Behind the Breakthroughs
Inside Precision Medicine
Join host Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD, North American Editor for Inside Precision Medicine, as he uncovers the stories behind the pioneers driving the precision medicine revolution. Behind the Breakthroughs features candid interviews with seasoned veterans and rising stars, exploring their origin stories and groundbreaking contributions advancing the frontiers of patient diagnosis, treatment, and care.In every episode, Jonathan goes beyond the science, diving deep into the personal and professional journeys of those striving to make these incredible new therapies more equitable and accessible globally. You'll discover how emerging technologies in molecular diagnostics, next-generation sequencing, genetic medicines (e.g., cell and gene therapies), and AI/ML are transforming treatment and bringing precision medicine closer to the forefront of healthcare. Whether you’re a researcher at a large pharma company or small biotech startup, a clinician at a major health system or community setting, a laboratory technician in the clinic or academia, an investor at a premier or venture capital firm, or just interested in the latest in medicine and healthcare, these interviews will inspire and inform you about personalized medicine's future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 19, 2025 • 40min
Josh Denny: The Future of Precision Public Health
Josh Denny, MD, turned a family tragedy with cystic fibrosis into a lifelong mission to transform medicine. Now CEO of the NIH’s All of Us Research Program, he’s leading one of the largest precision medicine efforts in history—850,000 participants strong with 400,000 genomic profiles and counting. On Behind the Breakthroughs, Denny shares how this unprecedented dataset could rewrite the future of healthcare, from rare disease to everyday care.Stay up to date with the latest episodes of Behind the Breakthroughs by subscribing to the IPM eNewsletter here.Produced by Bill LevineHosted by Jonathan D. GrinsteinMusic provided by Artem HramushkinAudio mixed and mastered by Jason Mack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 5, 2025 • 34min
Uli Stilz: Conquering Complex Diseases Affecting Billions with Precision Medicine
The sage-like Uli Stilz, PhD, Vice President of Novo Nordisk, provides insight into the inner workings of Novo Nordisk’s Bio Innovation Hub, which he founded in Boston, to tackle complex, multifactorial diseases that impact billions of people, such as diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases.Stay up to date with the latest episodes of Behind the Breakthroughs by subscribing to the IPM eNewsletter here.Produced by Bill LevineHosted by Jonathan D. GrinsteinMusic provided by Artem HramushkinAudio mixed and mastered by Jason Mack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 19, 2025 • 27min
Tomasz (Tom) Beer: Detecting Cancer Before Symptoms? MCED Leads the Way
Despite advances in screening, only one in six U.S. cancers is detected early. Tomasz (Tom) Beer, MD, left most of his clinical practice to join Exact Sciences and push the frontier with blood-based multicancer early detection (MCED) tests. On Behind the Breakthroughs, Beer explains how these tests could transform cancer screening and catch disease before it’s too late.Stay up to date with the latest episodes of Behind the Breakthroughs by subscribing to the IPM eNewsletter here.Produced by Bill LevineHosted by Jonathan D. GrinsteinMusic provided by Artem HramushkinAudio mixed and mastered by Jason Mack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 5, 2025 • 40min
Katy Rezvani: Allogeneic NK Cells Are Coming to Beat Cancer at a Clinic Near You
Katy Rezvani, MD, PhD, turned her fascination with immunology into a career engineering allogeneic immune cell therapies. On Behind the Breakthroughs, Rezvani explains why NK cells—unlike T cells—hold promise for safer, more accessible cancer treatments, and how her work at MD Anderson is shaping the future of cell therapy.Stay up to date with the latest episodes of Behind the Breakthroughs by subscribing to the IPM eNewsletter here.Produced by Bill LevineHosted by Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhDMusic provided by Artem HramushkinAudio mixed and mastered by Jason Mack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 22, 2025 • 29min
Toby Ferguson: From Bloodstream to Brain: Accessing the Neurogenetic Medicine Revolution
"Are we close to curing diseases like ALS and Alzheimer's?" In recent years, several academic and industry endeavors have given reason to be hopeful. Toby Ferguson, MD, PhD, is the Chief Medical Officer at Voyager Therapeutics, which develops genetic medicines and delivery tools to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In this episode, Ferguson explains the current state of therapeutics for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, challenges in delivering genetic medicines and other therapeutics to the nervous system, and Voyager's approach to overcoming the BBB. Stay up to date with the latest episodes of Behind the Breakthroughs by subscribing to the IPM eNewsletter here.Produced by Bill LevineHosted by Jonathan D. GrinsteinMusic provided by Artem HramushkinAudio mixed and mastered by Jason Mack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 8, 2025 • 30min
Tomi Pastinen: Treating All the Not-So-Rare “Rare Disease” Patients at Major Care Centers
Tomi Pastinen, MD, PhD, is transforming pediatric medicine through genomics. As Director at Children’s Mercy Kansas City, he’s pioneered pharmacogenetic testing and 5-nucleotide genomic sequencing, bringing precision medicine to children. On Behind the Breakthroughs, Pastinen discusses the promise—and challenges—of turning genetic diagnoses into real treatments, from rare inherited diseases to complex conditions like autism.Stay up to date with the latest episodes of Behind the Breakthroughs by subscribing to the IPM eNewsletter here.Produced by Bill LevineHosted by Jonathan D. GrinsteinMusic provided by Artem HramushkinAudio mixed and mastered by Jason Mack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 18, 2024 • 31min
Tom Whitehead: Not All Precision Medicine Heroes Wear Lab Coats
Tom Whitehead, father of Emily Whitehead—the first pediatric CAR T patient—turned a harrowing journey into a mission to help families navigating life-threatening illness. On Behind the Breakthroughs, he shares the emotional story of Emily’s treatment and the challenges patients face when cutting-edge research intersects with real-world care.This is the 2024 finale for Behind the Breakthroughs, and we will release our next episode on January 8, 2025.Stay up to date with the latest episodes of Behind the Breakthroughs by subscribing to the IPM eNewsletter here.Produced by Bill LevineHosted by Jonathan D. GrinsteinMusic provided by Artem HramushkinAudio mixed and mastered by Jason Mack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 4, 2024 • 27min
Harry Clifford: Carrying Medicine Into the Post-Moore’s Law Era
Harry Clifford, PhD, Digital Biology Lead at NVIDIA, discusses how the computer manufacturing and AI computing leader is building a technology platform to address data bottlenecks in drug development and healthcare to advance precision medicine.Stay up to date with the latest episodes of Behind the Breakthroughs by subscribing to the IPM eNewsletter here.Produced by Bill LevineHosted by Jonathan D. GrinsteinMusic provided by Artem HramushkinAudio mixed and mastered by Jason Mack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 21, 2024 • 34min
Michael Severino: Towards In Vivo Genome Editing of Humans
Michael Severino, MD, discusses the approaches for developing "genome writers" at Tessera Therapeutics, where he joined as CEO in 2022, and the advantages of performing in vivo genome editing over ex vivo approaches. Severino explains where the company is in utilizing its genome writing platform to perform edits in vivo on its journey toward the clinic.Stay up to date with the latest episodes of Behind the Breakthroughs by subscribing to the IPM eNewsletter here.Produced by Bill LevineHosted by Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhDMusic provided by Artem HramushkinAudio mixed and mastered by Jason Mack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 13, 2024 • 27min
Jane Gibson: AMP and Molecular Diagnostics’ Existential Crisis
This special edition episode for the upcoming Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) annual meeting in Vancouver, Jane Gibson, PhD, opens up the dialogue about how the evolving field of molecular pathology is taking on major challenges, including how the FDA’s ruling on laboratory developed tests (LDTs) is affecting clinical labs. Dr. Gibson is a Professor of Pathology at the University of Central Florida, Editor-in-chief of Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, and President Elect of AMP.Stay up to date with the latest episodes of Behind the Breakthroughs by subscribing to the IPM eNewsletter here.Produced by Bill LevineHosted by Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhDMusic provided by Artem HramushkinAudio mixed and mastered by Jason Mack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
