vegan lifestyle. Mr. Engelhardt is a public speaker and community organizer and works to inspire more love & gratitude in his organizational culture and culture at large. He speaks on the topics of sacred commerce, gratitude, love as an inside job, 10 tools for building community, and planetary regeneration, and is the host of Kiss the Ground's "We Can Do This Podcast". Mr. Engelhardt is also a husband and father and lives on a 17-acre regenerative farm in Fillmore, CA where he learns to practice what he preaches.Support the show

Send us a textBrett Vaughan is the U.S. Navy Chief Artificial Intelligence (AI) Officer and AI Portfolio Manager at the Office of Naval Research (ONR). Mr. Vaughan has 30 years of Defense Intelligence and Technology expertise with strengths in military support, strategic communications, geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), Naval Intelligence and Navy R&D. He spent two decades in various roles at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), an additional 10 years in intelligence roles in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, and was recently appointed to his current role in 2019. Mr. Vaughan has Master's Degrees in Environmental Science from Johns Hopkins University, and in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Geography and Cartography, from University of Mary Washington. The U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan, foster, and encourage scientific research to maintain future naval power and preserve national security. The Office of Naval Research carries out its mission through funding and collaboration with universities, other government laboratories, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, and also oversees the Naval Research Laboratory, the corporate research laboratory for the Navy and Marine Corps, which conducts a broad program of scientific research, technology and advanced development, and has a prestigious history, including the development of the first U.S. radar system, synthetic lubricants, and surveillance satellites. Support the show

Send us a textAs we sit here in 2020, in the middle of a major viral pandemic, we can’t forget the fact that a century after the first antibiotics were created, drug resistant bacterial infections have become a major threat around the globe, exactly at the same time that the antibiotic pipelines of pharma companies have either dried up, or they have gotten out of the business. In the U.S. alone, Centers For Disease Control (CDC) estimates that antibiotic resistance causes more than 2 million infections, several million hospital stay days, and over 35,000 deaths per year. Worldwide, such infections cause 750,000 deaths every year. And a recent United Nations (UN) report concluded that by 2050, "super bugs" could kill 10 million people globally every year, if no action is taken to combat the problem. A solution to this emerging threat lies in the area of bacteriophage therapy (or "phage" for short), which is a type of virus that infects, replicates within, and are very good at killing bacteria. Interestingly, phages have been used for over 90 years as an alternative to antibiotics in the former Soviet Union and Central Europe as well as in France. They are seen as a possible therapy against multi-drug-resistant strains of many bacteria and have been shown to interfere not just with bacteria life cycles, but also with biofilm production and quorum sensing involved bacterial colonization processes. Dr. Robert Schooley, MD, is a Professor of Medicine, in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, at UC San Diego, the Co-Director of their Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics (IPATH), as well as Interim Faculty Director, Global Education and Senior Director, International Initiatives. Dr. Schooley is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed an internal medicine residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and infectious disease fellowships at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Massachusetts General Hospital. He joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School in 1981 and shifted his research focus from herpes group viruses as recognition of the AIDS epidemic developed. Dr. Schooley was then recruited to the University of Colorado in 1990 as Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases where he developed an integrated HIV program clinical care and research program. He was elected Chair of the NIH’s AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) in 1995 and led that group until 2002 during which time the ACTG performed many of the seminal studies that defined modern anti-retroviral chemotherapy. Dr. Schooley led the ACTG in its expansion from a domestic US research operation into one with a global reach with research units in Africa, India, Thailand, Haiti and Latin America. In 2005, he joined the faculty at the University of California San Diego where he served as Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases until 2017. He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Infectious Diseases. His research interests are in the diagnosis, pathogenesis and therapy of viral infections and in global health. Support the show