Scientific Sense ®

Origin, evolution, and transmission of viruses, the arrival of COVID vaccines and drugs, managing a pandemic - what can be done next time? Group Chat: Prof. James K. Bashkin, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Missouri- St. Louis Dr. R. Fredrik Inglis, Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Missouri- St. Louis Dr. Jeff Smith, Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Missouri- St. Louis

Climate change and finance, monetary authority and natural capital, the discount premium for Carbon footprint, digital currencies, and what the Fed could do to get it right? Frank Van Gansbeke is a Professor of Practice At Middlebury College. Frank has more than 30 years of global Senior Executive experience in Corporate Finance and Capital Markets. Frank contributes articles to Forbes, connecting dots in international markets, sustainable finance, and Fintech.

Nanofiber innovation for wound healing and heat resistance, Lab-grown meat,  Human pancreas, brain, and heart on a chip, and STEM-based education as a necessary tool to counteract future shocks. Prof Kit Parker is a Professor of Bioengineering and Applied Physics in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. Prof Parker is also the director of the multidisciplinary SEAS Disease Biophysics Group. Kit researches cardiac cell biology and tissue engineering, traumatic brain injury, and biological applications of micro- and nanotechnologies. Working in both Biomimetic Microsystems and Programmable Nanomaterials, he is involved in projects ranging from developing nano fabrics for applications in tissue regeneration to creating organs-on-chips to address diseases such as asthma, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, brain injury, and congenital heart disease. Previously, Kit served as a member of the Defense Science Research Council, an advisory activity to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), for nearly a decade. He also served on the Defense Science Board Task Force on Autonomy, reviewing the entirety of the DoD’s research portfolio on unmanned systems.  Kit is an LTC in the United States Army reserve component and has served two combat tours in Afghanistan where he was awarded the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal with V device, and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge.

Novel mechanisms in Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's,  Lipid abnormalities, Cytokine storm, and inflammation, Spanish Flu and COVID similarities, and possible long term effects. Prof. Ole Isacson works on basic and clinical research to prevent and treat Parkinson's disease and related neurological and age disorders. He is the founding Director of the Neuroregeneration Research Institute at McLean Hospital, Professor of Neurology (Neuroscience) at Harvard Medical School, Professor of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is the author or co-author of over 300 scientific research publications in neuroscience and neurology and three books in his field.

Supplier diversity and Carbon footprint, Customer learning in Call centers, Net-metering and utility profits, Blockchain to prevent counterfeiting, and strategic effects of COVID shock on global supply chains. Prof. Jay Swaminathan is the Professor of Operations and Faculty Director of the ReThinc Value Chains Lab at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a Distinguished Fellow of The Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS), Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Society (MSOM), and Production and Operations Management Society (POMS). His work with UNICEF provided the impetus for changes in the global supply chain planning.

Telehealth in primary care and specialties, Home-health technologies aiding telehealth, AI-assisted mammographic examinations, Patient photos aiding detection accuracy, Effects of fatigue on radiology residents, and Optimizing ergonomics for breast imaging. Prof. Elizabeth Krupinski is Professor and Vice-Chair of Research at Emory University in the Department of Radiology. Her interests are in medical image perception, observer performance, decision making, and human factors. She is the Associate Director of Evaluation for the Arizona Telemedicine Program and Co-Director of the Southwest Telehealth Resource Center. She is also the Co-Editor of the Journal of Telemedicine & Telecare and Editor of Telemedicine Reports.

Effect of subscription programs,  price promotions and churn prevention programs on firm profitability, finding nonobvious Key Opinion Leaders to accelerate product diffusion,  and oral and written communications - how the medium shapes the message. Prof. Raghuram Iyengar is a professor of marketing at the Wharton School and faculty director of Wharton Customer Analytics focusing on the practice of data-driven business decision making. Professor Iyengar’s research interests are in the area of pricing and social networks and his teaching interests are in market research and analytics. In the area of pricing, his work focuses on the impact of multi-part pricing schemes on consumer response.

Medical & health tourism - modalities, and trends, service quality expectations, bundled contracting between employers and providers, and effects of the pandemic on the industry Dr. David Vequist is the founder and Director of the Center for Medical Tourism Research (CMTR) - the very first academic research center devoted to medical tourism research. He is also a Professor of Management in the H-E-B School of Business & Administration at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) in San Antonio, Texas

COVID - Identifying hotspots, mRNA splicing mutations, the proposed molecular mechanism for severe infections, and possible vaccines, and therapies Prof. Peter Rogan is a professor of Genome Bioinformatics at the University of Western Ontario. His lab focuses on bioinformatic technologies at the population-scale to address important biomedical challenges in genomics and other areas.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Artificial Intelligence driving the next revolution, Regulatory policy frameworks and pilot projects for policy for AI Mr. Lofred Madzou is a Project Lead for AI at the World Economic Forum, where he is responsible for managing various global multi-stakeholder AI policy projects. Before that, he was a Policy Officer advising the French Government on AI Policy and Regulation. He has co-written chapter 5 of the French National AI Strategy – entitled “What Ethics for AI?”.