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Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show

Ira Pastor

Interviews and Discussions With Fascinating People Who are Creating A Better Tomorrow For All Of Us - Host - Ira S. Pastor

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Yesterday · 32 min
CMV - The Virus Lurking Inside Us That Can Threaten Transplant Patients | Dr. Neil Inhaber, MD - Head, Marketed Products and Neuroscience, Global Medical Affairs, Takeda
Send us Fan Mail Every year, hundreds of thousands of people around the world receive life-saving organ transplants - new hearts, kidneys, lungs, and livers that offer patients a second chance at life. But transplantation is only the beginning of the journey. Because preventing organ rejection requires suppressing the immune system, transplant recipients become vulnerable to infections that most healthy people never even notice. One of the most important - and least understood - is cytomegalovirus, or CMV. More than half of adults worldwide carry this virus, often for life, without ever knowing it. Yet in patients who have undergone organ transplantation, CMV can reactivate and become one of the leading infectious complications, threatening not only a patient's health, but also the long-term success of the transplanted organ itself. Fortunately, advances in virology, immunology, and antiviral drug development are opening new possibilities for managing this complex disease. My guest today is Dr. Neil Inhaber, MD - Head, Marketed Products and Neuroscience, Global Medical Affairs at Takeda ( https://www.takeda.com/ ). Dr. Inhaber is a physician specializing in pulmonary and critical care medicine whose career uniquely bridges frontline patient care with the development of innovative therapies. Over the past three decades, he has held senior medical leadership positions at Takeda, Shire, Boston Scientific, Baxter, Novartis, and other leading healthcare organizations, guiding clinical development, global medical strategy, and life-cycle management across rare diseases, respiratory medicine, immunology, oncology, and transplantation. Today, he helps shape Takeda's global medical strategy for some of medicine's most challenging diseases, working closely with clinicians, researchers, and regulatory agencies around the world. Today we'll discuss why cytomegalovirus remains one of the greatest infectious threats facing organ transplant recipients, what we've learned from the latest research presented at the American Transplant Congress, how new antiviral therapies are changing the treatment landscape for patients with resistant or refractory CMV, and where the future of transplant medicine and infectious disease management is headed next. Important Episode Link - LIVTENCITY® (maribavir) for Healthcare Professionals https://www.livtencity.com/ #CMV #Cytomegalovirus #OrganTransplant #TransplantMedicine #Transplantation #Immunology #Virology #InfectiousDisease #Antiviral #DrugResistance #RareDisease #Biotechnology #Biotech #Pharmaceuticals #DrugDevelopment #PrecisionMedicine #MedicalInnovation #HealthcareInnovation #LifeSciences #MedicalResearch #AmericanTransplantCongress #ATC2026 #Maribavir #Takeda #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities Support the show
Monday · 28 min
The New Era Of SMA - From Gene Therapy to Living Without Limits | Dr. Tracey Dawson , Ph.D. - Senior Vice President and U.S. Therapeutic Area Head of Neuroscience, Novartis
Send us Fan Mail Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) has undergone one of the most remarkable transformations in modern medicine. A disease that once carried devastating consequences, particularly in its most severe forms, can now be treated with therapies designed to dramatically alter its course - especially when treatment begins early. But medical progress creates a fascinating new question. What happens when you don't just change the disease - you change what's possible for the person living with it? Because today's SMA community includes children treated before symptoms emerge, young adults who have grown up in this new treatment era, and adults who have lived with SMA for decades and carry the consequences of disease that occurred before these therapies existed. And that's where our conversation today gets particularly interesting. Because the next challenge may not simply be developing better medicines. It may be helping people take full advantage of the lives those medicines make possible. My guest is Dr. Tracey Dawson, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and U.S. Therapeutic Area Head of Neuroscience at Novartis ( https://www.novartis.com/ ). Dr. Dawson brings more than 25 years of experience across neuroscience, rare diseases, biotechnology and pharmaceutical leadership - and today we're going to talk about the changing face of SMA, the evolution of the SMAshing My Limits initiative ( https://www.smashingmylimits.com/ ), and why Novartis is now turning its attention to something that might seem very different from drug development: helping people with SMA actually get out into the world. #SMA #SpinalMuscularAtrophy #SMAAwareness #SMAshingMyLimits #GeneTherapy #GeneTherapyRevolution #Neuroscience #RareDisease #RareDiseases #NeuromuscularDisease #Biotechnology #Biotech #Pharma #LifeSciences #PatientAdvocacy #AccessibleTravel #DisabilityInclusion #MedicalInnovation #HealthcareInnovation #Novartis #SMAResearch #FutureOfMedicine #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities Support the show
Friday · 43 min
Can a Virus Turn Cancer Against Itself? The Next Era of Cancer Immunotherapy | Jared Kelly - Chief Executive Officer, Oncolytics Biotech
Send us Fan Mail What if one of the biggest problems in cancer isn't that we don't have enough drugs to kill cancer cells - it's that the immune system sometimes can't see the cancer in the first place? There's a fascinating new strategy trying to change that: using a virus to make tumors more visible to the immune system. Today we're going to explore a fascinating and potentially transformative area of cancer medicine: oncolytic immunotherapy - using viruses or other immune-stimulating mechanisms to turn tumors from immunologically "cold" environments into tumors that the immune system can actually recognize and attack. Jared Kelly is the Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Oncolytics Biotech ( https://oncolyticsbiotech.com/ ), a company developing pelareorep, an investigational, intravenously delivered double-stranded RNA immunotherapy designed to activate the immune system and remodel the tumor microenvironment. Unlike many targeted cancer therapies that depend upon finding a particular mutation or surface antigen, pelareorep is designed to exploit a different vulnerability - using double-stranded RNA to trigger an inflammatory response, generate and activate tumor-reactive immune cells, and help those cells penetrate the tumor. The company's goal is ultimately to make the tumor more receptive to multiple other therapies. And Jared brings a rather unusual perspective to this story. He's not a traditional biotech CEO who came up exclusively through drug discovery. He's an attorney and corporate strategist who spent years advising public companies and biotech companies on capital markets, M&A and corporate transactions before moving into biotech leadership. Previously at Ambrx, Jared served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary and played a central role in the company's transformation, financing, licensing activities and eventual $2 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson. He subsequently became CEO of Oncolytics in June 2025. Today we're going to talk about the science of oncolytic immunotherapy, why the field may finally be reaching an inflection point, how pelareorep works, why the tumor microenvironment is so important, and perhaps most importantly - whether oncolytic immunotherapy could become the next major platform technology in oncology, in the same way that antibody-drug conjugates have rapidly moved from niche technology to mainstream cancer treatment. #Cancer #CancerResearch #CancerTreatment #CancerImmunotherapy #Immunotherapy #Oncology #OncolyticVirus #OncolyticViruses #Pelareorep #OncolyticsBiotech #Biotech #Biotechnology #DrugDevelopment #Pharma #PrecisionMedicine #TumorMicroenvironment #ImmunoOncology #KRAS #KRASCancer #ClinicalTrials #CancerScience #MedicalResearch #HealthcareInnovation #Science #Innovation #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #PPP Support the show
Friday · 44 min
From Old Drug to New Medicine: The Science of Repurposing Ibudilast | Dr. David Crean, Ph.D. - Chief Business Officer, MediciNova
Send us Fan Mail In biotech, discovering a drug is only half the battle. You have to understand the science, raise the capital, design the right clinical trials and convince the world that your hypothesis is worth pursuing. Today I'm joined by someone who has spent more than three decades at the intersection of science, medicine, business, and capital markets. Dr. David Crean, Ph.D. is the Chief Business Officer of MediciNova ( https://medicinova.com/ ), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing small-molecule therapies for neurodegenerative, inflammatory, fibrotic and other difficult-to-treat diseases. At MediciNova, Dr. Crean leads corporate development, partnering, investor relations and capital-markets strategy, and he has played a central role in communicating the company's scientific and strategic vision to investors and the broader life-sciences community. And Dr. Crean brings a pretty unusual perspective to that job. He's not simply a business executive who entered biotech from the financial world. He holds a Ph.D. in Biophysics, began his career doing biomedical research, spent years involved in drug development and portfolio management, and then moved into corporate development and strategic transactions. At Allergan, Dr. Crean spent more than a decade working across neurology, medical aesthetics, dermatology, ophthalmology and other therapeutic areas, ultimately negotiating and closing more than 30 strategic transactions involving acquisitions, licensing, partnerships and equity investments. Since then, Dr. Crean has advised more than 250 life-science and healthcare companies and been involved in more than 50 transactions representing more than a billion dollars in aggregate value. But what is particularly fascinating about Dr. Crean's career is that he's repeatedly occupied the space between science and capital - helping scientists and entrepreneurs translate great science into something that can actually be financed, developed, partnered, commercialized and delivered to patients. And that brings us to MediciNova. The company's lead program is MN-166, or ibudilast, an orally available small molecule with anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties that is being developed across several neurological diseases, including ALS, progressive multiple sclerosis and degenerative cervical myelopathy, with additional investigations in areas including glioblastoma, Long COVID and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. The ALS program is especially interesting because MediciNova has now completed enrollment in its Phase 2b/3 COMBAT-ALS study, while a separate NIH-supported expanded-access study, SEANOBI-ALS, reached its target enrollment of 200 patients this summer. And Dr. Crean has another fascinating project underway: his forthcoming book, Dual Fluency: How Life Sciences Leaders Master the Language of Science and Capital ( https://dual-fluency.com/ ), which explores the idea that leaders in biotech need to be fluent in both the language of scientific discovery and the language of investors, partners and business. So today we're going to talk about ALS and the science behind MediciNova - but also about something much bigger: What does it actually take to turn scientific potential into a successful medicine and a successful company? #ALS #AmyotrophicLateralSclerosis #Ibudilast #MediciNova #NeurodegenerativeDisease #Neuroscience #Neuroinflammation #Microglia #DrugRepurposing #Biotechnology #Biotech #Pharmaceuticals #DrugDevelopment #ClinicalTrials #Neurology #MotorNeurons #BrainHealth #MedicalResearch #Science #Innovation #LifeSciences #Healthcare #Pharma #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities Support the show
Thursday · 31 min
Can We REVERSE Cancer Drug Resistance? The New Science of Fighting Cancer | Dr. John Yu, MD - Founder and CEO, Kairos Pharma - Professor and Clinical Chief of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai
Send us Fan Mail Cancer doesn't just sit there while we attack it. It evolves. We give a patient a powerful drug. The tumor shrinks. It looks like we've won. But somewhere inside that tumor may be a small population of cells that figured out how to survive. Those cells can eventually multiply, the cancer returns, and the drug that once worked no longer works. So what if, instead of continually chasing cancer with newer and newer drugs, we could turn off the biological escape routes that allow cancer to become resistant in the first place? Dr. John Yu, MD is the Founder and CEO of Kairos Pharma ( https://kairospharma.com/ ), a clinical-stage oncology company spun out of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center that is developing therapies designed to overcome cancer drug resistance and immune suppression. Dr. Yu is also Professor and Clinical Chief of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai and Director of Surgical Neuro-Oncology ( https://www.cedars-sinai.org/provider/john-yu-2181236.html ). His career sits at a fascinating intersection of neurosurgery, immunology and cancer biology. Dr. Yu earned undergraduate degrees in biology and French from Stanford University, his MD from Harvard Medical School through the Harvard-MIT program, completed his neurosurgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, and pursued immunology research at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. Over the course of his career, Dr. Yu has developed eight FDA investigational drugs and holds multiple patents spanning immunotherapy and nanotechnology. At Kairos, that scientific journey has led to a particularly interesting strategy: targeting CD105, also known as endoglin, a protein that appears to become elevated as tumors develop resistance to certain cancer therapies. The company's lead candidate, ENV105, is an antibody designed to inhibit CD105 and potentially re-sensitize resistant tumors to therapies that had stopped working. Kairos is currently evaluating ENV105 in Phase 2 prostate cancer and Phase 1 lung cancer studies. On this episode we talk about one of the great challenges in modern oncology - why cancer becomes resistant, whether that resistance can actually be reversed, and whether we can turn some of our existing cancer drugs back into powerful weapons against the disease. #Cancer #CancerResearch #CancerTreatment #CancerDrugResistance #Oncology #Immunotherapy #PrecisionMedicine #Biotechnology #Biotech #DrugDevelopment #CancerTherapy #ProstateCancer #LungCancer #LungCancerResearch #ProstateCancerResearch #ImmunoOncology #TargetedTherapy #DrugResistance #CancerBiology #CD105 #Endoglin #ENV105 #KairosPharma #JohnYu #MedicalResearch #Pharma #HealthcareInnovation #CancerScience #ClinicalTrials #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities Support the show
August 26 · 50 min
Can AI Help Detect Disease Before Your Pet Gets Sick? | Dr. Ragen McGowan, Ph.D - Director of Global Digital & AI Product Development - Nestlé Purina
Send us Fan Mail What if your dog or cat could tell you how they're feeling? Today, artificial intelligence may be giving us a new way to listen. By continuously monitoring things like activity, eating, sleep, elimination and other behaviors, AI can begin to establish what's normal for an individual animal - and potentially detect subtle changes that humans would never notice. Dr. Ragen McGowan, Ph.D. is Director of Global Digital & AI Product Development at Nestlé Purina ( https://www.purina.com/pet-experts/rm-pet-expert ). Dr. McGowan has spent more than twenty-five years studying animal behavior and cognition, including research ranging from grizzly bears and laying hens to dogs and cats. She earned her Ph.D. in Applied Ethology from Washington State University before conducting postdoctoral research in Sweden focused on measuring positive emotional states in dogs. Today Dr. McGowan leads Purina's Global Digital and AI Product Development organization, where her team combines artificial intelligence, connected sensors, behavioral science, physiology and nutrition to better understand what pets are experiencing - and ultimately to give pets something they've never truly had before: a voice ( https://www.petivity.com/ ). Dr. McGowan's work spans smart pet technologies, digital biomarkers, predictive AI models capable of detecting disease before clinical symptoms appear, and pioneering research into the gut-brain axis and animal emotional health. Today we'll explore how artificial intelligence is transforming veterinary medicine, how connected devices are changing the future of pet care, and what studying animal cognition may teach us about intelligence, emotion and even ourselves. #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #AnimalBehavior #PetHealth #DigitalPhenotyping #PetTech #IoT #AnimalCognition #VeterinaryMedicine #PredictiveHealth #GutBrainAxis #Petivity #Cats #Dogs #AnimalScience #MachineLearning #PrecisionMedicine #Biotech #Science #Technology #Innovation #FutureOfHealth #PetCare #NestlePurina Support the show
August 19 · 57 min
Is Science Being Hijacked? The Dark Side of Scientific Publishing - Kent Anderson And Joy Moore - Authors, How the Internet Disrupted Science
Send us Fan Mail What if the biggest threat to scientific integrity isn't bad science - but the system we use to decide what gets called science in the first place? Every year, millions of scientific papers enter the literature. But behind those papers is an increasingly complicated ecosystem of peer review, Open Access, publication fees, citation metrics, academic incentives, paper mills - and now artificial intelligence. And some experts believe we're reaching a point where the scientific literature itself is becoming contaminated with so much questionable material that separating signal from noise is becoming extraordinarily difficult. Joining us today are two people who have spent decades inside the world's scientific publishing ecosystem and who have written a fascinating new book, How the Internet Disrupted Science ( https://www.disruptedscience.com/ ), examining how digital technology, changing business models, artificial intelligence, and perverse incentives have transformed the scientific literature itself. Kent Anderson has spent more than thirty years at the highest levels of scholarly publishing, serving as Publishing Director at the New England Journal of Medicine, Publisher at Science magazine, CEO of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Director of Journals at the American Academy of Pediatrics, and founder of two of the publishing industry's most influential publications, The Scholarly Kitchen and The Geyser. Joining him is Joy Moore, whose career spans virtually every major corner of scientific publishing - from Nature Publishing Group, Blackwell, Wiley, the American Medical Association, Silverchair, EBSCO and many more - helping shape how scientific knowledge is created, distributed, discovered and trusted in the digital age. Together they argue that the Internet didn't simply change how science is communicated - it fundamentally changed the incentives behind scientific publishing itself, opening the door to paper mills, fake journals, AI-generated research, and a growing crisis of trust. #Science #ScientificResearch #SciencePublishing #ScientificPublishing #PeerReview #OpenAccess #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #ScienceCommunication #ResearchIntegrity #ScientificIntegrity #PaperMills #ResearchFraud #AcademicPublishing #PublishOrPerish #Misinformation #FakeScience #ScienceAndTechnology #Innovation #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfScience #TrustInScience #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities Support the show
August 18 · 39 min
Your Urine Contains a Fingerprint of Disease. Can AI Read It? | Dejan Nenov - Co-Founder, Luventix
Send us Fan Mail What if we could take something as simple - and seemingly ordinary - as a urine sample, measure thousands of chemical signals within it, and use artificial intelligence to recognize the metabolic fingerprint of disease? And what if, instead of looking for one specific biomarker, we could train an algorithm to recognize the complex pattern created by an entire disease state? That is the premise behind Luventix ( https://www.luventix.com/ ), a technology company developing AI and machine-learning diagnostic models based on quantitative analysis of urine. Today's guest, Dejan Nenov, comes to this problem from a somewhat unusual direction. He's not a traditional biotech entrepreneur. Dejan is a computer engineer, technology entrepreneur, investor and longtime software executive who has spent more than three decades building companies across fields ranging from telecommunications and cybersecurity to enterprise software, consumer electronics and data architecture. Dejan has been involved with companies that have collectively returned more than $3.5 billion to investors - and he's now turned his attention to one of the most complicated systems imaginable: the human body. At Luventix, the idea is to use gas chromatography to generate a quantitative representation of the metabolic state contained within a urine sample, and then use machine learning to identify patterns associated with disease, treatment response, and potentially treatment-related toxicity. Today on Progress, Potential, and Possibilities, we're going to explore whether the next generation of medical diagnostics may be less about finding a single molecule - and more about teaching machines to recognize the incredibly complex biological patterns hidden in our own chemistry. #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #HealthcareAI #MedicalAI #Diagnostics #HealthTech #DigitalHealth #Biotechnology #Biotech #PrecisionMedicine #UrineDiagnostics #DiseaseDetection #MachineLearning #Metabolomics #Biomarkers #MedicalInnovation #FutureOfHealthcare #HealthInnovation #ClinicalDiagnostics #Luventix #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities Support the show
August 14 · 34 min
Beyond The Lab - How Medicines Become Successful Businesses | Jane Gonnerman - Executive Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development, Collegium Pharmaceutical
Send us Fan Mail We tend to think that a new medicine's journey begins in the laboratory and ends when the FDA approves it. But there's an enormous part of that journey that most people never see: Who decides which medicines a company should acquire? Which ones are worth billions of dollars? How do you turn an approved drug into a successful commercial product - and ultimately get it into the hands of patients? Today we're going behind the scenes of that process. Jane Gonnerman is Executive Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Collegium Pharmaceutical ( https://www.collegiumpharma.com/ ), a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of people living with serious and often misunderstood conditions, where she is helping guide the company's long-term growth strategy and business development initiatives. Before joining Collegium in 2025, Jane served as Senior Vice President of Rare Disease at Amgen following the landmark $28 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics - one of the largest biotechnology acquisitions in recent history. Prior to that, she served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Chief of Staff to Horizon's CEO, playing a central role in the company's corporate strategy, partnerships, acquisitions, and ultimately its successful sale to Amgen. Earlier in her career, Jane spent more than fifteen years at Bain & Company, becoming a Partner in the firm's healthcare practice where she advised many of the world's leading life science organizations on strategy, growth, organizational transformation, and innovation. Jane holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business along with dual bachelor's degrees in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Florida. Today we'll explore what it really takes to build successful biopharmaceutical companies, how commercialization has become as innovative as science itself, and why strategy may ultimately determine which medical breakthroughs change patients' lives. #CollegiumPharmaceutical #JaneGonnerman #PharmaceuticalIndustry #Biotech #Biopharma #Pharma #DrugDevelopment #DrugCommercialization #PharmaInnovation #CorporateStrategy #CorporateDevelopment #BusinessDevelopment #PharmaMergers #HealthcareInnovation #DrugDiscovery #RareDisease #ADHD #PainManagement #DrugDelivery #JORNAYPM #AZSTARYS #XtampzaER #Belbuca #Nucynta #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities Support the show
August 11 · 52 min
The Next Generation of CRISPR Has Arrived | Dr. Trevor Martin, Ph.D. - CEO, Mammoth Biosciences
Send us Fan Mail Most of us think of medicine as something we take every day - a statin, a blood pressure pill, or perhaps a monthly injection. But what if those lifelong treatments eventually become obsolete? What if one carefully targeted gene edit could dramatically reduce your risk of heart disease for decades? Dr. Trevor Martin, Ph.D. is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mammoth Biosciences ( https://mammoth.bio/ ), a pioneering biotechnology company developing next-generation CRISPR genome editing technologies for potentially curative medicines. He co-founded the company in 2017 alongside Nobel Prize-winning CRISPR pioneer Dr. Jennifer Doudna and an interdisciplinary team of leading scientists with the goal of building more precise, versatile, and clinically practical gene editing systems. Dr. Martin earned his undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology with honors from Princeton University before completing a Ph.D. in Genetics and Statistics at Stanford University, where his research focused on quantitative genetics, genomics, and computational biology. His scientific background in statistics and genetics has shaped Mammoth's unique approach to developing smaller CRISPR enzymes capable of reaching tissues and diseases that have been difficult to target with first-generation technologies. Under Dr. Martin's leadership, Mammoth has grown into one of the world's leading CRISPR companies, raising more than $465 million, achieving a valuation exceeding $1 billion, and establishing strategic collaborations with companies including Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Bayer, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. Today, Mammoth is advancing a pipeline of in vivo gene editing therapies, including programs targeting cardiovascular disease through permanent editing of the APOC3 gene - a potential one-time treatment approach aimed at dramatically reducing triglycerides and long-term cardiovascular risk. Beyond therapeutics, the company's CRISPR platform also extends into diagnostics and genome engineering technologies that may reshape medicine over the coming decades. Dr. Martin has been recognized as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year®, Forbes 30 Under 30, and Fortune 40 Under 40 honoree for his contributions to biotechnology and scientific entrepreneurship. #CRISPR #GeneEditing #TrevorMartin #MammothBiosciences #JenniferDoudna #Biotechnology #GenomeEditing #HeartDisease #Longevity #FutureOfMedicine #PrecisionMedicine #Genetics #DNA #HealthInnovation #MedicalBreakthrough #CardiovascularDisease #SciencePodcast #Biotech #Innovation #ProgressPotentialPossibilities Support the show
August 10 · 51 min
Why the Intelligence Community Is Betting on Biotechnology | Dr. Jessica Dymond, Ph.D. - Vice President of Technology, In-Q-Tel
Send us Fan Mail The same technologies that could transform medicine, agriculture, and manufacturing could also reshape global security. Understanding the future of biotechnology requires scientists who can bridge discovery, engineering, and responsibility. Today on Progress, Potential, and Possibilities, we’re joined by a true pioneer at the nexus of biotechnology and national security. Dr. Jessica Dymond, Ph.D is the Vice President of Technology at In-Q-Tel ( https://www.iqt.org/ ), a not-for-profit venture fund that invests in companies advancing the strategic priorities of U.S. Intelligence Community, where she provides technical and strategic leadership to accelerate emerging biotechnologies that address some of the most critical challenges to national and global security. Before In-Q-Tel, Dr. Dymond served as Chief Scientist for Physical and Life Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, where she led an interdisciplinary portfolio spanning biological sensing, genomic surveillance, microbiome engineering, and synthetic biology. She founded the Lab’s Biological Sciences group and spearheaded initiatives to anticipate, assess, and mitigate emerging biological threats while strengthening global health security. Formally trained as a synthetic biologist, Dr. Dymond earned her Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, completed a postdoctoral fellowship in functional genomics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and has contributed to groundbreaking research, including the design of synthetic yeast genomes and combinatorial genomic diversity. She also serves on the editorial board of Synthetic Biology from Oxford University Press. Dr. Dymond’s career embodies the bridge between cutting-edge science, technology strategy, and real-world impact - protecting health, security, and society through innovation at the molecular frontier. #SyntheticBiology #Biotechnology #Biosecurity #FutureOfBiology #GenomeEngineering #Genomics #DNA #GeneticEngineering #ArtificialBiology #BiologyRevolution #LifeSciences #FutureTechnology #EmergingTechnologies #ScienceInnovation #Innovation #NationalSecurity #GlobalHealthSecurity #PandemicPreparedness #AIandBiology #Bioengineering #SyntheticGenomics #CRISPR #GeneticTechnology #HealthcareInnovation #ScientificDiscovery #TechnologyTrends #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities Support the show
August 8 · 55 min
Brilliant Ideas Aren't Enough - Why Scientists Must Learn to Communicate | Nancy Ancowitz - NYU Educator, Career Strategist, Executive Presentation Coach, Author
Send us Fan Mail We spend billions of dollars each year funding scientific discovery - but what happens if the people making those discoveries can't communicate them? Today we're exploring why communication may be just as important as innovation itself, and why some of the world's brightest scientists never receive the recognition their work deserves. Nancy Ancowitz ( https://www.nancyancowitz.com/ ) is career strategist, executive presentation coach, author, educator, and one of the country's leading experts on helping professionals communicate their expertise with clarity, confidence, and authenticity. Nancy has spent more than two decades teaching communication, presentation skills, and career strategy at New York University ( https://www.sps.nyu.edu/faculty-directory/10734-nancy-h-ancowitz.html ) while coaching everyone from emerging professionals to CEOs on how to translate knowledge into influence. Nancy is the author of the acclaimed Self-Promotion for Introverts® ( https://www.amazon.com/Self-Promotion-Introverts-Quiet-Guide-Getting-ebook/dp/B00394U8DS?ref_=ast_author_dp&th=1&psc=1 ), recognized by Publishers Weekly as one of the year's best business books, as well as Zoom to Success and Business Writing: Say More With Less. Before launching her coaching practice, Nancy spent twelve years on Wall Street, leading marketing communications for multibillion-dollar businesses as a Vice President at JPMorgan Chase and earlier at Citibank, where she was recognized for innovation in global marketing communications. Along the way, her insights have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Psychology Today, and she has spoken at organizations ranging from the National Institutes of Health to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Today, we're taking Nancy's work in a slightly different direction. Here on Progress, Potential and Possibilities, we spend much of our time with scientists, physicians, engineers, biotech founders, and technology innovators who are developing extraordinary breakthroughs - but often struggle to communicate those breakthroughs beyond their laboratories, companies, and research institutions. In an age where groundbreaking discoveries compete with endless streams of information, social media, and artificial intelligence, is communication becoming just as important as innovation itself? Can brilliant ideas change the world if their creators never learn to tell their story? We explore why communication, authenticity, and thoughtful self-promotion may be some of the most underrated drivers of scientific and technological progress. #ScienceCommunication #STEM #Innovation #Leadership #PublicSpeaking #CommunicationSkills #Scientists #Biotechnology #ArtificialIntelligence #InnovationLeadership #Entrepreneurship #CareerDevelopment #PresentationSkills #PersonalBranding #AuthenticLeadership #ProgressPotentialPossibilities Support the show
August 6 · 52 min
Reversing Cellular Age: The Scientist Who Helped Create iPS Cells Reveals What’s Next - Dr. Koji Tanabe, Ph.D. - Founder and CEO, I Peace Inc.
Send us Fan Mail For most of human history, scientists believed that once a cell became a skin cell, a neuron, or a heart cell, that identity was permanent. Then a group of researchers discovered something extraordinary: cells could be reset. My guest today was there when that discovery happened. Dr. Koji Tanabe, Ph.D. is Founder and CEO of I Peace ( https://ipeace.com/en/ ), one of the world's leading companies advancing induced pluripotent stem cell - or iPSC - technology from the research laboratory into scalable clinical manufacturing. Dr. Tanabe occupies a truly unique place in modern biomedical history. He earned his Ph.D. in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Dr. Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University and was the second author on the landmark scientific paper that first demonstrated the successful creation of human induced pluripotent stem cells - a discovery that fundamentally changed regenerative medicine and ultimately earned Dr. Yamanaka the 2012 Nobel Prize. After helping establish one of the most important technologies in modern biology, Dr. Tanabe continued his work at Stanford University in the laboratory of Dr. Marius Wernig, a pioneer of direct cellular reprogramming, where he investigated how mature blood cells can be directly converted into neurons and explored the molecular mechanisms that govern cellular identity. In 2015, Dr. Tanabe founded I Peace with an ambitious vision: to make clinical-grade iPS cells accessible at industrial scale. Today, the company has developed automated GMP manufacturing platforms capable of producing personalized and clinical-grade iPS cells for researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and regenerative medicine programs around the world. On the episode we'll explore how far the field has come since those first groundbreaking experiments nearly two decades ago, where regenerative medicine stands today, the growing role of iPS cells in drug discovery and transplantation, the excitement surrounding in vivo reprogramming and partial cellular rejuvenation, and what may ultimately become possible when every individual has access to their own personalized stem cell bank. Important Episode Links - Future Medicine Lab with Koji Tanabe YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@FutureMedicineLab My Peace (a service from I Peace) - Personal iPS Cell Banking Service - https://mypeace-personal-ipscbanking.com/en/ #iPSC #StemCells #RegenerativeMedicine #CellularReprogramming #ShinyaYamanaka #NobelPrize #Biotechnology #Biotech #Longevity #AgingResearch #FutureMedicine #PrecisionMedicine #DrugDiscovery #CellTherapy #GeneEngineering #BiomedicalResearch #LifeSciences #HealthcareInnovation #MedicalInnovation #Science #Technology #Innovation #FutureOfMedicine #StemCellResearch #HumanBiology #SyntheticBiology #AIinMedicine #PharmaInnovation #DiseaseModeling #RegenerativeTherapy Support the show
August 6 · 1 hr 13 min
Inside the Global Biotech Ecosystem - Where Innovation Goes Next | Sara Jane Demy - Founder and CEO, Demy-Colton
Send us Fan Mail What happens when you step back from individual biotech companies and look at the entire industry? Today's guest has spent decades connecting biotech CEOs, investors, pharmaceutical leaders, and innovators from around the world - giving her a rare front-row seat to the trends shaping the future of medicine. From AI and TechBio to venture capital, partnering, and breakthrough therapies, we're exploring where biotech is really headed next. Sara Jane Demy is the Founder and CEO of Demy-Colton ( https://demy-colton.com/ ), one of the most influential organizations in life sciences events and ecosystem connectivity. For more than two decades, Sara has operated at the intersection of biotech innovation, venture capital, and pharma partnering - first at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), where she helped launch major industry conferences including BIO CEO & Investor Conference, BIO Investor Forum, BIO Asia, and helped develop the partnering systems now widely used across the industry. Sara later founded Demy-Colton, which runs major industry convenings such as Biotech Showcase, BioFuture, and the Global Biotech CEO Summit - bringing together thousands of CEOs, investors, and BD leaders across the global biotech ecosystem. What makes Sara particularly unique is that she doesn’t sit inside a single company or investment fund - she sits across the entire system. She has a rare, real-time view of how biotech narratives, capital flows, and strategic priorities are shifting across hundreds of companies and investors at once. And that’s what we’re going to explore today: not one company, but the state of biotech itself - what’s changing, what’s breaking, and what’s emerging next. #Biotech #HealthcareInnovation #Pharma #DrugDiscovery #Biotechnology #ArtificialIntelligence #TechBio #PrecisionMedicine #LifeSciences #Innovation #MedicalResearch #FutureOfMedicine #Healthcare #Science #ProgressPotentialPossibilities Support the show
August 4 · 52 min
The End of High Cholesterol? The First Oral PCSK9 Drug Could Change Heart Medicine Forever - Dr. Norman Lepor, MD - Founder and Director, National Heart Institute
Send us Fan Mail Heart disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, and one of its most important modifiable risk factors is elevated LDL cholesterol - the so-called "bad cholesterol." While statins have transformed cardiovascular care for decades, and newer therapies like injectable PCSK9 inhibitors have provided additional options, millions of patients still struggle to achieve recommended LDL cholesterol targets. In fact, despite the availability of effective therapies, roughly seventy percent of patients receiving cholesterol-lowering treatment still fail to reach guideline-recommended LDL cholesterol levels. The reasons are complex - from biology and treatment intensity to adherence and convenience - but the result is the same: preventable heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular deaths continue to occur. Now, a new chapter is beginning. Following years of clinical development, the FDA has approved LIPFENDRA™ (enlicitide), the first oral PCSK9 inhibitor, introducing an entirely new approach to LDL cholesterol reduction ( https://www.lipfendra.com/ ). Joining us today is someone uniquely qualified to help us understand what this approval means for physicians and patients. Dr. Norman Lepor, MD is Founder and Director of the National Heart Institute ( https://nationalheartinstitute.org/about/meet-our-team ), Clinical Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and an Attending Cardiologist at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai ( https://www.cedars-sinai.org/provider/norman-lepor-106852.html ). A graduate of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Lepor has spent more than four decades advancing cardiovascular medicine through patient care, education, and clinical research. He has served as principal investigator on more than sixty clinical trials, authored dozens of influential scientific publications, and has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of America's leading cardiologists. Throughout his career he has also been a champion for women's cardiovascular health and improving access to cutting-edge care for underserved populations. Today we'll discuss why LDL cholesterol remains such a difficult public health challenge, what we've learned over the past three decades of lipid management, how oral PCSK9 inhibition works, and what this newly approved therapy may mean for the future of preventing heart attacks and strokes. #HeartHealth #Cholesterol #LDL #Cardiology #HeartDisease #Prevention #PreventiveMedicine #LIPFENDRA #Enlicitide #PCSK9 #PrecisionMedicine #Longevity #CardiovascularHealth #MedicalInnovation #Biotech #FutureOfMedicine #HealthyAging #SciencePodcast #ProgressPotentialPossibilities #PPPPodcast Support the show
August 2 · 49 min
The Hidden Heart Risk: Amgen’s Dr. Paul Burton on the Future of Preventing Heart Attacks - Dr. Paul Burton, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.C., M.R.C.S., F.R.C.P. - Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer - Amgen
Send us Fan Mail What if I told you there is a major genetic risk factor for heart attacks and strokes that affects roughly one in five people worldwide - but most people have never heard of it, and it isn't measured on a standard cholesterol test? Today we're exploring Lp(a), the hidden cardiovascular risk factor that could reshape the future of heart disease prevention. Dr. Paul Burton, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.C., M.R.C.S., F.R.C.P., is Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Amgen ( https://www.amgen.com/about/leadership/senior-management/paul-burton ). Dr. Burton has built one of the most remarkable careers in modern medicine and biotechnology. After training as a physician and cardiovascular surgeon in the United Kingdom and earning a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from Imperial College London, he transitioned into the biotechnology industry, where he has spent more than two decades leading the development of innovative medicines across cardiovascular disease, oncology, infectious disease, metabolic disorders and RNA therapeutics. Before returning to Amgen as Chief Medical Officer in 2023, Dr. Burton served as Chief Medical Officer of Moderna during one of the most consequential periods in modern public health, overseeing global medical strategy and pharmacovigilance. Prior to that he spent sixteen years at Johnson & Johnson, ultimately serving as Chief Global Medical Affairs Officer while helping pioneer digital medicine initiatives, including collaborations exploring virtual clinical trials. Today, Dr. Burton leads Amgen's worldwide medical organization, helping guide one of the industry's broadest research pipelines while translating breakthrough science into therapies that can improve - and potentially save - millions of lives. One of those efforts is Amgen's ambitious work targeting lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), a genetically inherited cardiovascular risk factor affecting roughly one in five people worldwide. Through its investigational siRNA therapy olpasiran and the expansive OCEAN(a) clinical program, Amgen hopes to answer one of the biggest remaining questions in preventive cardiology: can dramatically lowering Lp(a) prevent heart attacks and strokes? Today we'll explore Dr. Burton's fascinating career, what it means to lead medical strategy at one of biotechnology's largest innovators, and why the next decade may fundamentally reshape how we prevent cardiovascular disease. #Cardiology #HeartDisease #LpA #LipoproteinA #PrecisionMedicine #RNAmedicine #GeneSilencing #Biotechnology #Biotech #Amgen #DrugDiscovery #PharmaceuticalInnovation #FutureOfMedicine #CardiovascularHealth #HeartHealth #MedicalInnovation #HealthcareInnovation #PreventiveMedicine #Genomics #SiRNA #LongevityScience #RegenerativeMedicine #ClinicalTrials #Pharma #LifeSciences #ProgressPotentialPossibilities Support the show
July 28 · 32 min
RNA Medicines, Human Genetics & The Future of Obesity Treatment | Dr. Erik Ingelsson, MD, PhD - Chief Scientific Officer, Wave Life Sciences
Send us Fan Mail For decades we've measured obesity using one simple number on a scale - but what if that's the wrong metric? Today, one of the world's leading experts in genetics explains why the future of obesity medicine may not be about losing more weight, but about losing the right kind of fat while preserving the muscle that keeps us healthy. Dr. Erik Ingelsson, MD, PhD is a physician-scientist and internationally recognized leader in human genetics, genomics, and metabolic disease research. He currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer at Wave Life Sciences ( https://wavelifesciences.com/ ), where he leads the development of next-generation RNA medicines designed to address major unmet medical needs. Before joining Wave, Dr. Ingelsson served as Senior Vice President and Head of Target Discovery at GSK, where he led large-scale efforts integrating human genetics, functional genomics, computational biology, and molecular science to discover and validate new drug targets across therapeutic areas. Prior to his transition into industry, Dr. Ingelsson was Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, where his laboratory used human genetics and functional genomics to uncover new biological mechanisms underlying insulin resistance, obesity, metabolic disease, and cardiovascular risk. Over his career, Dr. Ingelsson has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed scientific publications and has become one of the leading voices in translating insights from human genetic variation into new medicines. At Wave, Dr. Ingelsson is helping pioneer a new approach to obesity treatment: targeting the biology of harmful fat accumulation rather than simply focusing on the number on the scale. Today we’ll discuss the genetics behind obesity, the promise of RNA medicines, why visceral fat may be the true therapeutic target, and whether the next generation of obesity treatments will move beyond weight loss toward healthier body composition. #Obesity #GLP1 #WeightLoss #VisceralFat #MetabolicHealth #RNAMedicine #Genetics #PrecisionMedicine #Longevity #HeartHealth #Diabetes #HumanGenetics #Biotechnology #DrugDiscovery #MuscleHealth #BodyComposition #CardiometabolicHealth #WaveLifeSciences #SciencePodcast #ProgressPotentialPossibilities Support the show
July 28 · 47 min
Nuclear Reactors Are Saving Millions Of Lives | James Scongack - Chair, Canadian Nuclear Isotope Council
Send us Fan Mail When most people hear the word "nuclear," they think of power plants and clean energy production. But every day, nuclear science is helping diagnose and treat millions of cancer patients around the world. Today, we're exploring one of the powerful new tools in our fight against cancer: medical isotopes. Our guest today is James Scongack, Chair of the Canadian Nuclear Isotope Council ( https://www.canadianisotopes.ca/ ), a national not-for-profit advocacy organization that supports over 120 members from across science, academia, healthcare, and nuclear-sector organizations dedicated to maintaining Canada’s position as a global leader in the production of life-saving isotopes. The CNIC raises awareness and advocates for long-term policies that support health-care innovation and will save countless lives for decades to come. Under James's leadership, the CNIC launched its ambitious "Isotopes for Hope" campaign ( https://www.canadianisotopes.ca/isotopes-for-hope-campaign/ ), with the goal of doubling Canada's isotope production by 2030 while improving cancer care both domestically and internationally. Beyond his work at the CNIC, he also serves as the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President at Bruce Power ( https://www.brucepower.com/ ), home to one of the world's largest operating nuclear generating facilities and Canada's largest private-sector electricity infrastructure project. During more than two decades at Bruce Power, James has helped lead one of the most remarkable transformations in modern nuclear energy - from extending the operating life of the Bruce site through a multi-billion-dollar refurbishment program, to expanding its role as one of the world's premier producers of medical isotopes that are helping diagnose and treat cancer around the globe. James also serves as Chair of the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario ( https://www.pogo.ca/ ) and the Nuclear Innovation Institute ( https://www.nuclearinnovationinstitute.ca/ ), reflecting his deep commitment to improving healthcare through science and innovation. Recognized as one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40, recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal, and honored by The Globe and Mail's Best Executive Awards, James has become one of the leading voices on the future of nuclear energy - not only as a source of clean electricity, but as a platform for advancing medicine, biotechnology, and global health. #NuclearMedicine #MedicalIsotopes #CancerTreatment #PrecisionMedicine #Radiopharmaceuticals #Theranostics #CancerResearch #NuclearEnergy #HealthcareInnovation #Biotechnology #Radiology #Oncology #MedicalInnovation #BrucePower #STEM Support the show
July 28 · 55 min
Norovirus: The World's Most Contagious Virus & The Race For The First Antiviral - James Sapirstein, CEO and Dr. Sam Lee, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer - Cocrystal Pharma
Send us Fan Mail Every year, nearly 700 million people around the world are infected by norovirus. Most people know it as a miserable few days of vomiting and diarrhea - but for transplant patients, cancer patients, and other immunocompromised individuals, it can become a chronic and potentially life-threatening infection. And despite decades of research, we still have no approved antiviral treatment. Today we're exploring the science behind the race to change that. James Sapirstein is Chief Executive Officer of Cocrystal Pharma ( https://www.cocrystalpharma.com/ ) and one of the biotechnology industry's most experienced commercialization executives. Throughout a career spanning more than four decades, James has participated in or led an extraordinary twenty-three pharmaceutical product launches while building and leading multiple biotechnology companies. He has served as CEO of Cocrystal Pharma, Contravir Pharmaceuticals, Tobira Therapeutics, First Wave BioPharma, and several other innovative life science organizations. Earlier in his career James held senior leadership roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, Serono Laboratories, Roche, and Eli Lilly, helping bring important therapies for infectious disease and other major conditions to patients around the world. Beyond industry, James has served on numerous biotechnology boards, including the Biotechnology Innovation Organization and BioNJ, making him one of the most respected leaders in the biotechnology ecosystem. James received a BS (Pharmacy) from Rutgers University and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Dr. Sam Lee, Ph.D. is President and Chief Scientific Officer of Cocrystal Pharma. Dr. Lee has devoted more than twenty-five years to discovering next-generation antiviral medicines. Before joining Cocrystal, he led anti-infective drug discovery efforts at ICOS Corporation, where he pioneered the integration of protein crystallography and structure-based screening technologies into pharmaceutical research. His scientific work contributed to the development of PI3K delta inhibitors that ultimately led to an FDA-approved therapy. Dr. Lee earned his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Notre Dame before completing postdoctoral research in viral biochemistry at Stanford University under renowned molecular biologist Dr. I. R. Lehman. His career has focused on understanding viruses at the atomic level to design highly targeted antiviral drugs capable of overcoming viral evolution and resistance. #Norovirus #AntiviralResearch #DrugDiscovery #Biotechnology #Biotech #PharmaInnovation #RNAViruses #ViralDiseases #InfectiousDisease #PublicHealth #StructureBasedDrugDiscovery #PrecisionMedicine #MedicinesOfTheFuture #FutureOfHealthcare #BiomedicalResearch #PharmaceuticalInnovation #ClinicalTrials #PandemicPreparedness #HealthcareInnovation #ScienceAndTechnology #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #PPP Support the show
July 23 · 55 min
Can Photobiomodulation Improve Brain Health? A New Frontier In Neuroscience Research - Dr. Neda Rashidi-Ranjbar, MD, Ph.D. - Unity Health Toronto - St. Michael's Hospital / Peter Adams, VP, Business Development, VieLight
Send us Fan Mail What if one of the most intriguing Alzheimer’s interventions isn’t a drug…but light? Light has long been recognized as essential for vision, sleep, and circadian rhythms - but could certain wavelengths of light actually influence the biology of the brain itself? Recent research into photobiomodulation is exploring whether carefully delivered near-infrared and red light can improve mitochondrial function, reduce neuroinflammation, enhance blood flow, and potentially slow aspects of cognitive decline. A newly published pilot study in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease ( https://www.vielight.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Vielight-University-of-Toronto-MCI-Publication.pdf ) reported improvements in memory and cognition among individuals with mild cognitive impairment following six weeks of non-invasive light therapy. While the findings are early, they raise fascinating questions about whether non-drug technologies could someday complement traditional Alzheimer's treatments. Today we're joined by two guests approaching this challenge from different perspectives. Dr. Neda Rashidi-Ranjbar, MD, Ph.D. ( https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4y5SuLYAAAAJ&hl=en) is a physician-scientist, neuroscientist, and clinical research leader at Unity Health Toronto - St. Michael's Hospital ( https://unityhealth.to/locations/st-michaels-hospital/ ), where she leads a major neurodegenerative disease research program focused on mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Her work spans clinical trials, biomarkers, neuroimaging, cognitive testing, and translational neuroscience, helping bridge discoveries from the laboratory into patient care. Joining her is Peter Adams, Vice President of Business Development at VieLight ( https://www.vielight.com/ ), who has spent decades commercializing innovative healthcare technologies following leadership roles with Intel, MaRS Discovery District, and numerous international technology companies. His work focuses on bringing photobiomodulation technologies from research into real-world clinical use. Together we'll discuss the emerging science behind photobiomodulation, what we know about using light to influence brain function, how this research fits alongside today's rapidly evolving Alzheimer's therapies, and what the next generation of clinical trials will need to demonstrate as this approach becomes part of mainstream neurological care. #Alzheimers #BrainHealth #DementiaResearch #Neuroscience #Photobiomodulation #LightTherapy #MemoryLoss #CognitiveHealth #AgingBrain #MCI #Neurotechnology #MedicalInnovation #BrainScience #HealthyAging #MedicalResearch #Longevity #Biotech #Neurodegeneration Support the show

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