

Vital Signs with Jacob Effron and Nikhil Krishnan
by Redpoint Ventures
On Vital Signs, Jacob Effron and Nikhil Krishnan dig into cutting-edge trends in healthtech and the people shaping them. Every two weeks they’ll explore a new sub-sector and trend with policy leaders, startup founders and industry executives.
Subscribe now to make sure you don’t miss any of it!
Subscribe now to make sure you don’t miss any of it!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 13, 2023 • 49min
Ep 24: Insitro CEO Daphne Koller on Using ML to Change Drug Discovery
Jacob sits down with Insitro CEO Daphne Koller to discuss founding Coursera, where and how ML can drive the most impact in drug development, and if foundation models can transform core drug discovery work and edtech. 00:00 intro00:59 Daphne’s journey09:02 AI and biology discovery10:42 insitro vs. traditional pharma19:47 phenotyping patients25:44 early mistakes29:34 the future of data35:16 partnering with larger pharma companies38:00 impact of LLMs on biopharma43:47 over-hyped/under-hyped

May 26, 2023 • 43min
Ep 23: Stanford Professor James Zou on the Economics, Regulation and Applications of AI in Healthcare
00:00 intro01:08 James’ background04:39 regulation of AI medical devices14:43 impact of foundation models on healthcare19:41 the future of cancer detection23:47 real-world control arms35:18 AI drift37:42 over-hyped/under-hyped40:03 most surprising AI interaction

May 9, 2023 • 49min
Ep 22: Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel on Our Relationship with Death and Bad Incentives in Research
Jacob and Nikhil sit down with Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel and discuss his reflections on his “Why I want to Die at 75” piece, how publishing/financial incentives harm research, doctors' increasing social isolation and his love of chocolate-making.

Apr 25, 2023 • 42min
Ep 21: Andy Coravos and Ashoka Rajendra on Hyperspecialization in Pharma R&D and Digital Biomarkers
Jacob sits down with HumanFirst CEO Andy Coravos and Orchestra CEO Ashoka Rajendra to discuss at home data collection in trials, Andy being an EIR at the FDA, why Benchling has been so successful and more.

Apr 11, 2023 • 47min
Ep 20: Andy Slavitt on Optum’s Evolution and Lessons from Obamacare and COVID
Andy Slavitt, former Optum EVP, head of CMS, COVID advisor and healthcare.gov saver joins Nikhil and Jacob to discuss public/private sector collaboration, Optum’s evolution, and his lessons on communication from COVID. Andy also shared his career journey, what he would do if he was running United today and how the private sector can work better with the public sector.

Mar 28, 2023 • 38min
Ep 19: Mike Kopko on ACO Reach and The Future of Health Exchanges
Jacob and Nikhil sit down with Mike Kopko, CEO and co-founder of Pearl Health to discuss Pearl’s care model and what it’s been like building the company as ACO Reach evolved. Mike also shares some great stories negotiating claims in the early days of Oscar.

11 snips
Mar 16, 2023 • 39min
Ep 18: Dr. Jeffrey Kang on CVS/Walgreens' Role in Healthcare and The Future of Risk Adjustment and Senior Care
Jacob and Nikhil sit down with Dr. Jeffrey Kang, CEO of WellBe Senior Medical, and former President of ChenMed, SVP Health and Wellness Solutions at Walgreens, CMO at Cigna, CMO at CMS and CEO of Urban Medical Group. They discuss risk adjustment, retailers in healthcare and how healthcare has/hasn't changed since his work doing risk-based care for complex patients and at CMS in the 80s and 90s.

Mar 1, 2023 • 49min
Ep 17: Naomi Allen on How to Sell to Employers and the Future of Mental Healthcare
Jacob and Nikhil sit down with Naomi Allen, CEO and founder of Brightline (child and teen focused mental health company that’s raised >$100M) and Castlight/Livongo exec. They discuss the difficulties of balancing employer customers and employee satisfaction at Castlight, how Livongo captured member delight and Brightline's care model.

Feb 14, 2023 • 39min
Ep 16: Dr. Jaewon Ryu on Geisinger's Fresh Food and DNA Sequencing Programs and the Future of Clinician Training
Jacob sits down with Geisinger CEO Dr. Jaewon Ryu to discuss how he and Geisinger think about their Fresh Food Farmacy, population-wide DNA sequencing efforts, and transforming medical education.

Feb 2, 2023 • 27min
Ep 15: Dr. Jenny Schneider on What Livongo Got Right and Improving Rural Healthcare
Jacob sits down with Homeward Health CEO and former Castlight and Livongo CMO Dr. Jenny Schneider to discuss solving provider shortages in rural markets, how tech can/can’t help care and what Livongo did to make coaching more effective.


