How It’s Med: Recent Episodes
How Its Med Team
We're back for another week! Geoff's joined by Michael Millar - CEO and Founder of Verto Inc., once again. While we heard about oil wells, digital twins, and the founding of Verto last time, we get to dig into Verto's early days, deployment, and future in the digital front door space this time. There's more, but to find out, you have to tune in!
Discover more episodes at - https://plinkhq.com/i/1518370407?to=page
Welcome back to this episode of How Its Med. This time, Geoff’s joined by Michael Millar - CEO and Founder of Verto Inc. Between exploring Verto's multi-year journey of Verto to get to where it is today, to understanding what underlies Michael's unique journey from public sector healthcare technology insider to academic and into the startup world - with technology concepts lent from the energy sector, we do a deep dive into Michael's origins - and more!
Discover more episodes at - https://plinkhq.com/i/1518370407?to=page
Ultrasound is all the rage in acute care, but miniaturized ultrasound has use cases that can save hospitals thousands of dollars and patients days of stress and unnecessary treatment by preventing ICU admissions. So what makes it so hard to bring a device that delivers exactly these benefits to market?
On this episode, Geoff and Joe talk about:
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The challenges of aligning key decision makers with different priorities during any healthcare sales cycle.
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The role of mentorship in identifying where and how to deploy sales resources for the purpose of business development in the resource-strapped environment of a startup business.
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The difficulties associated with new technology adoption in healthcare by healthcare providers.
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Patient safety as a uniting driver in adopting new healthcare technologies.
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The challenges of user interface development in healthcare, and how it is necessary to be flexible in this arena as the product's user becomes more clear.
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The gaps in Canada's healthcare innovation ecosystem - and how we can fill them.
Patient flow is critical in these times of 18 hour waits in the emergency room; but what does a sticker on your neck have to do with it all?
Welcome back to this episode of How It’s Med. This time around, Geoff’s joined by Joe Eibl, co-founder and CEO of Flosonics. Other than debating as to whether or note Joe truly is Batman, we delved into how a project on mining tailings analysis led to a startup that could minimize preventable transfers to critical care - and save patients, the healthcare system, and providers grief, dollars, and stress in the meanwhile.
Discover more episodes at - https://plinkhq.com/i/1518370407?to=page
How closely are medical education and ensuring excellent patient flow tied? According to Dr. Art Papier, more than you would think.
On this episode of How its Med, we rejoin Dr. Art Papier, co-founder and CEO of VisualDx. Beyond equity in skincare diagnostics, Dr. Papier shared the work that VisualDx is doing now to leverage medical informatics and AI - not just in the hands of clinicians, but also in those of patients, to ensure excellent access to healthcare in the future.
On this episode of How its Med, we rejoin Dr. Art Papier, co-founder and CEO of VisualDx. Beyond equity in skincare diagnostics we talked about:
- The importance of equity in dermatological diagnostics.
- How Art turned a collection of high-quality medical images into a medical education and diagnostics platform.
- The role of patient-centered AI in enhancing access to healthcare, and subsequently, the role of healthcare providers in the future of healthcare.
- How Dr. Papier shared the work that VisualDx is doing now to leverage medical informatics and AI - not just in the hands of clinicians, but also in those of patients, to ensure excellent access to healthcare in the future.
- Art’s reflections on VisualDx as a company as the appropriate way to tackle the issues of inequities in healthcare, access to care, and inefficiencies in medical education.
Discover more episodes at - https://plinkhq.com/i/1518370407?to=page
Timestamps
01:50-04:40 - Building a discrimination-free database, to provide equitable standard of care across the board.
04:41-08:58 - What thought goes into the branding of a “clinical decision support system”?
08:58-17:00 - How does the advancement of AI affect medicine? And how do the two complement each other?
17:01-20:02 - How to build a collaboration between the doctor, the patient, and technology.
20:03-23:08 - The central approach towards designing AYSA, a consumer facing tool to diagnose skin related conditions.
23:09-26:55 - Art explains the longevity of VisualDx, and what it takes to construct a long-term business.
Dermatology isn’t just lotions and potions 🧙; it’s more about AI, equity, and a patient-led healthcare than you think. 🤯
Welcome back to this episode of How Its Med. This time, Geoff’s joined by Dr. Art Papier, artist 🧑🎨 and printmaker, dermatologist, and co-founder and CEO of VisualDx. This conversation wasn’t only skin-deep, though; we talked about the origins of the company in medical informatics 🤖, the disappointing pace of the advance of the field, and what VisualDx hopes to do to change it all.
Discover more episodes at - https://plinkhq.com/i/1518370407?to=page
Timestamps
02:30-04:20 - Art’s journey into dermatology.
04:21-11:24 - The what, the when and the how of medical informatics.
11:25-14:58 - The state of medical informatics (hint: it’s nowhere near where it should be).
14:59-17:24 - Art’s vision for the field of medical informatics.
17:25-26:29 - The story of the inception and purpose of VisualDx.
26:30-30:18 - Art’s explanation and discussion of the architecture behind VisualDx.
What do engineers have to do with drug discovery and development, a job which primarily employs chemists, biologists and clinical researchers? How does Vial aim to transform the ways of drug discovery and clinical trials? And how will AI help in all of this?
Welcome to part two of our conversation with Miguel Testa on Med Tech Talks. As we delve deeper into Vial’s work and Miguel’s role at the company, we find out the answers to our questions above, and some more!
Discover more episodes at - https://plinkhq.com/i/1518370407?to=page
Timestamps
01:30-05:44 - How does a company with a primarily engineering base venture into drug discovery and development?
05:45-07:49 - Vertical integration in the drug discovery process.
07:50-10:04 - The future of outsourcing processes in the wake of rapidly advancing technologies.
10:05-13:18 - Comparing Vial with other companies doing similar work in the drug discovery space.
13:19-18:41 - What does AI bring to clinical trials?
18:42-23:48 - Miguel explains how his role at Vial has changed over time, and his advice for people starting out in their careers.
23:49-24:42 - Now hiring at Vial!
Pursuing an engineering degree and ending up working at a clinical trial software company. That’s the short version of Miguel Testa’s professional journey.
Welcome to a new episode of Med Tech Talks. This week, we sit down to talk with Miguel Testa, former VP of Engineering at Vial. Learn more about how a clinical trial software company works, what are the challenges of leading a cross-disciplinary team and how drug development can be augmented with advancing technology.
Discover more episodes at - https://plinkhq.com/i/1518370407?to=page
Timestamps
01:07-02:35 - What to teletubbies and babies have in common?
03:21-04:40 - Miguel’s pull towards engineering.
04:41-06:23 - Working at Vial, and foraying into entrepreneurship.
06:24-09:33 - What does Vial really do?
09:34-14:47 - Miguel’s approach towards problem solving, and the problems that he encounters in building a clinical trials software.
14:48-20:11 - Leading an inter-disciplinary team, it’s challenges and how to overcome them.
20:12-24:23 - Building beyond Vial and developing drugs at Battery Bio.
Last time, we talked about the beginnings of Mohamed’s incredible journey into medicine. From there on, he’s come a long way to where he is today, lowering the day-to-day workload of physicians across Canada.
Welcome to the second part of our conversation with Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia on Med Tech Talks. Learn more about the procurement process of new technologies in the healthcare system in Canada, and why we need more innovation procurement coming from start-ups across the country. Also find out how a family of bots is reducing physician burnout and making administrative work for physicians a hassle-free task.
Discover more episodes at - https://plinkhq.com/i/1518370407?to=page
Timestamps
01:45-03:19 - Getting the tech to the people for whom it’s made; the physicians.
03:20-05:57 - Why is procurement of new technology so difficult?
05:59-07:38 - Anybody feel like having some pizza?🍕
07:39-12:38 - Meet the bot family that’s making physicians’ work easier.
12:38-15:27 - Involving the physicians in solving problems that they themselves are facing.
15:28-19:38 - Improving the entire tech procurement process, and involving more start-ups for the same.
19:39-21:20 - Will med-tech devices and bots blend into the healthcare system?
From his background in biochemistry and computer science to his motivation for studying medicine, to building the eHealth Centre of Excellence, Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia is no short of stories.
This time around, we chat with Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia, the CEO of the eHealth Centre of Excellence and currently also serving on the Board of Directors of Digital Health Canada. Geoff and Mohamed talk about the reasons Mohamed got into the field of medicine, the importance of clinical trials and success and failures in the digital health space.
Discover more episodes at - https://plinkhq.com/i/1518370407?to=page
Timestamps
01:47-02:44 - Weather and work-flow.
02:45-04:30 - Family background as the impetus to pursue the field of medicine.
04:30-05:43 - Why med-tech specifically?
05:44-07:39 - The landscape of the digital health space when Mohamed entered the field.
07:40-11:20 - Starting out with the goal of making healthcare more personal, and how digital health has made that possible over the years.
11:21-12:55 - The importance of diligent healthcare assessment in clinical trials.
12:55-16:52 - Learning lessons from his experiences, Mohamed talks about founding the eHealth Centre of Excellence.
16:53-18:09 - Why do majority of health-tech initiatives fail?
18:10-21:20 - Building the eHealth Centre of Excellence in a public service role instead of going for the start-up route.
Engineers vs. Doctors. Is it actually that big of a conflict? Geof Auchinleck certainly does not agree. According to him, the two professions need to work very closely together for the increment of the healthcare system at large.
On part 2 of Med Tech Talks with Geof Auchinleck, he and our Geoff discuss his professional journey as a biomedical engineer, how he came to co-found Claris Healthcare, and the impact that it aims to create in countries with ageing populations.
Discover more at - https://www.howitsmed.com/
Timestamps
02:04-03:38 - Did the involvement of engineers ever irk the physicians? Geof gives his honest opinion about it.
03:39-04:38 - Geof’s “scotch-less” definition of biomedical engineering, for a five-year-old.
04:39-06:32 - The level of involvement of physicians in the process of biomedical engineers to improve the healthcare system.
06:35-08:03 - Geof’s professional journey- from Neoteric to retirement, and then coming out of retirement and founding Claris Healthcare.
08:04-14:52 - The innovative story of Claris Healthcare, from the co-founder himself.
14:53-16:19 - Geof explains the business behind Claris, and all it’s creativity to keep seniors informed about their health.
16:20-18:55 - Geof tells us about the personal gratification and his moments of pride in his line of work.
18:57-21:15 - One eye on the future - Geof’s intrigue with AI and its impact in the years to come.
Robots🤖 in surgery🩺 is a pretty normal thing now. But what about when they were introduced to the healthcare industry? How did it happen? And how has technology, as a whole, impacted the healthcare industry?
On this episode of Med Tech Talks, we sit down with Geof Auchinleck, the co-founder and CEO of Claris Healthcare, and find out the answers to the questions above. Geof, “the barcode guy”, shares his stories from the 70s and 80s and sheds light on how far the healthcare industry has come since the introduction of technology.
Discover more at - https://www.howitsmed.com/
Timestamps
01:59-04:28 - First love, first job, first step towards the medical device field.
04:30-05:48 - Biomedical engineering then vs. biomedical engineering now, in the words of Geof.
05:49-08:57 - Geof’s first ever project - robots in surgery, and the story behind it.
08:58-11:00 - The surgeons’ reactions to that robot, and other snippets from that historic feat of technology.
11:04-13:29 - Geof remembers his favourite projects and inventions over the years.
13:30-15:45 - Geof’s fascination with barcodes.
15:45-18:45 - The challenges and difficulties in the field of healthcare, and how Geof tackled them.
18:46-21:07 - How technological advancements have revolutionized the healthcare industry, and Geof explains how things used to be like back in the 70s and 80s.
Like a phoenix arising out of a heap of ashes, the metaphorical equivalent of that is the birth of a robust and dynamic healthcare system from a heap of paper records buried somewhere in a hospital in South Africa. That is the short version of the evolution of T6 Health Systems.
On part 2 of this episode of Med Tech Talks with Morad Hameed, we delve deeper into his professional life, as Geoffrey Ching chats more about T6 Health Systems, a boisterous health system, built exclusively for trauma patients. The inspiration, the stories, the failures, the successes; we get to know about them all.
Discover more at - https://www.howitsmed.com/
Timestamps
01:55-03:04 - What's the deal with T6 Health Systems? Morad breaks it down in just about 30 seconds!
03:05-08:03 - Where injuries and geography collide, Morad's research journey to South Africa begins.
08:03-09:40 - The birth of T6: a story buried under an enormous archive of paper records tucked away in South Africa..
09:41-12:18 - T6 and their colossal data collection, transforming the lives of trauma patients.
12:19-17:18 - Morad's juggling act: trauma surgery, teaching, and launching a start-up from scratch.
17:18-20:15 - The most cliched, yet the most important takeaway - Learning from your failures; be it surgery or business.
20:16-22:12 - Defining success within the framework of T6 Health Systems
22:13-24:43 - Morad's expertise as a trauma surgeon and in public health applies to his work at T6 as well, displaying their cross-applicability.
While trauma care and public health may not initially appear inter-related, Dr. Morad convincingly elaborates how they are.
On the first part of this week's Med Tech Talks, Geoffrey Ching engages with Dr. Morad Hameed, trauma surgeon at Vancouver General Hospital, and also the Chief Medical Officer and co-founder of T6 Health Systems. Their discussion spans a wide array of topics, including Morad's formative experiences in the medical field, his academic pursuits during his Master of Public Health (MPH) studies, and the evolution of general surgery over the years.
Discover more at - https://www.howitsmed.com/
Timestamps
02:05-03:30 - Morad recounts the inspiring tale of his greatest role model, his aunt.
03:30-06:36 - Why choose medicine? And particularly, why surgery?
06:37-09:22 - Morad's aspiration to contribute to public health and how that influenced his decision to pursue trauma surgery while also obtaining an MPH.
09:22-11:48 - Drawing inspiration to link clinical surgery with public health through the insights of his MPH professor.
11:49-15:49 - Recognizing the crucial intersection of clinical medicine and public health, with trauma care specialists playing a significant role in this synergy.
15:50-21:25 - Morad elaborates on the concept of the three waves of innovation in the field of surgery.
21:25-24:25 - The formation of "Learning Health Systems" through medical innovations and their impact on practical real-world outcomes.
Are robots going to take our jobs?🤖
Welcome back to the second part of our conversation with Michele Marzola, the co-founder and CEO of XSurgical Robotics. This time, Geoffrey gets into the nitty-gritties of Michele’s work, and how surgical robotics, instead of their perceived idea of taking away human jobs, are in reality facilitating much better outcomes, in the context of assisting surgeons to perform complicated surgeries with much enhanced precision now.
Geoff and Michele also discuss the future of XSurgical, and healthcare investments at large.
Timestamps
01:32-04:13 - Developing the surgical robot is a mammoth task, and Michele explains why.
04:14-08:34 - XSurgical Robots being deployed in a military base camp at a battlefield.
08:33-11:24 - The varied uses of XSurgical’s product; from soft-tissue surgery to performing a knee-replacement surgery.
11:25-14:20 - How various surgeons have reacted to the robots performing their job.
14:21-18:45 - Michele’s two-pronged approach towards where and what he invests in - life sciences and medical devices vs. digital healthcare and diagnostics.
18:46-23:25 - Michele talks about a few projects he’s currently invested in that he thinks are potential gamechangers.
23:26-25:25 - Future projects that Michele has his eyes on, and his money ready to put in.
Taking a robot from a spaceship🚀 and employing it in a surgery🏥
Welcome to this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks. This time, we chat with Michele Marzola, an engineer, an MBA, an ex-consultant, and now a life-sciences investor. Michele is a co-founder of XSurgical Robotics, a company that specializes in building robots for surgery.
Geoff and Michele talk at length about Michele’s early days at IBM, his foray into investment and how this concept of democratized surgical robotics developed from inception to where it is today.
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Timestamps
01:00-02:36 - The motivation to become a life-sciences investor.
03:02-06:58 - A lifelong multitasker, Michele talks about his early days in consulting, and how life-science investing happened.
07:00-09:15 - Bringing into life sciences his experience from previous roles as a consultant, and how the two differ in practice.
09:16-11:43 - Michele’s most memorable projects at IBM.
11:44-14:18 - Working with scientific professionals for the first time.
14:19-18:17 - The inception of XSurgical Robotics; how a NASA mission inspired Michele to build robots for surgery.
18:18-22:45 - Michele stresses on the need for democratization of surgical robotics.
22:48-25:34 - Using AI to reduce the time-lag for surgeries happening concurrently on two different continents.
25:35-29:44 - Making the choice to have their platform open to all: does it pose a risk to profitability?
Two health-tech bros, talking nerd stuff. That is basically what this episode is.
Welcome back to our conversation with Rishad Usmani MD, founder of HealthTech Investors. On this week’s Med Tech Talks, Geoffrey and Rishad get technical. Really, really, technical. From ROIs to hybrid healthcare models to epigenetics, it’s a wild ride throughout the episode.
Discover more at https://www.howitsmed.com
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Timestamps
01:34-04:51 - How Rishad got into healthcare angel investing.
04:52-10:08 - Building an “angel syndicate” with co-physicians.
10:10-12:16 - Rishad tells us about the recently concluded Pitch Competition.
12:17-17:14 - “A digital front door leading to a hybrid home care model for healthcare delivery.” : An explainer.
17:15-20:02 - Tackling burnout in physicians, and taking on the financial ramifications of it at the same time.
20:02-23:42 - Rishad solves Geoffrey’s dilemma about the two-pronged nature of achieving tangible financial ROIs whilst mitigating physician burnout.
23:42-25:17 - The importance of community building in healthcare.
25:18-28:28 - Employing epigenetics in the development of targeted medicine and facilitate disease reversal.
It’s difficult enough focusing on one thing to do, let alone four. But somehow Rishad manages to do it really really well and with quite some ease.
Welcome to part one of this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks. This time, we chat with Rishad Usmani, who is a doctor, a start-up founder, an investor, a podcaster, and so much more. Rishad has had quite an eventful journey so far, about which he talks at length with our host, Geoffrey Ching.
Discover more at https://www.howitsmed.com
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Timestamps
00:58-02:32 - Two podcasters in a (meeting) room.
03:32-14:04 - Rishad takes us down the road through his educational and professional journey, and it is some ride.
14:05-18:43 - How an inherent dissatisfaction with the systems in place led to the formation of ClinicUp.
18:44-22:17 - The rise of ClinicUp, the roadblocks it faced, and its eventual shutting down.
22:21-24:49 - Rishad’s takeaways from running ClinicUp, as he gives his advice to emerging start-up founders.
24:51-28:54 - Should physicians work as consultants for healthcare start-ups?
Healthcare entrepreneurship and healthcare professionals might not see eye-to-eye on a variety of topics, but the one thing they both have in common is the advancement of healthcare and the elevation of patient care around the world.
Welcome back to our conversation with Dr. Sven Jungmann, co-founder and CEO of Halitus GmbH. In this week’s episode, Sven discusses about his progression from residency to entrepreneurship, the challenges he had to face in doing so, and much more.
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Timestamps
02:08-04:45 - Walking the road less travelled - Sven’s transition from residency to taking up a CMO role.
04:45-10:52 - Being called unethical as a doctor - the emotional and professional challenges of working in “private sector healthcare”.
10:53-13:05 - Unlearning. One of the indispensable steps to entrepreneurial success.
13:06-17:13 - Unlearning as a physician and unlearning as an entrepreneur; there’s a stark difference between the two.
17:14-20:20 - Opinions vs. Facts - encouraging healthy psychological discourse at the workplace.
20:21-24:55 - Sven describes the various classifications, or archetypes, that exist in healthcare today.
24:56-28:36 - How physicians of today are evolving, with the rapid evolution of technology.
28:37-32:52 - Everybody’s running with the data hype-train, and Sven’s a part of it as well.
32:53-34:40 - Sven almost forgets about Canada as he updates us about what’s coming next.
A master career juggler, who somehow manages to impact more and more people through his marvellous field of work. We are talking about a pioneer of digital healthcare entrepreneurship in Europe, Dr. Sven Jungmann.
In this week’s episode, we talk to Sven about his dream of joining the armed forces and why he deviated from that to venture into healthcare. Sven also gives his straightforward opinions about the importance of impact in healthcare, and how he aims to create a big one himself.
Discover more at https://www.howitsmed.com
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Timestamps
00:59-03:54 - So who is Sven Jungmann? A card game inventor? A doctor? A tech guy? Well he’s all three of those!
04:15-09:00 - Find out the one thing that you love, and be the best at it. Sven doesn’t completely agree with this notion, and he has his reasons too!
09:08-13:22 - A lifelong dream of joining the armed forces, and how that changed when an army sniper, and his mentor, advised Sven to not pursue it.
13:23-17:50 - Scaling up - why is it important? Sven reflects upon his eureka moment, when he realized how much of an impact he wanted to make in his field of work.
17:51-19:04 - An explainer on effective altruism, and how that influenced Sven’s educational journey at Oxford.
19:05-23:59 - Going back to medicine after Oxford, then getting back out of it to go into digital health start-ups; a glimpse of Sven’s topsy-turvy career arc.
24:00-27:10 - Sven talks about the different roles that conventional doctors are now taking up while including himself in the list as well.
Big data 📊 is on everybody’s mind. But how are healthcare systems coping up with the ever-growing need for this data, without compromising on patient data privacy?
Welcome back to our conversation with Kevin Jones, Managing Partner at Odyssey Medical. This time, we talk in depth about the need and lack thereof, of data in healthcare, and how healthcare systems and governments must go about it without compromising on the standard of care or the patient’s right to data privacy.
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Timestamps
01:31-04:55 - Figuring out the chinks in the armour of event healthcare management, using extensive data and healthcare information.
04:56-06:03 - The parallels between mass gathering medicine and disaster response medicine.
06:03-07:54 - The role of a mass-gathering medicine company in chalking out the plans for an “event”.
07:55-12:47 - The age-old question of technology being a boon or a bane - how are Odyssey Medical, and healthcare in general, gearing up for the latest tech in the biz?
12:48-14:11 - Patient data privacy - the other guillotine hanging over the health-tech industry.
14:12-18:50 - Kevin’s two cents on the latest updates in healthcare innovation that he has his eyes on.
Did you know that ketchup🍅 can be used as a sunscreen? Kevin Jones certainly knows about it👀
Welcome to this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks. This time, we chat with Kevin Jones, the Managing Partner of Odyssey Medical Inc. Kevin has been a lifelong teacher, and advocates the importance of on-ground and real-life education alongside standard classroom education. He also tells us about his beginnings as a teacher, and how he further ventured into the world of insurance and event medical management.
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Timestamps
01:01-02:24 - Desert island condiments.
02:56-04:34 - Intro(spection)s, and favourite t-shirt colours.
04:34-09:42 - Kevin’s unique way of combining outdoor recreation and teaching during his time at Georgian College.
09:45-13:24 - The role of an educator in risk assessment at Gougeon Insurance, and how the two are closely related.
13:25-17:54 - How Kevin managed to bring his real-life experience into the classroom, as he elaborates on the perception of risk.
17:55-22:04 - Kevin’s story of stumbling into the world of event medical management.
22:05-23:40 - Can you prepare for every eventuality?
23:40-26:49 - Real-life instances that an event medical management company experiences, through Kevin’s lens.
26:50-29:35 - Kevin tries to explain his job to a five year old.
29:35-33:25 - The intricacies and extensive planning that go into the preparation for every event.
Eliminating plastics to save the turtles🐢. And the future generations too.
That’s probably the motivation Linh has to do what he does.
Welcome back to our conversation with Linh Le. This week, on part 2 of this episode, Geoffrey chats to Linh about his role at UBC and how the entire process of obtaining and commercializing a patent works. They also get into the role Linh plays at BUYO Bioplastics, and why working for the environment is something that is majorly overlooked and yet direly needs to be done.
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Timestamps
01:57-03:59 - The different role that tech transfer offices play at various universities across the USA and Canada.
04:00-05:28 - Linh’s obviously biased towards Vancouver BC, and for the right reasons as well!
05:28-10:28 - Commercialization of university spun-off patents- the whole process of raking in the dough💰
10:28-14:09 - The minutest of details, the right time to file a patent application, and the right time to leave an incubator space; Linh answers all these questions.
14:13-18:34 - Providing the money to the right causes- Linh’s role in the Commercialization Advisory Board for the advancement of innovations in nano-medicine.
18:35-23:55 - What’s in a name? Linh talks about the origin and motivation behind BUYO Bioplastics, and the impact they aim to create in healthcare.
Flexing his ability to run a marathon 🏃♂️ with little to no training, talking to Linh is quite the treat for us.
On this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks, Geoff chats with Linh Le, the founder of Flextrapower and BUYO Bioplastics, as they navigate through Linh’s entrepreneurial journey. Linh talks about founding Flextrapower, the challenges he faced, working with patents at the tech transfer office, and much more from the past 10 years of his life.
Discover more at https://www.howitsmed.com/
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Timestamps
00:51-04:01 - Introductions - Getting a PhD. Running a marathon. Flexing on Geoff. Etc.
04:02-06:15 - Realizing the flexibility of graphene, and founding Flextrapower during his PhD.
06:15-09:30 - Go for tenure or entrepreneurship? Linh explains why he went for the latter.
09:31-13:05 - Linh’s role as a tech transfer associate, working with patents, and shortlisting potential future partners at Flextrapower.
13:05-17:42 - Choosing the right patent, as well as the right people to work with.
17:43-21:27 - Comparing an entrepreneurial undergrad’s opportunities 10 years ago versus now; the growth, the support, and everything in between.
21:28-23:58 - The challenges that budding entrepreneurs face when building something new’ and Linh’s perspective on how to face them.
23:59-25:35 - Linh’s two cents on what new entrepreneurs need to correct about their approach towards building their businesses.
26:05-28:28 - How to handle the commercialization of intellectual property from the university level to a large scale market - Linh puts forth his point of view.
You should never ever give up.
“Well that’s dumb advice.” - Scott Phillips 👀
He is definitely against giving up on yourself. He is however, very pro-giving up on bad ideas.
This week, on part 2 of our conversation with Scott Phillips, President of StarFish Medical, Scott tells us about the tricks of his trade. He enunciates on the importance of a well-timed exit strategy for entrepreneurs, as he sheds light on the ever-expanding field of med-tech and how clinicians are adapting to the change.
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Timestamps
02:36-08:00 - The role of StarFish Medical as a consultant company to emerging start-ups, and the importance of an well-timed exit.
08:00-13:04 - The influx of more and more physicians in the med-tech arena, and the different roles they play in this new and emerging field.
13:05-15:20 - Are you a clinician looking to get into med-tech? THEN THIS SEGMENT IS SPECIFICALLY FOR YOU!
15:21-20:55 - The successes, and failures of StarFish Medical over its two decade lifespan so far.
20:55-24:10 - Giving constructive criticism and meaningful advice doesn’t always bode well for Scott, and he tells us how.
24:10-26:10 - The next big thing according to Scott - bio-tech!?
Building machines is hard. Building medical devices is even harder. But Scott Phillips and his company, StarFish Medical do it with laser-sharp precision, and have been doing so for the better part of the last two decades now.
On part 1 of this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks, we chat with one of the pioneers of the medical device design industry, Scott Phillips. An engineer by profession, Scott is one of the most revered personalities in the field of medical device design, and has a lot of stories to tell about how he’s got to where he is today.
01:15-03:15 - What’s in a name? What’s in a shape?
04:05-06:42 - Scott’s experiences working as an engineer, prior to StarFish Medical.
06:43-08:30 - Life as a contract engineer, and how it was a precursor for the things to come.
08:31-11:25 - The origin story of StarFish Medical, with a special cameo of a sleeping baby 👶
11:26-14:14 - Working with other engineers vs. working alone; what's the difference?
14:15-16:25 - The initial challenges of running StarFish Medical, and how Scott navigated his way through them.
16:26-19:55 - Shifting the company's focus on a particular niche in the medical industry, and establishing StarFish as a design company.
19:56-23:16 - The importance of having highly-skilled professionals in an extremely regulated industry, such as the medical devices industry.
23:17-24:41 - The evolution of Scott Phillips Engineering into StarFish Medical.
24:42-31:10 - The “Pathfinder Process” - What exactly it is, and its utility in the work that StarFish does.
Doctor👨⚕️. Professor👨🏫. Health-tech innovator👨💻. Vipan Nikore is a man of many hats.
On part 2 of Geoffrey Ching’s conversation with Vipan Nikore, co-founder of Homecare Hub, we get to know more about his professional endeavours such as founding UFLOW, his role as an assistant professor at UofT, his work at TD Bank, and last but not the least, co-founding Homecare Hub.
Timestamps:
02:06-06:15 - How UFLOW came into existence, and the role that a sense of community among the youth of inner cities played in it.
06:15-10:13 - Taking his learnings and experiences from UFLOW to UofT, where Vipan teaches medical students and future physicians about leadership.
10:14-17:26 - Vipan’s work with TD Bank, and how the pandemic thrust him into two years of non-stop work.
17:26-22:15 - Starting Homecare Hub right before the pandemic hit, and the impetus that drove Vipan to do so.
22:15-23:34 - Describing the concept of Homecare Hub to a 5-year-old.
23:35-29:36 - The successes, the failures, and the challenges of running Homecare Hub, as Vipan explains on what he visualizes the future of Homecare Hub to be like.
When you look for lifelong innovators in the health-tech field, the first name that will pop up will always be Vipan Nikore. This time around, we welcome Vipan to our podcast, who brings with him a massive amount of knowledge about innovation in the field of healthcare.
On part 1 of this week’s episode, Geoffrey has a lengthy conversation with Vipan about his days at IBM, his time at medical school, and how technology and healthcare together can change the world for good.
Timestamps:
03:41-06:30 - From Citibank, to Sun Microsystems, to IBM, Vipan had quite an interesting start to his career.
06:31-08:17 - Health? Or tech? Why not both, answers Vipan.
08:17-11:40 - Coming “back” to healthcare after working in IBM, and Vipan’s outlook towards health equity.
11:40-14:30 - The challenges that under-served communities face when it comes to access to healthcare services.
14:31-16:47 - The importance of quality training across spectrums, across countries, for the improvement of healthcare systems around the world.
16:48-18:12 - Vipan elaborates further the gaps that he observed in the system, during his time at UCLA.
18:12-20:45 - Vipan lists some of his favourite spectacles of innovation, including one involving just a megaphone.
20:45-23:50 - Finding his passion, and exploring his options; Vipan’s experiences during medical school.
23:51-26:18 - Choosing the right technologies to work on, and Vipan’s process of introducing innovation to the health-tech sector.
26:19-28:53 - The challenges of new technology - and how collaborations between various sectors can solve this problem.
A device that looks like an astronaut’s helmet and helps you breathe, but not in space, instead, in a hospital… is it science fiction? Arpan and his team at Clarivent will certainly disagree!
On the second part of Med Tech Talks with Arpan Grover, our co-hosts Geoff and Abdo dive deeper into Arpan’s professional trajectory, as he delves into his time at COSMIC during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how Clarivent came out of it as a by-product, and now a full-time job for Arpan.
Timestamps:
01:43-07:44 - Arpan explains the concept of what Clarivent does, the details of the product they’re building, and how they plan to improve it further.
07:45-11:30 - Dealing with the legal aspect of business, and trying to patent the technology that Clarivent is building.
11:30-14:41 - Finding the product-market fit for a product built specifically for COVID? No big deal!
14:45-17:30 - Arpan explains the innovation that Clarivent brings with their helmets, and how they solve the discomforts of the traditional CPAP masks.
17:31-19:32 - Scaling up; and the challenges that a new medical device faces during its initial trials at hospitals.
19:33-22:35 - Arpan comments on his choice of building his own start-up and going through that struggle, instead of taking the short route and working at an already established company.
Buildings and biomed do not have anything in common, unless Arpan Grover figures out the connecting link between the two.
On part 1 of this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks, our co-hosts Geoffrey Ching and Abdo Elhosary chat with Arpan Grover, CEO of Clarivent Medical. Arpan tells us about his childhood influences, his inclination towards biomedical devices, and how Clarivent took birth in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Timestamps:
02:31-04:11 - What does a normal day at the office look like for Arpan?
04:12-06:48 - Architectural dreams from childhood, interning under a civil engineer, and finally choosing biomed.
06:48-09:14 - A potential link between architecture and biomedical engineering?
09:25-11:55 - Enrolling in an entirely new program at UBC, and what that experience was like for Arpan.
11:55-15:13 - So what really attracted people to biomedical engineering? Arpan gives his take.
15:14-17:17 - Arpan’s personal story of why he went into biomed, and his particular areas of interest in the field.
17:53-22:52 - The whole story behind COSMIC, Arpan’s association with it, and how Clarivent spun-off from it.
22:53-27:16 - How Clarivent was born, and the learnings so far; 2 years since its inception.
A robust health-system inspired from of a mountain of paper records. That is basically a condensed definition of how T6 Health Systems came into existence.
On part 2 of our conversation with Morad Hameed, we delve deeper into his professional life, as Geoffrey Ching chats more about T6 Health Systems, a boisterous health system, built exclusively for trauma patients. The inspiration, the stories, the failures, the successes; we get to know about them all.
Timestamps:
01:55-03:04 - So what is T6 Health Systems? Morad gives us a 30-second explainer.
03:05-08:03 - The intersection between injury and geography, and how that took Morad’s research to South Africa.
08:03-09:40 - The origin story of T6, courtesy of a mountain of paper records in South Africa.
09:41-12:18 - The impact of T6’s enormous data collection on the trauma patients.
12:19-17:18 - Playing the balancing act between trauma surgery, teaching, and building a business from scratch.
17:18-20:15 - The most cliched, yet the most important takeaway - Learning from your failures; be it surgery or business.
20:16-22:12 - Morad’s definition of success, in the context of T6.
22:13-24:43 - The cross-applicability of Morad’s experience as a trauma surgeon and his work in public health, in working at T6.
Trauma care and public health might not seem to have anything in common, but Dr. Morad has good reason to believe otherwise.
On part 1 of this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks, Geoffrey Ching chats with Dr. Morad Hameed, trauma surgeon at Vancouver General Hospital, and CMO and co-founder of T6 Health Systems. Geoffrey and Dr. Morad discuss a variety of topics, ranging from his early days in medicine, to his MPH days, and how general surgery has evolved over the years.
Timestamps:
02:05-03:30 - Morad shares the story of his biggest role model - his aunt.
03:30-06:36 - Morad’s motivation(s) to pursue a career in medicine, more specifically, surgery.
06:37-09:22 - Wanting to work more for public health, and how that led Morad to pursue trauma surgery in conjunction with an MPH.
09:22-11:48 - Making the connection between clinical surgery and public health, courtesy of the experiences of his professor in MPH.
11:49-15:49 - Morad highlights the grave importance of combining clinical medicine and public health, and how trauma care specialists also play a hugely significant role in the same.
15:50-21:25 - Morad explains what the three waves of innovation in surgery are.
21:25-24:25 - The creation of “Learning Health Systems” as an outcome of medical innovations, and how they are starting to influence results at the ground level.
Building out an entire company out of a “virtual gym”🤸♂️ - Brendan Byrne might not have thought of that when he first conceptualized the idea of LifestyleRx.
On part 2 of our conversation with Brendan Byrne, he tells the story of how LifestyleRx was born, what they aim to achieve with the whole program, and their master plan to do it on as large a scale as an entire province. Brendan also share snippets from the last 2 years as the Chief Medical Officer of LifestyleRx.
Timestamps:
01:35-05:13 - Taking a break from work, and then finding the right reasons to come back to medicine.
05:14-09:44 - The impact that COVID had on Brendan’s $10,000 “gym”, and how LifestyleRx was born out of it.
09:44-14:56 - Brendan’s favourite stories from LifestyleRx over the past 2 years.
14:57-18:58 - Relentlessness- Brendan explains how this principle has helped him build LifestyleRx into what it is today.
18:58-23:34 - Focusing on a very peculiar health issue, and how LifestyleRx aims to build the necessary EMR infrastructure for it.
23:35-25:09 - Being a generalist by working on a particularly niche problem? Brendan clears Geoff’s doubts about it.
25:10-29:16 - Working as a board member, and working for them - Brendan, who’s experienced both, explains the difference between the two.
Maintaining paper records📜 has never been fun, and Brendan Byrne thought, “Well I oughta do something about it”. And he did!
On part 1 of this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks, Geoffrey Ching sits down to chat with Brendan Byrne, Chief Medical Officer and co-founder of LifestyleRx. Brendan, who founded one of Canada’s largest cloud-based Electronic Medical Records (EMR) provider, chats candidly about his early days at Yale and McGill, wanting to pursue orthopaedics, and how Wolf Medical came into being.
Timestamps:
02:10-04:27 - Brendan tells us about his time at Yale and McGill, and how that shaped up his business outlook.
04:28-07:20 - Wanting to pursue orthopaedic surgery for a very long time, then not doing so, and the challenges that followed.
07:24-12:17 - Brendan tells the story behind Wolf Medical Systems.
12:18-17:03 - The rise and rise of Wolf Medical, and how it got bought out successfully, followed by a stint as VP at TELUS for Brendan.
17:03-18:08 - Back from sabbatical, and the things Brendan then learned after taking on the role of Chief Information Officer at TELUS.
18:08-21:55 - The differences between working at a start-up like Wolf Medical, and working at a big corporate entity like TELUS.
Engineers vs. Doctors. Is it actually that big of a conflict? Geof Auchinleck certainly does not agree. According to him, the two professions need to work very closely together for the increment of the healthcare system at large.
On part 2 of Med Tech Talks with Geof Auchinleck, he and our Geoff discuss his professional journey as a biomedical engineer, how he came to co-found Claris Healthcare, and the impact that it aims to create in countries with ageing populations.
Timestamps:
02:04-03:38 - Did the involvement of engineers ever irk the physicians? Geof gives his honest opinion about it.
03:39-04:38 - Geof’s “scotch-less” definition of biomedical engineering, for a five-year-old.
04:39-06:32 - The level of involvement of physicians in the process of biomedical engineers to improve the healthcare system.
06:35-08:03 - Geof’s professional journey- from Neoteric to retirement, and then coming out of retirement and founding Claris Healthcare.
08:04-14:52 - The innovative story of Claris Healthcare, from the co-founder himself.
14:53-16:19 - Geof explains the business behind Claris, and all it’s creativity to keep seniors informed about their health.
16:20-18:55 - Geof tells us about the personal gratification and his moments of pride in his line of work.
18:57-21:15 - One eye on the future - Geof’s intrigue with AI and its impact in the years to come.
Robots🤖 in surgery🩺 is a pretty normal thing now. But what about when they were introduced to the healthcare industry? How did it happen? And how has technology, as a whole, impacted the healthcare industry?
On episode 72 of Med Tech Talks, we sit down with Geof Auchinleck, the co-founder and CEO of Claris Healthcare, and find out the answers to the questions above. Geof, “the barcode guy”, shares his stories from the 70s and 80s and sheds light on how far the healthcare industry has come since the introduction of technology.
Timestamps:
01:59-04:28 - First love, first job, first step towards the medical device field.
04:30-05:48 - Biomedical engineering then vs. Biomedical engineering now, in the words of Geof.
05:49-08:57 - Geof’s first ever project - robots in surgery, and the story behind it.
08:58-11:00 - The surgeons’ reactions to that robot, and other snippets from that historic feat of technology.
11:04-13:29 - Geof remembers his favourite projects and inventions over the years.
13:30-15:45 - Geof’s fascination with barcodes.
15:45-18:45 - The challenges and difficulties in the field of healthcare, and how Geof tackled them.
18:46-21:07 - How technological advancements has revolutionized the healthcare industry, and Geof explains how things used to be like back in the 70s and 80s.
How important is building connections with impactful VCs and having a refined recruitment process in Giovanni’s field? According to the man himself, it’s almost similar to building a medical device, with a plethora of intricacies involved in the process.
On part 2 of our conversation with Giovanni Lauricella, the Managing Partner of Lifeblood Capital, we find out more about his work and his process, as he highlights how important the minutest of details can be in his line of work.
Timestamps:
01:52-04:22- An explainer as to what Giovanni really does in the medical device industry.
04:24-09:14 - Realizing the gaps that start-ups face in getting funding, and stepping in to fill those gaps himself, Giovanni’s pivot towards acquiring funding for med-tech start-ups.
09:14-11:42 - The process of recruiting, and the nitty-gritties of the trade.
11:50-16:20 - “Money + People = Milestones.” Giovanni’s primary equation for a successful business.
16:35-19:00 - What’s in a name? The story behind the name “Lifeblood Capital”.
19:10-23:27 - The impact and influence of money, as Giovanni analogises raising capital as being equal to a marriage.
23:33-25:13 - Big things to look forward to for Giovanni, coming up in 2023.
A four-year-degree in finance. Followed by a never ending degree in extravagant life experiences, from the “University of Life”. That’s the short version of Giovanni Lauricella’s incredible academic and professional journey so far, and it is an exhilarating conversation to have.
On part 1 of our latest episode of Med Tech Talks, Geoffrey Ching sits down to chat with Giovanni Lauricella, Managing Partner of Lifeblood Capital, as he tells us about his absolutely incredible life story, and how a curly wig has defined the first question he’s always asked in a professional setting.
Timestamps:
01:11-06:40 - A short story about hair and wigs.
06:57-10:11 - From snowy beginnings in Buffalo to the Sunshine state of Florida.
10:17-16:17 - Dabbling in finance, after graduating early from college, and an impromptu trip to Costa Rica.
16:18-19:16 - Getting a job out of a vacation in Costa Rica, and how the tables turned for Giovanni in the span of two weeks.
19:18-20:22 - Coming back home after working with a “ghost!?” and then starting and selling a medical tourism company in Colombia.
20:23-22:36 - Giovanni’s entry into the medical device field, via South America and a short layover at a Starbucks in Florida.
22:42-26:58 - Going back to school and tackling a job and a distance-learning degree at the same time.
26:58-31:20 - Giovanni explains his love for regulatory affairs in the medical device industry, and his absolute fascination with the field.
What do stories about Christopher Plummer, CityTV, and saving lives at scale share in common? 🤔 Easy: storyteller extraordinaire Leah Sarich.
This time around, Leah Sarich, Head of Story at Thin Air Labs joined Geoffrey Ching to chat about the role of stories in health VC. They chatted not only about Leah’s journey through journalism making news you can use, but also about how to make strong health tech pitches, what it takes to translate knowledge well, and why going to the “dark side” with communications in venture capital to save lives at scale might not be so bad after all.
Discover more at - https://www.howitsmed.com/
If you like what we do, follow us on Twitter!
Timestamps:
01:39-03:13 - Christopher Plummer - Leah’s favorite story - but the fact that she favours the variety of stories she helped tell throughout her career.
04:05-04:42 - Summary of what Leah does, as explained to a five-year-old.
04:43-05:31 - Leah’s journey into journalism and broadcast journalism.
05:47-06:56 - How Leah found her way into health journalism.
07:01-08:04 - What has kept Leah in health reporting - teaching “news you can use”.
08:15-09:49 - What is unique about health journalism? Leah loves the knowledge translation - specifically the challenge and building trust.
09:50-11:00 - How to maintain trust in journalism despite the pace mandatory in the field. Leah states that getting it right and taking time to understand how to best convey the information accurately to a lay audience.
11:00-13:08 - How do you make stories most compelling and relatable? Leah asks for a patient from a study/with a certain disease so that she has the patient's perspective, but finds it a common problem that she has to rein in the jargon that experts speak in.
13:08-14:31 - Why it is helpful for a journalist to stay on the same beat for a long time - the body of knowledge for a beat is quite useful to do journalism efficiently and effectively.
14:31-16:08 - “I like to say that I specialize in relationship building” - the importance of building relationships in storytelling.
16:09-19:11 - Leah reveals the pivot that she took, like other journalists have done, to go into communications. The twist? Her pivot was into healthcare venture capital. Leah tells the story of how and why she joined Thin Air Labs.
19:12-20:47 - What does Leah do with Thin Air Labs? Leah shares the importance of storytelling with the companies and investors under the Thin Air Labs umbrella.
20:48-22:22 - What’s a story to a pitch? Leah shares some news you can use when it comes to making a pitch golden.
22:23-24:43 - Why emotion when data is so important? Leah reiterates the importance of emotion in remembering start-ups and their pitches.
24:48-26:46 - Leah details her feelings about “going over to the dark side” in communication, and the role of scalability in her decision process.
27:01-29:09 - Leah’s love of challenge makes it easy for her to absorb the new language of VC, despite the remarkable differences between VC and broadcast journalism jargon.
29:09-31:13 - Where are young journalists going? Is communications to more travelled path now with the fall from grace of broadcast journalism as a major industry?
31:27-33:00 - How can journalists make the leap into VC to help companies make scalable impact more efficiently and effectively?
33:00-34:15 - What is the difference between a communicator and a marketer? Leah explains that the two specialists target different outcomes, and how she classifies the work she does.
Raising money, publishing pivotal research, building valuable alliances, all for the improvement of people with motor-neuron diseases. Sidney Collin and De Oro Device’s NexStride is a game-changer indeed.
On part 2 of our conversation with Sidney Collin, co-founder and CEO of De Oro Devices, we learn more about the business end of things, as Sidney elucidates about the impact NexStride is creating, out in the real world.
Discover more at - https://www.howitsmed.com/
If you like what we do, follow us on Twitter!
Timestamps:
01:45-04:33 - Forming important relationships with physicians, and how that has helped to get NexStride to the people who need it the most.
04:34-06:20 - The importance of publishing research work, and the role it plays in building credibility of the product.
06:20-09:05 - Sidney elaborates on the hard numbers that De Oro Devices could influence with the work that they do.
09:05-12:44 - The difference between pitching to an angel investor and pitching to a VC.
12:45-16:15 - Establishing distribution and selling channels for NexStride, be it D2C, B2B, or via a third-party representative such as the VA.
16:15-19:20 - Sidney explains the reasons as to why she decided for her employees to work remotely full-time.
19:20-22:02 - Working in California and working in Texas - Sidney sheds light on the difference in work culture in the two states.
Tricking the brain via audio-visual cues to make it send signals via a different set of neurons and make the body move a certain way. Sounds a lot like hypnosis, doesn’t it? Well it might not be hypnosis, but it does help a lot of people with degenerative motor-neuron diseases to move with ease.
On the latest episode of Med Tech Talks with Sidney Collin, CEO and co-founder of De Oro Devices, we chat at length about De Oro, what it does, and the inspiration behind it. Sidney tells us how a simple technology using audio-visual signals has been helping people with Parkinson’s move more comfortably and lead a less dependent life.
Discover more at - https://www.howitsmed.com/
If you like what we do, follow us on Twitter!
Timestamps:
01:15-02:35 - California rolls? Texas barbeque? For Sidney, it’s tacos that seal the deal.
02:35-05:00 - Making progress, moving forward in leaps and bounds; Sidney tells us what’s new with De Oro.
05:01-07:40 - Explaining De Oro’s work to a five-year-old: Sidney’s pitch.
07:41-10:20 - Sidney explains the what, where and how of De Oro Devices’ working, and how their targeting mechanism actually works inside the brain.
10:22-12:04 - The motivation behind De Oro, and how it is bringing a change in the lives of people with motor-neuron disorders.
12:05-15:36 - Sidney’s experience and learnings from her days in ballet, and the routine she has since followed thereon.
15:40-20:40 - Slow-progressing incremental growth, or industry disruption; what Sidney thinks about the impact of the advancements in her field of work specifically.
20:40-22:50 - Regular trial and testing, community feedback, and other mechanisms behind the manufacturing of De Oro devices.
22:50-25:52 - Meeting Jack Brill, his influence over Sidney, and how his experience as a Parkinson’s patient himself has helped Sidney in developing De Oro Devices over the years.
Do healthcare VC’s carry a bad rep in medical circles?👨⚕️ Anish Kaushal says no, and he has got his reasoning spot-on!
On part 2 of our conversation with Anish Kaushal, investment analyst at Amplitude VC and founder of A Niche Experience, we get to find out more about his life and work as a VC, his decision making process, and the differences in a career in medicine and a career in VC.
Discover more at - https://www.howitsmed.com/
If you like what we do, follow us on Twitter!
Timestamps:
01:25-05:20 - The day-to-day in the life of an investment analyst at a VC firm.
05:21-06:51 - “Learning to learn quickly” - the tricks of the trade.
06:52-09:25 - The common elements of working in medicine and working as a VC.
09:26-13:36 - Tackling the negative connotation attached to the world of VC, and how Anish believes he is working for the greater good of healthcare.
13:37-17:38 - The difference in risk appetite as a physician and as a VC, and the real-world impact of a higher risk appetite of a VC.
17:38-20:07 - Anish talks about his lack of clinical experience, and whether or not he’d gain some if he had the chance to do so.
20:08-24:21 - Recent health-tech trends that Anish has his eye on.
If you were given the option to move abroad, pursue an entire degree, come back and face the tribulations of getting a job related to your degree, and then FINALLY decide to pursue something completely different, would you take it?🤔
On our latest episode of Med Tech Talks, Geoffrey Ching sits down to have a conversation with Anish Kaushal, investment analyst at Amplitude VC and founder of A Niche Experience. Anish talks about his varied interests, from medicine, to drug discovery, to studying and evaluating start-ups, and sports analysis.
Discover more at - https://www.howitsmed.com/
Find us on Twitter.
Timestamps:
01:00-03:54 - Anish’s likeness of Ted Lasso, and his most recent escapades around BC.
03:55-05:57 - The decision to not pursue medicine as a career, despite having an MBBS degree.
05:57-07:45 - Working at M Ventures, and the things Anish learned over there.
07:45-09:28 - Early familial influences, and why Anish decided to go into medicine in the first place.
09:28-12:34 - Choosing to go to a foreign university to get a medical degree, Anish’s reasons to do so.
12:34-18:20 - Coming back to Canada after MBBS, and the plethora of struggles that followed.
18:20-22:40 - Anish’s initial call to go for a Masters in drug discovery, abandoning those plans to go work for a Venture Capital in Amsterdam, and the beginning of his journey at Amplitude.
22:40-26:48 - Anish gives his pitch to a 5-year-old, inviting them to join the VC world.
To build a business based entirely on user inputs and feedback takes some guts, and evidently, Yair Saperstein has got plenty of it.
On part 2 of this week’s episode of Physician Founded, Yair Saperstein, the co-founder of AvoMD, tells us more about the evolution of AvoMD as a Software-as-a-Service platform, his learnings while building the platform along with his co-founder, and what he would rather be if he wasn’t in the field of medicine.
Discover more at - https://www.howitsmed.com/
Timestamps:
01:35-05:20 - Yair elaborates on the influences and experiences that led him to AvoMD.
05:21-10:22 - AvoMD, and the problem that it aims to solve, as explained to a 5-year-old.
10:23-13:10 - The greatest challenges that Yair has faced while building AvoMD, and the evolution of AvoMD as a SaaS platform.
13:11-20:02 - The importance of user experience and user feedback in building a platform like AvoMD, that focuses solely on inputs from the user itself.
20:03-21:32 - Yair advocates for health professionals and clinicians to expand their professional horizons beyond just medical practice.
21:32-23:35 - Yair’s alternate career choices, if he hadn’t pursued medicine.
23:36-25:59 - Working at a start-up vs working at a non-profit: Yair’s two cents.
26:00-27:23 - Yair invites feedback and new ideas at all times.
27:24-28:57 - Facing regulatory barriers as a SaaS platform in the field of healthcare.
To bring changes to the system, you gotta get into it first. And that’s exactly what Yair Saperstein has does, and continues to do with an unbridled passion for the field of healthcare.
Join us on the latest episode of Physician Founded, as Geoffrey Ching chats with Yair Saperstein, CEO and co-founder of AvoMD. Yair chats about his fascination with systems, how that shaped up his career choices, and his days as Chief Resident during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Timestamps:
01:38-03:40 - A brief introduction of AvoMD, and what they’re currently up to.
03:40-06:38 - How growing up in a family of physicians has influenced Yair’s decisions over the years.
06:38-09:25 - Building systems begins at home…like they did for Yair.
09:26-11:43 - The early days of starting non-profits to bring a change, and how START Science and TEACH happened.
11:45-15:53 - Dabbling in various career paths, and choosing residency at the end of it.
15:53-17:08 - Yair elaborates on his learnings while pursuing his MPH and completing his residency.
17:08-18:15 - Being thrust into COVID right after finishing his residency, and how Yair dealt with it.
18:15-22:32 - Yair’s takeaways from the beginning of the COVID era, and the learnings he took from it.
22:32-23:57 - The grave importance of the well-being of our healthcare providers.
Building meaningful connections with businesses they’re funding is just one of the ways that Katie Greene and Thin Air Labs differentiate themselves by. And it does yield fruitful results, as Katie elucidates the impact that her work has created so far, and as she looks to do the same in the future.
On part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Katie Greene, we find out more about Katie’s role as Funding Catalyst at Thin Air Labs, the principles she follows at her workplace, and more about the world of VC, and how it’s very different from the general perception people have of Venture Capital firms.
Timestamps:
01:37-05:35 - Katie sheds some light on Ph.D. students leaving academia and going into business, and her own experience doing so.
05:36-08:43 - The essential skills a researcher must have to make it as a VC.
08:43-12:36 - Katie tells us about what she enjoys most working at a VC firm.
12:36-14:29 - Explaining VC to a five year old, with an Apple.
14:29-17:33 - Overcoming failures and meeting challenges head-on; how Katie adjusted to the VC world.
17:34-19:56 - Making the decision to work at Thin Air Labs.
19:56-22:40 - Katie highlights the importance of empathy at her Thin Air Labs, and how it is essential to their decision making.
22:41-25:41 - The latest trends in med-tech and biotech that Katie has her eyes on, and the general direction the whole field is now taking.
25:41-28:27 - Playing the balancing act around regulatory framework with the start-ups that Thin Air Labs help in acquiring funding.
28:27-29:30 - What would Katie tell her younger self, if she had the chance to do so?
Making the shift from academia to entrepreneurship isn’t easy, especially if you’re knee-deep in the field of medical research. However, Katie Greene did manage to find a way to make it possible.
On our latest episode of Med Tech Talks, Geoffrey Ching sits down in conversation with Dr. Katie Greene, Funding Catalyst at Thin Air Labs, and discovers what its like to have worked on both ends of the spectrum, one being the research and the other being the business end of things, literally.
Timestamps:
00:57-01:44 - An introduction to Ph.D. by Dr. Katie Greene.
01:45-04:25 - From Ireland to Alberta, Katie’s academic journey: in her own words.
04:26-06:26 - Big pharma and academic research aren’t really isolated from each other, and Katie explains how.
06:27-10:18 - Working with people from different backgrounds, and how Katie bridged the gap between them and herself.
10:19-13:30 - Moving to Canada, and making the choice to pursue a doctorate at University of Calgary.
13:30-15:36 - Katie sheds light on what UofC offered in their research programs during her time there.
15:36-17:36 - Innovation v. Invention; Katie explains the difference between the two, and how she dealt with both at UofC.
17:36-22:20 - Changing her mindset about entrepreneurship, and how her research played a role in it.
22:20-28:19 - The final step towards where she is today; Katie’s shift from research to working at a VC firm.
Shifting careers after being diagnosed with a serious illness is a mammoth task, and not everyone call pull it off. Luckily, Crystal Phillips’s skating experience definitely helped her manoeuvre her way through it.
Rejoin us on part two of this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks with Crystal Phillips. We learn about her career post speed-skating and how she aims to bring impactful changes in the field of health-tech, vide her role at Thin Air Labs.
Timestamps:
01:27-06:00 - Crystal’s career trajectory at Branch Out, and how she ventured into her role at Thin Air Labs.
06:02-08:27 - Crystal explains how Thin Air Labs function as a Venture Capital firm.
08:27-10:43 - The characteristics of an impactful company, and how they are parallel to the qualities that Crystal elaborates are also required to be a high performance athlete.
10:43-12:30 - How her personal experience with MS helps Crystal make informed decisions in her role at Thin Air Labs.
12:30-14:21 - Jumping through bureaucratic hoops, and navigating her way through it to make meaningful change.
14:22-18:23 - Crystal reminisces about the high points of her time at Branch Out and Thin Air, and the lessons she’s learned along the way.
18:23-20:41 - What’s next for Crystal at Thin Air, and her goal to focus more on health-tech.
How do you go from being an Olympic speed-skater⛸ to building a neurological research foundation and sitting on the board of a VC firm? Well if you ask Crystal Phillips how she did it, she’d tell you that she just rolled into it…
This time around, on our latest episode of Med Tech Talks, Geoffrey Ching gets to chat with Crystal Phillips, founder of Branch Out Neurological Foundation and Health Lead at Thin Air Labs. We find out about her career as a speed skater and how a life-threatening illness completely changed the direction she then headed towards.
Timestamps:
00:52-03:52 - Crystal’s initial days as a speed skater.
03:52-08:52 - Being diagnosed with MS and giving up speed skating for the time being.
08:52-12:39 - Taking an alternative route towards recovery, and almost making it to the 2010 Olympics.
12:40-14:32 - Drawing the curtains on her skating career, and starting Branch Out Foundation.
14:32-18:33 - Crystal elaborates the path that Branch Out took, going more towards research rather than pharmacology, and the hardships that they have come across.
Giving Tony Hawk🛹 a run for his money by performing a 180° career flip… sounds like a fair metaphor for Jehangir Appoo’s illustrious career.
On part 2 of Geoffrey and Abdo’s conversation with Dr. Jehangir Appoo, we find out about his pivot from surgery to founding a venture capital firm. Jehangir elucidates for us the intricate details that go into running a business, and how his years as a surgeon have helped him achieve success elsewhere, in a field relatively unattached from medicine.
Timestamps:
01:37-04:57 - Jehangir explains how he fit himself into the venture capitalist role, courtesy of gaining appropriate knowledge and expertise.
04:58-07:44 - How Jehangir made his way navigating through the learning curve of building a business.
07:45-13:12 - In the words of a VC himself: Jehangir defines what a venture capital firm is, and what it essentially does.
13:13-15:22 - The difference between a general partner and a limited partner, in the context of AIoT Health.
15:23-19:44 - Building relationships with different businesses as a VC, and how their decisions are influenced when it comes to medical investments.
19:47-26:11 - Asking the right questions and adopting a cohesive approach; Jehangir’s advice to companies looking to work with physicians.
26:12-27:22 - Jehangir sheds light on AIoT’s future goals and prospects.
If the sight of blood🩸 made you feel queasy, would you still want to become a surgeon?👨⚕️
On this week’s episode of Physician Founded, we chat with Dr. Jehangir Appoo, MD and founding partner of AIoT Health, a venture capital firm heavily invested in health technology and innovation. Jehangir talks about his childhood and his inclination towards achieving excellence, and how that has shaped his career for him so far.
Timestamps:
01:20-05:24 - Growing up in different countries, and how that shaped Jehangir’s early years.
05:25-09:51 - Jehangir explains the influence he had behind studying medicine.
09:53-15:09 - Making the choice of choosing cardio-thoracic surgery, and how that decision has turned out since.
15:10-17:48 - How health issues led to Jehangir quitting surgery.
17:48-23:31 - Getting into venture capitalism after quitting surgery; the why, what and how.
23:32-25:11 - Jehangir’s major source of inspiration behind everything he does: excellence.
If the answer was financial nurturing and astute business guidance, what would the question look like?🤔
If you ask Dr. Nina Vellani, she would tell you that it’s the role an angel investor plays in the life cycle of a start-up.
Join us on part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Nina Vellani, where we get to know more about how she ventured into angel investing, coursing her way through various hurdles in her professional life. Nina also highlights how important gender equality is in today’s start-up ecosystem, and how she is implementing the same in every business she invests in.
To find more of our podcasts, you can go to https://plnk.to/howitsmed!
medicine #medtech #healthtech #innovation #podcasts #education #technology #angelinvestment #start-ups
1:25 - 6:40 - How Nina stepped into the role of an angel investor, courtesy of her prior experience of managing a metal fabrication company.
6:40 - 10:04 - Finding partners to work with who shared a similar passion towards science, and how workplace disadvantages for women in other fields worked for Nina to build her team.
10:05 - 12:40 - Taking start-ups from the angel investment incubator program to venture capitalists, through the “valley of death”.
12:40 - 18:31 - Nina highlights her role in helping out new start-ups to go from angel investing to venture capitalists, and the checklist these companies must fulfil.
18:31 - 20:48 - The first ever investments that Nina made in start-ups started by her professors at UBC, and how she made the decision to do so.
20:48 - 23:04 - Nina’s word of advice to up and coming pharmaceutical start-ups.
23:05 - 26:58 - The importance of having gender equality in the start-up space, and how women, when given equal opportunities, can prosper in the start-up world.
How many virus cultures in a lab are too many virus cultures in a lab? According to Dr. Nina Vellani, there are never too many of them!
On this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks, Geoffrey Ching chats candidly with Dr. Nina Vellani, founder and president of NELSA Investments (VCC) Inc., as she throws some light on the illustrious career that she’s had so far, taking us through the various responsibilities that she has taken over, from being an HIV researcher to the treasurer of a business and finally as an angel investor.
Timestamps:
2:11 - 4:55 - A brief overview of Nina’s educational journey after moving to Canada.
4:55 - 7:38 - Going from an undergrad in medical microbiology to HIV research at the BC Centre of Excellence.
7:39 - 9:06 - Nina reminisces her journey through her Ph.D., and about how much she learned about viruses.
9:07 - 15:01 - A close encounter with the enemy; how a mix-up at the lab almost exposed Nina to the HIV virus cultures she was working on.
15:02 - 22:50 - The workplace difficulties Nina had to face during her research, and the health issues that came along with it.
22:55 - 27:52 - Learning how to be a businesswoman, and pivoting from research to saving a metal fabrication company from going under; Nina has done it all.
When you think of scaling up medical innovation, think of LHS Labs!
This time around, on part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Harvey Hawes, find out about the inception of LHS Labs and what they aim to do. Dr. Harvey also sheds light on the need for healthcare infrastructures to adapt to new models of technological advancements, and how LHS Labs plan to work in alliance with healthcare systems around the world to provide scalable solutions and improve the quality of care provided to the public.
Timestamps:
1:29 - 6:19 - Harvey elaborates on his aim to develop the medical learning systems in addition to charity and aid to bring healthcare systems around the world up to an acceptable standard of care.
6:30 - 13:55 - The effect of COVID on the demand of ventilators across healthcare systems around the world; and how Harvey and his team began a conversation which eventually led to the beginning of LHS Labs.
13:55 - 18:20 - The conundrum of tackling complex problems in a largely conservative healthcare system, and how LHS Labs aims to change that by offering innovative solutions that cover all bases.
18:20 - 26:25 - Harvey explains how procurement for medical equipment works, and what new manufacturers and designers must keep in mind while developing new technologies for healthcare systems.
26:25 - 30:05 - Abandoning the frugal mindset of building a new start-up, and bringing in interdisciplinary experts to create meaningful impact in the healthcare system.
30:05 - 32:22 - How LHS Labs plan to scale up their business model to other countries by forming alliances and products that cater to the specific needs of the country they’re working with.
A trauma surgeon, an innovative problem solver and a humanitarian, when you combine these three things, you get Dr. Harvey Hawes!
Join us on part 1 of our enthralling conversation with Dr. Harvey Hawes, founder and Chief Medical Officer at LHS Labs, as we get to know his background and learn more about his journey from software to an oil drill, and then getting into the field of medical systems innovation.
Timestamps:
1:58 - 4:40 - How his early days doing jobs at bizarre hours and being the first responder to road accidents influenced Dr. Harvey Hawes to go into trauma surgery.
4:40 - 7:30 - The road to software engineering via a childhood fascination of code and computers and a genuine inclination to solve problems.
7:32 - 10:30 - Harvey reflects upon his educational path, from dropping out to working on an oil drill to going back to grad school.
10:30 - 12:46 - The impetus behind combining technological innovation and medicine to solve problems that Harvey encountered as a resident surgeon.
12:46 - 18:25 - Formulating a week-long surgical innovation program at UBC to train resident surgeons in the art of real-world problem solving.
18:35 - 24:25 - The first step towards using technology for medical humanitarianism, courtesy of experiencing the gravity of medical equipment shortages at a hospital in Fiji.
🖨️ How can 3D printing help with cancer research? A hint from Dr Karolina Valente: think small - about as small as your tiniest blood vessels! 🩸
This time, on part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Karolina Valente, founder of VoxCell BioInnovation, we find out more about her career and how her need for an extremely precise 3D printer spurred her to make one herself. Karolina tells us more about what VoxCell does, and how their innovations are a step towards accelerating cancer treatment and drug development in the future.
Timestamps:
1:45 - 6:20 - Karolina explains how she pivoted from a Ph.D. in microfluidics to making her own 3D bio-printer.
6:30 - 12:50 - The decision to stay in Canada, teach at UVic, and establish VoxCell, despite other offers from competing companies and from the US.
12:50 - 15:20 - A layman’s guide to what VoxCell does, from the founder herself.
15:20 - 20:40 - Karolina elaborates on how VoxCell is trying to advance drug development with the help of their bio-printers.
20:40 - 22:50 - What the future holds for VoxCell’s bio-printers.
22:50 - 27:30 - Karolina explains what being a team leader is like, and her approach towards personnel management.
🐀 Move over lab rats, 3D printers are here to take your jobs 🤖
3-D printing microvasculature for cancer drug testing is no longer the stuff of Gray’s Anatomy - in Part 1 of Geoffrey Ching’s conversation with Dr. Karolina Valente, CEO and founder of VoxCell Bio Innovation, we find out how she began her journey as an engineer and later steered into the field of biomedical research and innovation at the University of Victoria, to finally founding VoxCell BioInnovation.
Timestamps:
1:42 - 4:30 - Karolina explains what a normal day looks like for her: acquiring funding for VoxCell, managing an expanding team, and dealing with two jobs at the same time
4:30 - 7:40 - From humanities to chemical engineering to biomedical innovation, a snippet of Karolina’s unique educational journey.
7:40 - 10:30 - Brazil → Portugal → Canada; how a co-op in biomedical engineering during her graduation set Karolina on her path to her Ph.D.
11:00 - 15:55 - UVic over University of Toronto - why Karolina chose to become a big fish in a smaller pond
15:55 - 28:38 - How Karolina’s personal attitude toward work and the science that she encountered during her PhD led to the inception of VoxCell.
🍽️ From dinner table to 100,000 users 📈 in a few months, sending a Bat-signal 🦇 across the globe for help on curious cases - how did Josh Landy and the Figure 1 team accomplish so much in so little time? 🤔
This time, we rejoin Joshua Landy’s journey from a dinner table discussion with his friends to actually building an online community of medical learners and physicians across the world. We also learned more about his role at Figure 1, and how the app has drastically evolved since it first launched in 2013.
Timestamps:
1:30 - 5:20 - How Josh juggled the two full-time jobs of being a clinician and building Figure1.
5:25 - 11:35 - Josh elaborates on the fit of physician skills and experiences in a CMO role.
11:38 - 16:50 - Incubators as a haven to hatch a start-up and possibly a limitation - the Figure1 perspective.
17:00 - 21:00 - What it takes other than product-market fit to find supportive investors - and to build relationships with them.
22:05 - 24:25 - The importance of speed in building a start-up, and how Josh as a physician influences administrative decisions at Figure 1.
24:30 - 28:25 - From learning to paging and case-following: how Figure1 used community feedback to evolve with their audience’s needs.
28:50 - 30:40 - Perverse incentives and unintended consequences - the trials and tribulations of Figure1.
30:40 - 32:45 - What’s new with Figure 1?
🖥️ Programmers have StackOverflow, doctors have Figure1 👩⚕️.
Technology has allowed us to share our experiences with others at a scale larger than ever before, and it has great benefits for professionals in every field. This week, we talk to Dr. Joshua Landy, co-founder of Figure1, an application democratizing medical education and connecting doctors together.
Find out how he got into medicine, came up with this new idea, and dealt with the challenges of starting a new company on Part 1 of a scintillating conversation.
3:50 - 9:50 - Learning best done “the hard way” through real-world experiences, right? Dr. Josh Landy shares why he doesn’t think so - and also the reasons for his passion for internal medicine.
10:25 - 15:20 - Discussing stocks has nothing to do with medical learning, right? Wrong again! Josh shares the story behind the founding of Figure 1, a case sharing platform for medical professionals.
15:40 - 18:00 - The making of - what goes into making a new app, and getting people to use it at the start? The road to Figure 1 was perhaps smoother than most, but Josh shares the lessons he learned about gaining traction and product-market fit in the context of a medical learning tool.
18:50 - 25:00 - Growth isn’t necessarily something that we normally associate with healthcare (apart from expenditures) - but how can an audience of a medical learning app be coaxed into growth? Josh shares the design trials and tribulations he and his team faced around this issue.
The technological revolution 🤖 has happened. How do we ensure widespread adoption of technology in healthcare 🏥? According to our guest Michael Fergusson, the onus is on healthcare workers.👩⚕️
Join us as Geoff and Abdo continue the conversation with Michael, Entrepreneur and CEO of Ayogo, a company building an application to drive behavioral change - something that can help you live a longer and better life.
Digitally driven behavior change - that’s the nefarious realm of Facebook and Black Mirror. Right? 😨
Michael Ferugsson, and his team disagree. They believe that instead, ethical behavior change driven by Lifeplan, a HIPAA and PIPEDA compliant application, can help you live longer and healthier.
This week’s guest, Michael Fergusson, Entrepreneur and CEO of Ayogo, is the mind behind this innovative product that might change how we support lifestyle modification and medication compliance to improve the effectiveness of our healthcare in the future.
Join our very own Geoffrey Ching and Abdo Elhosary as they engage in a fascinating conversation about his life, his generalist skillset, and ethical implications of building applications surrounding behavioral science.
Timestamps:
0:39 – 7:54 - How did Michael make it from Jamaica, to Vancouver, to the heights of his now health-tech focused career? Michael, the high school dropout-turned product manager-turned founder tells all.
8:30 – 12:48 - “It’s not to see what nobody else sees, but it’s to think what no one has yet thought about what everybody sees”. Michael explains his take on T-shaped skillsets and dash-shaped skillsets.
13:10 – 20:34 - How does Michael’s generalist approach fit the medical field - a field that requires a sub-specialized approach? Michael shares with us how AYOGO hits the spot, and some of the ethical quandaries he and his team navigate.
20:41 – 28:10 - How can AYOGO modify behavior for its users in an ethical fashion? How does this all benefit the end-users of AYOGO? Michael tells us all about the challenges he and his company face in the digital health realm.
28:55 – 30:59 - Are understanding psychology and behavioral changes key to the devleopment of AYOGO? How does regulation affect the company? Michael shares with us a little about how these factors affect his company’s mission.
33:23 – 34:53 - What is AYOGO currently working on?
35:19 – 38:19 - What can healthcare providers or digital technologies do to help advance the adoption of tools to improve patient outcomes?
38:38 – 40:42 - What can technical experts do to advance the field of digital therapeutic and the adoption of these tools?
💵$308 billion yearly - yet not all Canadians 🇨🇦 can get the healthcare they need or expect. Can Canadian innovation backed by VCs such help solve this? 🤔
What does MD, Senior Director of the Health-Tech Ecosystem at @Mars Discovery District, host of the @Reboot Health Podcast, and co-chair of HaloHealth @Dr. Amol Deshpande think about this? Moreover, how would he explain VC to you - if you didn’t know what venture capital was? Tune in this time for our episode with Dr. Amol Deshpande to find out!
Timestamps:
1:42 - 4:30 - What is due diligence? Amol relates how in his eyes, due diligence is an assessment of the probability that a startup will make it to the other end.
5:25 - 12:35 - What is the goal of HaloHealth, AiOT and other similar physician-driven innovation communities? Amol relates the power of a diverse community of physicians which can serve companies and VCs with feedback to provide product validation.
12:55 - 15:40 - What are the pain points of being an early-stage investor? As an angel, Amol believes that angel investing is tough but rewarding given the opportunity to support great founders.
16:03 - 18:49 - What tribulations do angels face when interacting with investors? Amol provides insight into the biases and perspectives that angels bring to conversations with startups.
19:00 - 21:25 - What separates and exponential startup from a non-exponential startup? Amol lays out what he means by those terms, and what the facets by which he evaluates potentially exponential companies.
21:40 - 25:20 - Why Reboot Health? Why Podcast? Amol lays out his rationale for starting his health tech podcast.
25:40 - 29:44 - What is the MaRS Innovation District, and what does Amol do as the Health Tech Ecosystem Senior Director? Amol gives us a deep dive of his behind-the-scenes work to support healthtech startups and the healthtech ecosystem.
What do 🎙️ Podcasting, 💊 pain medicine, and… 🏦 Venture Capital have in common?
The answer? @Dr. Amol Deshpande.
What goes into making a multitalented physician into a health-tech venture capitalist? @Geoffrey Ching learned about that this week with @Dr. Amol Deshpande, the host of @Reboot Health. With 15 years of experience as a physician, an MBA, and quite a string of involvement with and health tech consulting and startups Amol, the co-chair of @HaloHealth, is putting his skills and experience to the test as the Senior Director of the Health-Tech Ecosystem at @Mars Discovery District.
1:38-6:22 - From chronic pain to a Senior Director at MaRS Discovery District - how did Amol start the journey that led him to where he is today?
6:52-9:33 - Healthtech? What’s an MBA got to do with that? Amol lays this conundrum bare for us to ponder.
10:09 -14:54 - Can innovation be taught? Should it be taught in medical education? Amol gives his two cents.
15:35-20:03 - Practicing medicine for almost 15 years helped him to learn the most valuable lesson which is to learn to align treatment and approach based on a person-to-person’s particular medical condition.
20:42-23:31 - From podcasting to venture capital to managing a health-tech ecosystem at Canada’s leading innovation center - now that’s range. Amol talks about how each of these roles fascinated him in their own unique ways.
23:51 - 26:30 - Why support founders and learners instead of starting a company of his own? Amol lays his rationale out for us to hear.
26:57-29:49 - HaloHealth? AiOT? How do these organizaitons support investment in Canadian medical innovation?
What would you brave to solve your gut problems? Colonoscopy? 🔭 A pill? 💊
This week, rejoin our conversation with Dr. Zain Kassam, co-founder of Finch Therapeutics, a Massachussetts based unicorn focusing microbiome therapeutics. Learn more about his exhillarating journey from high school, to studying gastroenterology, to his foray into the world of startups.
02:10 - 9:22 - How did OpenBiome transplant microbiota transplants from a boutique service into a democratized solution for patients in need? Zain shares his perspective on how this revolutionary organization reshaped the playing field for this therapy.
9:43 - 13:37 - Why Finch? Why pursue a for-profit, instead of continuing the non-profit route with OpenBiome? Between the multitude of barriers to widespread adoption of microbiome therapies and the adoption of new tech alongside Takeda, Zain explored all the intricacies of this hard-to-answer question.
14:04 - 16:27 - How did the FDA help or hinder Zain’s work? The path to approval for microbiome therapy was unclear, but what the FDA did to support Zain may surprise you.
17:22 - 20:29 - Partnerships as a part of Finch’s journey - what’s to it, and what separates a partnership from a one-off relationship? Zain shares his perspective on the building blocks and importance of partnerships.
21:07 - 23:24 - Intellectual Property in biotech is an important, but often underexplored topic. Zain explains his take on conflict and miscommunication about IP.
24:20 - 28:33 - Why continue researching despite the different priorities in the industry as opposed to in academia? Apparently, carrots differ, and Zain talks shop about what fuels his passions.
29:05 - 34:18 - What’s in Zain’s future? Medicine or public health impact? Zain shares what he values and what he wants to do with his time in Canada, as opposed to the United States going forward.
💩 Fecal microbiota 🦠, the Queen 👑, and a unicorn 🦄 - what do they all have in common?
Geoffrey Ching chatted with Dr. Zain Kassam, co-founder of Finch Therapeutics - a Massachussetts based unicorn focused on microbiome therapeutics. Zain teased us with what he has accomplished, and talked about the rationale behind his unusual journey from gastroenterologist-in-training to unicorn co-founder.
To find more of our podcasts, you can go https://plnk.to/howitsmed
Time stamps:
1:20-3:27 - What’s in the box? Zain offers a teaser on his interest in microbiota transplants, microbiome sciences, and the systemic impacts of this whole new world.
3:58-6:51 - A flashback to 2004, Zain’s high school education and his interactions with influential people; Zain chats about the moments and people who made an impact on his career.
7:27-10:22 - “Think horses not zebras.” Zain explains why this phrase, alongside a family experience, led him to choose gastroenterology as his specialty of choice.
10:50-14:28 - Publications in industry? Disruption in how research impact is assessed? Zain discusses research as a tool for advancement in innovation - not just as a means to push the “publish or perish” mentality.
14:35-19:08 - What do the Queen of England and the Brown Cross have to do with Zain’s passion with microbiota transplants? We learn how an (apparent) doppelganger shifted Zain’s focus onto clinical trials as an academic gastroenterologist at Harvard and MIT.
19:40-22:55 - What was the impact of interacting with those who founded OpenBiome? Zain talks about how he settled on academic medicine as a platform to get involved in innovation where the KPIs are companies and patents more so than papers and posters.
23:03-25:55 How did a talk by Jim Kim, the previous head of the Head Bank who had a strong social justice tilt, shift Zain’s focus onto innovation and the private sector? Zain had to do some reframing about his relationships with industry before he began his work with Finch Therapeutics.
💊 Med tech 📟 or 💊 med teach 🧑🏫? What did Dr. Teresa Chan choose?
Let’s hear from Teresa Chan and Geoffrey Ching in part 2 of their conversation where they talk about the GridLockED team’s GALA 2021 award winning TriagED sequel game, Teresa’s choice to pursue academic medicine, and her other leading exploits in medical education - from AliEM to CanadiEM.
🌶️Are kids better at managing an emergency department than physicians?🌶️ Dr. Teresa Chan surprised us with the answer to this question.
Developed by teachers and trainers at McMaster University, GridLockED is a simulation game that will take you through the intense world of managing multiple patients in the hectic world of emergency medicine.
This week, we had the privilege of talking to Dr. Teresa Chan, an Associate Dean at McMaster University. She worked extensively on the problems faced in Emergency Medicine, and wrote her masters thesis on the subject. Eventually her ideas were developed into the board game, which was featured in the Journal of Academic Medicine.
“We have Bernie, the bot that burns out so that physicians don’t have to” - Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia, Managing Director of the eHealth Centre of Excellence.
This week, we had the privilege of talking to Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia, the Managing Director of eHealth Centre of Excellence, a company working to build tools and platforms for Virtual Healthcare. From his background in biochemistry and computer science to his motivation for studying medicine, to conversations about bots in medicine - we unravel the thoughts and processes behind simplifying consultations and referrals using technology.
To find more of our podcasts, you can go to howitsmed.com, https://plnk.to/howitsmed, or https://youtu.be/WqHhj2eGzw4
1:59-4:50 - From compsci to medicine - what was the link? Dr. Alarakhia discusses the origin of his passion for and career in tech in healthcare.
5:08-11:52 - Accurate? Convenient? Danger? Mohamed lays down his perspective on the sacrifices made by and boons offered by adoption of digital health.
12:22-20:19 - What’s the difference between the eHealth Centre of Excellence and a healthtech startup? Why did Mohamed choose the latter? He tells all.
20:42-26:20 - Healthtech startups and a battle with procurement - name a more iconic Canadian couple. From 3000 requirements to pizza as an analogy, Mohamed explains this process.
26:42-32:59 - Who are Cody, Bernie, and Sharon? Mohamed explains that they’re bots built by his group to help reduce burnout, not “to cause more burnout.”
33:16-38:28 - Do physicians have a role in medical procurement? Mohamed discusses his view on this process.
Do you think you could bootstrap a solution to a pressing Canadian public health problem? Dr. Alex Bilbily and the 16Bit team have done exactly that.
This week, we had the pleasure of chatting with Dr. Alexander Bilbily about the rollercoaster journey he and his cofounder Dr. Mark Cicero have embarked on while founding and scaling a leading AI company which aims to detect osteoporosis opportunistically.
From blueberry muffins and chihuahuas to regulatory considerations, join us on this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks as we unravel the story of Dr. Bilbily, who is helping shape the future of how physicians will work with AI.
To find more of our podcasts, you can go to howitsmed.com, https://plnk.to/howitsmed, or our Youtube channel!
medicine #medtech #healthtech #healthcare #AI #podcasts #videocasts #physician #founder #Canada
1:14 - 10:22 - Alex recalls why he chose medicine and specifically radiology - uniquely, his story was shaped by an early invention to track patients’ adherence to therapy, and a preference for the diagnostic over the therapeutic side of medicine
11:30 - 16:30 - A discussion on the current state of and this history of the interaction between medical practices and those backing the integration of novel computer science tools into radiology workflows.
17:21 - 30:28 - Alex and Mark’s path toward entrepreneurship in medicine through 16Bit - and the “rollercoaster” story of 16Bit
31:11 - 39:11 - To patent or not to patent? What is the level of validation you need to get an algorithm approved by the FDA? Alex answers the difficult questions associated with commercializing an algorithm in radiology.
40:01 - 42:45 - No fundraising, no luck? Alex doesn’t think so - he describes why 16Bit hasn’t raised so far despite the significant amount of investment money looking for companies such as 16Bit.
43:28 - 50:30 - How Alex keeps himself grounded through clinical practice, and how his company stays grounded despite the presence of competitor AI-based radiology companies with significant edges in the amount of data available to them.
“It’s embarrassing. And it’s not just embarrassing..but it’s a disservice to our patients because we’re causing harm by not adopting tools for communication and better sharing of information.”
On this episode of How Its Med, we chat with Dr. Sam Gharbi, co-founder of Arya EHR. Fueled by his frustrations with the harm done by outdated communication and information tech in healthcare, Dr. Sam Gharbi and his co-founders, Dr. Richard Sztramko and Dr. Richard built this physician-first EHR without any coding experience.
You can find out more about Arya EHR at https://www.aryaehr.com/, and about Dr. Gharbi, the inimitable accomplished clinician, educator, and innovator, at https://www.samgharbi.com/.
To find more of our podcasts, you can go to howitsmed.com or https://plnk.to/howitsmed.
Full video on YouTube https://youtu.be/UOH2s5fyKg4 .
0:00 - 12:49 - Dr. Gharbi reflects on how his dreams of becoming a ghostbuster were destroyed, and his journey into the harrowing practice of internal medicine instead.
13:18 - 22:55 - The path less taken: how constant reflections on how his working environments could be improved turned into a foray into medical innovation - one full of struggles with culture and guidelines.
23:14 - 30:13 - Why is pushback against innovation so prevalent in medicine? Dr. Gharbi comments and reflects on his efforts to address this culture through his ceaseless efforts to innovate for the betterment of healthcare through Arya EHR.
30:42 - 37:44 - The making of Arya EHR - and Dr. Gharbi’s team’s struggles with building a leading electronic health record from wireframes to functional software without a technical co-founder.
37:57 - 44:38 - Dr. Gharbi’s core learnings from his experience with Arya EHR so far, and the skills he brought from his career in medicine to his foray into medical entrepreneurship.
45:38 - 52:40 - From bootstrapping to fundraising - Dr. Gharbi’s experience as an executive the needs of his company with learning to bootstrap vs. fundraising from angels and VCs.
53:00 - 58:53 - Dr. Gharbi looks to the future of digital information management in the healthcare sector
Seafood or see food?
Next time you take a picture of your delicious meal for the ‘gram, check out RxFood powered by Inner Analytics; the application turns these snapshots into a report on your nutrition for your physician to prevent and manage chronic disease.
This week, we had the pleasure of talking to Dr. Jeff Alfonsi, CMO of Inner Analytics, the company that makes this possible. From Toronto Notes to image processing to trading with Barclays, he shared his unique route to health innovation with us on this week’s episode of @Physician Founded.
Full video on YouTube https://youtu.be/WqHhj2eGzw4
2:33 – 8:15 - From applied science to Wall Street to med school, Dr. Alfonsi’s journey was never traditional.
8:37 – 13:28 - Dr. Alfonsi shares the rationale behind and his experience of his transition from Wall Street into medicine.
16:37 – 28:23 - From Toronto Notes to validating iPhone applications - Dr. Alfonsi’s myriad accomplishments during med school, and his journey into obesity medicine practice.
28:30 – 31:30 - What was the story behind Inner Analytics?
32:11 – 38:08 - Inner Analytics - the problem it solves and the solution it presents.
40:27 – 46:17 - The importance of, people, and story behind the design of Inner Analytics. How does Inner Analytics understand the importance of UI experience?
46:50 – 48:04 - Dr. Alfonsi gives some tips on how to approach challenges for physicians who want to build their startup but don’t have a network of engineers and advisors.
48:24 - 53:30 - Dr. Alfonsi highlights the challenges that Inner Analytics faces and his approach to solving these engineering and reimbursement challenges?
“One of the things that really saw us through was not accepting the common parlance of 'that cant be done.” On this episode, @Dr. Daniel Schwartz, previous CEO and Co-Founder of @QxMD, reflects on how his team developed tools to simplify the practice of evidence-based medicine for the benefit of millions of patients.
You can find out more about Dr. Schwartz at https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdanielschwartz/ or https://twitter.com/drdschwartzmd?lang=en.
To find more of our podcasts, you can go to howitsmed.com or https://plnk.to/howitsmed.
Full Video on YouTube https://youtu.be/dEICnT8LuDA .
Looking for our timestamps? Check them out below.
0:54 – 1:20 - What drove Dr. Schwartz’s interest in medicine?
1:30 – 4:02 - What does it mean to know just enough computer science to be dangerous in medtech?
4:23 – 6:59 - Interdisciplinary exposures? How do they impact a career in medtech?
7:38 – 9:54 – The fork in the road: traditional medicine and the path less travelled.
10:02 – 17:11 - What’s the story behind QxMD?
17:28 – 24:13 - Dr. Schwartz talks about the challenges that QxMD faced and how he would do things differently if he could them again.
26:03 – 27:22 - How is working with engineers different from working with doctors?
27:46 – 34:25 - The magic behind QxMD.
34:39 – 37:15 - Dr. Schwartz shares his opinion on the future of medical education.
38:01 – 44:03 - QxMD: Where are they now?
44:42 – 50:20 - Dr. Schwartz shares his passion for and insights into healthcare informatics.
50:44 - 52:11 - Dr. Schwartz’s take: Complex AI as a linchpin for personalized medicine
There are limitations to what a clinician can do.” Among other poignant points, Dr. Keith Tsui, shared with us his journey from physician, to management consultant, product manager at a digital health unicorn startup to founder of Medwise.ai.
You can find out more about Medwise at Medwise.ai. Their team is doing exciting work to use AI to massively improve the answering of clinical questions posed by physicians.
To find more of our podcasts, you can go to howitsmed.com or https://plnk.to/howitsmed.
Looking for our timestamps? Check them out below.
0:32 – 2:37: “Life is all we have” - the story behind Dr. Tsui’s passion for medicine
2:45 - 6:10: “Can we do more innovative diagnostic tests to detect cancer at an earlier stage?” - Dr. Tsui shares the drive behind his endeavour into entrepreneurship
6:53 – 9:13 - “I would encourage medical students who are interested in entrepreneurship to do practise” - Dr. Tsui talks about his journey through clinical medicine into entrepreneurship
9:48 – 12:14 - ”Management consultants sometimes have a bad name in the helathcare industry” - Dr. Tsui reflects on the relevance of his management consulting experience to his Medwise.ai journey.
12:45 - 15:44 - “I am lucky and fortunate to have parents that support my career change” - An elaboration on the importance of a supportive ecosystem to the success of medical entrepreneurs
16:47 – 19:58 - “There is no hard and fast rule to do that” - A discussion with Dr. Tsui on his choice to pursue full-time entrepreneurship with his own startup instead of working as a medical consultant to a larger company.
20:26 – 22:55 - “There is only going to be increased demand on the healthcare system” - Highlights of the awareness, innovations, and adoption of different medical technologies driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
23:15 – 24:51 - “It takes a longer time to get to market if you start from a solution” - To start with the problem or the solution? Dr. Tsui elaborates.
25:39 – 30:27 - “AI definitely has the opportunity to make healthcare better” - A discussion of the boundaries, opportunities, and limitations to healthcare advancement through AI.
31:01 – 36:31 - “No idea is automatically a viable business” - A discussion on the importance of discussing problems with a supportive, innovative community, and of quickly sorting good from bad ideas to make the most prudent allocation of time and capital with the end-goal of medical entrepreneurship in mind.
From dreaming about joining the Special Forces to a career in medicine, to working in startup incubating, Dr. Steve Jungmann has seen it all. He is currently the Chief Medical Officer at FoundersLane, a German health technology incubator.
Tune into this podcast to learn about his journey so far, the importance of upskilling, and the value in being a generalist.
You can learn more about his company here: https://founderslane.com/ He also has a start-up halitus.io just won the German Digital Health Award by Novartis
He also has a medical gaming start-up www.asystolegame.com in German that will launch in English-speaking countries soon
Full video on YouTube https://youtu.be/3qYLpSWrF7Y .
0:35 – 2:00 - Who is Dr. Sven Jungmann? Dr. Jungmann talks about how he started his career as a medical doctor and what led him to venture into medical startups, and corporations, building new apps and gamification.
2:10 – 3:10 - The secret to multi-tasking and maximizing time. How interfacing with different people with different skills creates leverage and a strong impact.
3:51 – 8:16 - The difference between working in the intersection of different fields and focusing on a single field. Why Dr. Jungmann followed the unconventional ways of learnings in order to achieve excellence.
8:40 – 12:37 - Dr. Jungmann had an interest in Special Forces. How does this lead him to his medical career? What other things interest him in the past?
13:01 – 18:20 - Dr. Jungmann talks about his encounter with the notion of skilling and how it sparked his journey into the startup world.
18:41 – 23:09 - From Oxford going back to medicine. What motivates his decisions? What are his strategies? Dr. Jungmann explains what he thought would really bring a great impact on his career and on other people.
23:35 – 26:26 - Why Dr. Jungmann commits himself to focus on startups and has stopped practicing medicine. What made him stick to the role of CMO?
26:53 –29:00 What are several components that exemplify his transition as a CMO? Dr. Jungmann explains how crucial it is to fully understand the role in your career.
29:39 – 35:12 - A topic on how to resolve conflicts and bridge the gap between the public sector of healthcare and the world of startups and how to rise above any possible rejections or judgments that may come along the way.
35:39 – 41:32 - LEARNING TO UNLEARN is the best way to upskill oneself. Dr. Jungmann explains more on this interesting topic.
42:04 – 44:37 - Tips on how to apply psychological safety and how it affects the startup world.
45:14 - 49:17 - How did other people find success as healthcare architects? Dr. Jungmann provides an in-depth description of archetypes.
49:41 – 52:36 - What does the HEALER archetype offer to the advancement and adoption of technology in digital healthcare?
53:33 – 56:46 - Dr. Jungmann explains why he focuses more on data-driven startups. How it can bring changes from a reactive healthcare system to a proactive healthcare system.
Telepsychiatry to Telco - that’s just a portion of the amazing journey that Dr @Diane McIntosh took. Diane is the founder of @SwitchRx, @PsychedUp, Chief Neuroscience Officer at @Telus, and an established author and podcaster.
You can find out more about SwitchRx at https://www.switchrx.com/, about PsychedUp at https://www.psychedupcme.com/, and about Blindsided, Diane’s new podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/4xOv7TU5yn67D8dEGWIUdO?si=82c16acb1e8a4f9f.
Dr. McIntosh’s book - This is Depression - is available here: https://www.amazon.ca/This-Depression-Comprehensive-Compassionate-Understand/dp/1989025560 - it’s a really interesting read!
You can find out more about How Its Med at howitsmed.com, or https://plnk.to/howitsmed.
0:40 – 4:09 - Dr. McIntosh shares a little bit about her exciting elite athlete-focused foray into the podcasting world.
4:21 – 6:13 - Impostor syndrome affects everyone - Diane talks about her greatest achievements and her advice to her 15-year-old self in light of this.
6:24 – 12:56 - Diane describes her journey into medicine, then from pediatrics to psychiatry
13:08 – 17:05 - Psychiatric medications can be difficult to understand - Diane shares her impetus behind founding SwitchRx and PsychedUp.
17:27 – 20:13 - Dr. Diane McIntosh speaks about her transition from sharing her knowledge with family practitioners all the way to her current role.
20:24 – 22:14 - CNO? What’s that? Dr. McIntosh answers the question of what it means to be a Chief Neuroscience Officer.
22:23 – 32:06 - Diane shares with us some of the highlights of her work Telus, including the RAPIDS program as well as the multidisciplinary culture at telco in comparison to medical work culture.
32:28 – 40:30 - Knowledge translation is difficult at the best of times, and can be even more challenging in the field of medicine. Diane discusses this and highlights a contentious example in the role of safe algorithmic care and understanding its mechanism and how those 2 concepts aligned to each other.
40:30 – 42:56 - Diane’s advice to younger physicians who are aiming to have their own startup company or trying to join a larger organization.
Would you place a $1 billion bet on a 1/100 chance of success? Previous Forbes 30 under 30 winner Dr. Neel Madhukar, the CEO of OneThree Biotech, an AI drug discovery company explains why those bets can be worth it - and so much more about the world of drug discovery that has been the center of his journey.
You can find out more about OneThreeBiotech at https://onethree.bio
To find more of our podcasts, you can go to howitsmed.com or https://plnk.to/howitsmed.
Timestamps:
0:42 - 3:30 - An elaboration on Neel’s path through a PhD at Cornell, then Cornell Tech’s incubator program - all of which led him to founding OneThree Bio.
3:30 - 5:40 - Dr. Madhukar’s recollection of why he chose to forgo becoming a physician to focus on “giving physicians the tools they need to give to do the best patient treatment” by discovering new drugs.
5:40 - 8:44 - Clarifying the story behind drug discovery - how does it really work? Is dopamine signalling important in cancer treatment?
8:59 - 11:38 - Was it the location? Was it the people? What was behind “dominoes falling into place” to get you to where you are today? It’s the mentorship and the world working in terms of biological data emerging along with computing activities increasing.
11:40 - 14:38 - Remote work in biotech for those in business management vs R & D. Are biotech hubs worth it?
14:45 - 17:00 - The big question: Why would VCs and investment groups choose to put money in drug development knowing that the success rates are around 1 to 3 percent?
17:00 - 19:20 - A disucssion of the role of industry in biomedical innovation. Is industry really the dark side?
19:25 - 21:25 - The importance of finding right partnerships and how to find the them? It’s “synergistic” in terms of being able to leverage each other’s expertise.
21:30 - 23:10 - The impact of and story behind Dr. Madhukar’s Forbes 30 under 30.
23:10 - 24:35 - A discussion about OneThree Biotech’s work in computational technologies and AI systems to identify cancer drug candidates.
24:35 - 27:52 - What IS the role of AI in drug discovery? Dr. Madhukar elaborates on the utility of pattern recognition in NCI, NIH, and FDA databases as a starting point.
27:52 - 32:40 - From OneThree Biotech’s focus on a biological approach to drug development to a summary of how a drug goes from candidate to market - Dr. Madhukar’s masterpiece summary.
32:40 - 36:40 - Failure as a cost driver for drug development - what are the first-order and second-order effects of our ineffcient drug development systems?
36:40 - 37:40 - Drug candidate identification or drug development? Dr. Madhukar elaborates on OneThree Biotech’s plans.
37:40 - 40:25 - “Acknowledge where your strengths and try to fill in the gaps in your own startup” - words of wisdom from Dr. Madhukar when it comes to how startup founders should approach the ever-present feeling of not being fully prepared.
40:25 - 42:08 - Dr. Madhukar’s reflection on his journey - and the experiences that he wish he had taken the time to gain despite his successes.
42:08 - 43:58 - Educational Institutes and corporate partners - what are their roles in answering core questions and moving biotech business forward? A discussion on the niche roles of each kind of partner.
On this episode of Physician Founded, we chatted with Dr. Paul Komenda - nephrologist and CMO of Quanta Dialysis Technologies.
You can find Quanta Dialysis Technologies at https://www.quantadt.com/.
Our sponsor, Macadamian Technologies, can be found at https://www.macadamian.com/.
Finally, you can find us, the How Its Med team, at howitsmed.com.
Chapters:
0:49 - 3:20 - Dr. Komenda talks about how a passion for science and problem solving, combined with a far-from-glamorous research position, led to his decision to pursue medicine and innovation as a way to make a difference in society.
3:30 - 5:10 - How Dr. Adeera Levin shaped Dr. Komenda’s passion for sustainable, scalable change in complex healthcare systems.
5:16 - 9:15 - Dr. Komenda discusses his role as CMO of Quanta, a dialysis company, and how his role has evolved with the demands of the company.
9:33 - 11:24 - Dr. Komenda discuss the strength that his continued clinical involvement lends him in his role at Qanta
11:42 - 15:03 - A discussion on Dr. Komenda’s experience with mentors, and the importance of careful selection of mentors who have your best interest at heart. Dr. Komenda emphasizes the nuances that the pervasive nature of the virtual world can bring to traditional mentee-mentor dynamics.
15:11 - 23:03 - Dr. Komenda lays out his opinion on the strengths of academic centers and the challenges that these centers face when it comes to medical innovation.
22:40 - 24:12 - Dr. Komenda discusses systemic changes that could be made to foster innovation among early clinical trainees and to minimize mid-career burnout among clinicians.
24:20 - 28:01 - The story of Dr. Komenda’s start with medical innovation at NxStage, and how that role impacts his work to this day.
On this episode, we chatted with Dr. Joshua Liu - physician turned co-founder and CEO of SeamlessMD, and one of the most well-known mentors and founders in the Canadian healthtech ecosystem.
You can find out more about SeamlessMD at https://seamless.md/
To find out more about us, How Its Med, you can check us out at howitsmed.com or @howitsmed on all the socials!
In today’s episode, we interview Dr. Arash Zohoor, co-founder of Inkblot Therapy - which was acquired by Greenshield. As a family physician, an avid learner, and one of the most impressive leaders we've chatted with yet, Dr. Zohoor shared with us fundamental pearls relevant to all physician founders. Check out his amazing story and eloquence here!
To learn more about your sponsors for this series, Macadamian Technologies & HaloHealth, visit their websites below and follow them at:
https://www.macadamian.com//
https://www.linkedin.com/company/macadamian/
https://www.halohealth.ca/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/halohealthmd/
To find out more about us, you can check out howitsmed.com or follow us on our social media pages at @howitsmed.
In today’s episode, we interview Dr. Arash Zohoor, co-founder of Inkblot Therapy - which was acquired by Greenshield. As a family physician, an avid learner, and one of the most impressive leaders we've chatted with yet, Dr. Zohoor shared with us fundamental pearls relevant to all physician founders. Check out his amazing story and eloquence here!
To learn more about your sponsors for this series, Macadamian Technologies & HaloHealth, visit their websites below and follow them on LinkedIn:https://www.macadamian.com//
https://www.linkedin.com/company/macadamian/
https://www.halohealth.ca/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/halohealthmd/
We’re back! In this episode with Arna Ionesco, CEO of Wavely Diagnostics, we learn about her vision of what a future empowered by digital diagnostics looks like - and so much more.
Find us on Linkedin at @howitsmed or at howitsmed.com
You can find Wavely at wavelydx.com, or on Twitter at @wavely_app.
Arna Ionescu Stoll, CEO of Wavely Diagnostics, sits down to talk with us about her journey - from her beginnings as a health tech UX designer, to getting banned from hotels for committing to the bit when trying to get early feedback on her product, to where she is now. She tells all.
Find us on Twitter and Linkedin at @howitsmed, or at https://www.howitsmed.com/
Check out Wavely's website at https://wavelydx.com/
digitalhealth #healthtech #pediatrics #diagnostics
In today’s episode, we interview Dr. Ailis Tweed-Kent, CEO of Cocoon Biotech. As a CEO, urgent care doc, an engineer, and so much more, Ailis regaled us with her cross-disciplinary experiences that have led her to her success so far in the biotech space. Listen to those tales here!
To learn more about your sponsors for this series, Macadamian Technologies & HaloHealth, visit their websites below and follow them on LinkedIn:https://www.macadamian.com//
https://www.linkedin.com/company/macadamian/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/halohealthmd/
On this episode, we chatted with Dr. Melissa Lem - Director of PaRx and family physician. This time, we heard about what makes her tick - and why she chose to dedicate herself to educating physicians and patients alike about the benefits of nature prescriptions. The parallels to the startup world in her non-profit work so far were fascinating - you can hear more about in our latest episode!
On this episode, we chatted with Dr. Melissa Lem - Director of PaRx and family physician. This time, we heard about what makes her tick - and why she chose to dedicate herself to educating physicians and patients alike about the benefits of nature prescriptions. The parallels to the startup world in her non-profit work so far were fascinating - you can hear how she started along her path on this episode - so listen now!
On this episode of Med Tech Talks, we hear again from Dr. Ryan D'arcy - neuroscientist, entrepreneur, Head of Health Science and Innovation at Surrey Memorial Hospital, and President and CSO of HealthTech Connex.
You can learn more about HealthTech Connex at https://healthtechconnex.com/
You can find us at howitsmed.com or at @howitsmed on all the socials!
On this episode of Med Tech Talks, we hear from Dr. Ryan D'arcy - neuroscientist, entrepreneur, Head of Health Science and Innovation at Surrey Memorial Hospital, and President and CSO of HealthTech Connex.
You can find out more about HealthTech Connex at https://healthtechconnex.com/, and you can find out more about us, How its Med, at howitsmed.com or @howitsmed on all the social media websites.
Upkar Tatlay, Director of Scientific Research and Innovative Development at Oxus Machineworks, tells us the story behind and the challenges of his path into health technology development and how he continues to integrate a community-focused angle.
Find out more about Oxus Machineworks at https://oxusmachineworks.com/, and as always, you can find out about us, How Its Med at @howitsmed or at howitsmed.com.
Upkar Tatlay, the Director of Scientific Research and Innovative Development at Oxus Machineworks, tells us how he started along his path of health technology development and why he comes at it from such a community-focused angle.
You can find out more about Oxus Machineworks at https://oxusmachineworks.com/, and about us, How Its Med, at howitsmed.com or @howitsmed on the socials.
In today’s episode, we interview Dr. Sam Elfassy, co-founder of HaloHealth and Keyops. As a young physician founder and gastroenterologist, Dr. Elfassy very pointedly discusses how his experiences in business school showed him the world of skillsets and experience outside of medicine that have helped him thrive so uniquely in his career. Check out his amazing story and eloquence here!
To learn more about your sponsors for this series, Macadamian Technologies & HaloHealth, visit their websites below:
https://www.macadamian.com//
https://www.linkedin.com/company/macadamian/
https://www.halohealth.ca/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/halohealthmd/
To find out more about us, How Its Med, you can find us at howitsmed.com or @howitsmed on all the socials!
On this episode, we chatted with Dr. Joshua Liu - physician turned co-founder and CEO of SeamlessMD, and one of the most well-known mentors and founders in the Canadian healthtech ecosystem.
You can find out more about SeamlessMD at https://seamless.md/
To find out more about us, How Its Med, you can go to howitsmed.com or @howitsmed on all the socials.
What do a physician, an advisor to the eHealth Center of Excellence, and a peer Leader for OntarioMD have in common? They're all roles that Dr. Daniel Pepe holds - roles which lend him insight into the trials and tribulations of the eHealth revolution happening in Eastern Canada. What are the most important takeaways from his experiences working in the midst of the uptake of novel healthcare technologies? You gotta take a listen to find out!
What do a physician, an advisor to the eHealth Center of Excellence, and a peer Leader for OntarioMD have in common? They're all roles that Dr. Daniel Pepe holds - roles which lend him insight into the trials and tribulations of the eHealth revolution happening in Eastern Canada. How did he get to where he is now? Tune in now and we'll find out!
Another doctor who was connected to the space program? Dr. Spencer is an engineer, physician, entrepreneur, and so, so much more. Along his unconventional path to becoming the amazing, unique individual that he is, Dr. Spencer learned about entrepreneurship in healthcare; he shares these lessons with us this time around on Med Tech Talks.
In today’s episode, we interview Dr. Ailis Tweed-Kent, CEO of Cocoon Biotech. As a CEO, urgent care doc, an engineer, and so much more, Ailis regaled us with her cross-disciplinary experiences that have led her to her success so far in the biotech space. Listen to those tales here!
To learn more about your sponsors for this series, Macadamian Technologies & HaloHealth, visit their websites below and follow them on LinkedIn:https://www.macadamian.com//
https://www.linkedin.com/company/macadamian/
https://www.halohealth.ca/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/halohealthmd/
Another doctor who was connected to the space program? Dr. Spencer is an engineer, physician, entrepreneur, and so, so much more. Along his unconventional path to becoming the amazing, unique individual that he is, Dr. Spencer has experienced alot and learned more - the first part of which you'll find in this episode.
In today’s episode, we continue our interview Dr. Jordan Vollrath, CEO and Co-Founder of Cherry Health. After graduating straight into the maw of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jordan decided to take a stab at addressing a critical need in our medical system. The Cherry Health team have grown massively since their humble beginnings - but you can hear about how it all began here!
To learn more about your sponsors for this series, Macadamian Technologies & HaloHealth, visit their websites below and follow them on LinkedIn:https://www.macadamian.com//
https://www.linkedin.com/company/macadamian/
https://www.halohealth.ca/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/halohealthmd/
On this episode, we chatted with Jonathan Muruako - MPH student and co-founder of Fitalyst - a preventative health-based startup. While Muruako had initially considered medical school, various factors led him to pursue public health instead. Along the way, he learned various lessons and gained different perspectives on preventative health which he shared with us on this episode - tune on in!
On this episode, we chatted with Jonathan Muruako - MPH student and co-founder of Fitalyst - a preventative health-based startup. While Muruako had initially considered medical school, various factors led him to pursue public health instead. Want to know why? Check out our episode!
In today’s episode, we interview Dr. Jordan Vollrath, CEO and Co-Founder of Cherry Health. After graduating straight into the maw of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jordan decided to take a stab at addressing a critical need in our medical system. The Cherry Health team have grown massively since their humble beginnings - but you can hear about how it all began here!
To learn more about your sponsors for this series, Macadamian Technologies & HaloHealth, visit their websites below and follow them on LinkedIn:https://www.macadamian.com//
https://www.linkedin.com/company/macadamian/
https://www.halohealth.ca/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/halohealthmd/
We're back again with our chat with Dr. Ian Gardiner - a radiologist and an angel investor with various angel investing groups. Say what? Don't know what angel investing is? That's okay - sit tight so we can tell you Dr. Gardiner's story for you to learn from!
This time around, we chatted with Dr. Ian Gardiner - a radiologist and an angel investor with various angel investing groups. Say what? Don't know what angel investing is? That's okay - sit tight so we can tell you Dr. Gardiner's story for you to learn from!
We're back at it again with Dr. Kwadwo Kyerementang, host of the Solving Healthcare Podcast. As you may have heard on this first part, Dr. Kyerementang is a palliative care doc, an intensive care doc, and through his podcast and the Resource Optimization Network, leads some amazing change out of the University of Ottawa. We really had fun with this conversation about his opinions on what issues healthcare faces - and what role health tech plays in the solutions to these issues!
We're back - this time with Dr. Kwadwo Kyerementang, host of the Solving Healthcare Podcast. Dr. Kyerementang is a palliative care doc, an intensive care doc, and through his podcast and the Resource Optimization Network, leads some amazing change out of the University of Ottawa. We really had fun with this conversation about his opinions on what issues healthcare faces - and what role health tech plays in the solutions to these issues!
Use of virtual care has grown massively over the past year - even Dr. Kendall Ho, Executive Director of iCON says so. But what does this mean for the patient - and when is the use of virtual care appropriate? In this episode, we end our conversation with Dr. Ho with a taste of what virtual care delivery could look like - and what it means for the vulnerable people served by our healthcare system.
Use of virtual care has grown massively over the past year - even Dr. Kendall Ho, Executive Director of iCON says so. But what does this mean for the patient - and when is the use of virtual care appropriate? In this episode, we begin our conversation with Dr. Ho this tool works - and when it doesn't.
Imagine trying to place a tube into a patient's airway WITHOUT being able to see it. Kind of makes it hard, eh? This time, we chat a little with Dr. Pacey about the lessons he learned and his story on the way to developing the Glidescope - in a new short-form format. Let us know what you think of it!
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner our at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
Imagine trying to place a tube into a patient's airway WITHOUT being able to see it. Kind of makes it hard, eh? This time, we chat a little with Dr. Pacey about the lessons he learned and his story on the way to developing the Glidescope - in a new short-form format. Let us know what you think of it!
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner our at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
On this episode of Med Tech Talks, we chat with Rohit Singla, BASc MASc and now MD PhD. This guy can't get enough of school! However, he's more than a meganerd who loves everything health tech - he's got amazing insights into the development of medical technologies and how he hopes to fit into this burgeoning sector in the future. Did I mention? He also used to be a radio host and a football player. Go figure!
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner our at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
In today’s episode, we interview Geoffrey Parker and Lorraine Chapman, Director and Senior Director of Healthcare Technology at Macadamian Technologies respectively. While they're not physician founders, they have worked with physician founders in a software development capacity - and provide plenty of insights into the medical software development process.
To learn more about your sponsors for this series, Macadamian Technologies & HaloHealth, visit their websites below and follow them on LinkedIn: https://www.macadamian.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/macadamian/
https://www.halohealth.ca/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/halohealthmd/
On this episode of Med Tech Talks, we chat with Rohit Singla, BASc MASc and now MD PhD. This guy can't get enough of school! However, he's more than a meganerd who loves everything health tech - he's got amazing insights into the development of medical technologies and how he hopes to fit into this burgeoning sector in the future. Did I mention? He also used to be a radio host and a football player. Go figure!
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner our at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
Engineering? Urology? Natural Disaster healthcare management? Kyle Dymanus, the engineer-turned medical student talks it all on this episode of Med Tech Talks.
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner our at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
In today’s episode, we interview Dr. Cheryl Netterfield, founder and CEO of POMMe-Health and ex-general practitioner who worked with the Canadian Armed Forces . She talks shop about her journey into entrepreneurship from her unique background.
To learn more about your sponsors for this series, Macadamian Technologies & HaloHealth, visit their websites below and follow them on LinkedIn: https://www.macadamian.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/macadamian/
https://www.halohealth.ca/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/halohealthmd/
Engineering? Urology? Natural Disaster healthcare management? Kyle Dymanus, the engineer-turned medical student talks it all on this episode of Med Tech Talks.
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner our at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
Straight from Castlegar, trained as a nurse and as a paramedic (with two MBAs), with experience in Alberta setting up one of the first arthroplasty centres in Canada, in addition to experience leading Northern Health, Fraser Health, and now the Health and Technology District, Rowena Rizzotti shares her wealth of experience with us.
But wait - I literally didn't write out all her accomplishments; she oversaw the $500 million investment into a critical care tower in Surrey, BC, is the founder of Innovation Boulevard, and serves as the Vice President of Healthcare and Innovations for two private health sector companies.
You mean there's more? Rowena is also a member of the Conference Board of Canada Council for Innovation and Commercialization and is a Mentor for SFU Beedie School of Business as well as Founder and Chief Executive for the Institute for Healthcare Innovations.
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner our at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
Straight from Castlegar, trained as a nurse and as a paramedic (with two MBAs), with experience in Alberta setting up one of the first arthroplasty centres in Canada, in addition to experience leading Northern Health, Fraser Health, and now the Health and Technology District, Rowena Rizzotti shares her wealth of experience with us.
But wait - I literally didn't write out all her accomplishments; she oversaw the $500 million investment into a critical care tower in Surrey, BC, is the founder of Innovation Boulevard, and serves as the Vice President of Healthcare and Innovations for two private health sector companies.
You mean there's more? Rowena is also a member of the Conference Board of Canada Council for Innovation and Commercialization and is a Mentor for SFU Beedie School of Business as well as Founder and Chief Executive for the Institute for Healthcare Innovations.
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner our at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
Process Engineer. Innovation Coordinator. Urban Health Researcher. Medical Sustainability Researcher. Medical Student. My mom wishes that I could be Alec Yu, but this time, we talk instead about why Alec and the How Its Med team differ in our opinions on medical innovation.
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner our at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
Process Engineer. Innovation Coordinator. Urban Health Researcher. Medical Sustainability Researcher. Medical Student. My mom wishes that I could be Alec Yu, but this time, we talk instead about why Alec and the How Its Med team differ in our opinions on medical innovation.
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner our at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
So you're going about your medical training and BOOM, you're hit by clerkship, where you're expected to take care of patients. It's a huge gap to bridge for students and the medical system alike. Dr. Karim Qayumi created CyberPatient to help solve this issue. Let's take a listen!
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner our at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
So you're going about your medical training and BOOM, you're hit by clerkship, where you're expected to take care of patients. It's a huge gap to bridge for students and the medical system alike. Dr. Karim Qayumi created CyberPatient to help solve this issue. Let's take a listen!
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner our at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
In today’s episode, we interview Dr. Dan Nayot, co-founder of HaloHealth, and co-founder and Medical Director of Future Fertility, and reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist. He talks shop about his journey into entrepreneurship and lessons learned.
To learn more about your sponsors for this series, Macadamian Technologies & HaloHealth, visit their websites below and follow them on LinkedIn: https://www.macadamian.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/macadamian/
https://www.halohealth.ca/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/halohealthmd/
Emergency Medicine. Digital Health Lead. Academic Director for Cloud Innovation Centre. Executive Director of the inter-Cultural Online health Network. How do you keep up with Dr. Kendall Ho? Well, you have a chat with him - a really really insightful chat. Give it a listen.
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner out at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
Emergency Medicine. Digital Health Lead. Academic Director for Cloud Innovation Centre. Executive Director of the inter-Cultural Online health Network. How do you keep up with Dr. Kendall Ho? Well, you have a chat with him - a really really insightful chat. Give it a listen.
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner out at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
Dr. Claudia Krebs is a beloved neuroanatomy instructor at UBC, founder of the HIVE (the Hackspace for Innovation and Visualisation in Education) and the creator of neuroanatomy.ca, speaks with us this week. Check out our second episode with her now!
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner out at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
Dr. Claudia Krebs is a beloved neuroanatomy instructor at UBC, founder of the HIVE (the Hackspace for Innovation and Visualisation in Education) and the creator of neuroanatomy.ca, speaks with us this week. Check it out!
This episode is sponsored by the Surrey Health and Technology District, a prime space for collaboration, clinical studies, and growth. Check our partner out at https://healthandtechnologydistrict.com/ !
We're back at it again with Pt. 2 with Ricky Hu! Tune for more with Ricky Hu - engineer turned med student (turned lawyer?).
What do whole grain bread and ultrasound images have in common? Lots of grain. Stay tuned for more with Ricky Hu - engineer turned med student (turned lawyer?).
This time, we're back with Pt. 2 of our conversation with Albert Tai - CEO and co-founder of Hypercare. Missed our last episode? Check it out first
Beep beep! It's your call pager. I can't do onomatopoeia for a fax machine so I won't try, but Albert Tai of Hypercare legend breaks down his beginnings in this episode. Take a listen - you won't regret it.
In today’s episode, we interview Luke Sheen, Executive Director of physician-led angel investment group HaloHealth to discuss how he became involved in the new Canadian angel network, the impact the group is having on Canadian healthcare innovation, and what makes HaloHealth uniquely apt for physician entrepreneurs.
To learn more about your sponsors for this series, Macadamian Technologies & HaloHealth, visit their websites below and follow them on LinkedIn: https://www.macadamian.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/macadamian/
https://www.halohealth.ca/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/halohealthmd/
Missed our first episode with the legendary Dr. Choi? Check out our first episode here (https://anchor.fm/how-its-med/episodes/Med-Tech-Talks-Ep--8---Chatting-with-Dr--Joe-Choi-Pt--1-ehv50a).
Emergency medicine? Startups? Privacy and confidentiality? If you wanted any more hot topics, you'd be Joe Choi's Linkedin profile...or you could listen to this episode - which is the second part of our conversation with him.
Emergency medicine? Startups? Privacy and confidentiality? If you wanted any more hot topics, you'd be Joe Choi's Linkedin profile...or you could listen to this episode - which is the first part of our conversation with him.
Dual Energy CT, AI in radiology, and how to build Skynet - we talked about 2 of these three things on this episode. Listen to find out more as we start delving into Dr. Wong's perspectives on some innovations in medicine!
Bodybuilder, knowledge translator, track and field star, and radiology resident - what can't Bill Wong do? Train 8 hours a day, apparently.
Part 2: Electric boogaloo of a conversation on the conversations between Drs. Cadesky and Kim - this time about their failures and their perceptions of the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in medicine.
Just entering medical school or planning to do so? You might want to listen to this one. Emily's an incoming medical student and has an extensive background in tech education and comes from...a compsci background?
On this episode of Breaking it Down, we compare and contrast our conversations with Dr. Kim and Cadesky, yielding some banter-filled insights about their paths into medicine and entrepreneurship.
This time, we sit down with Ade Adesanya, founder of Moving Analytics, 2018 Forbes 30 under 30 feature, and founder of the Multicultural Angel Network. Strap in for a wild ride.
This week, we chat with Dr. David Kim - emergency medicine resident, CEO of Difinity Solutions, and visiting researcher at the European Space Agency.
This week, we chat with Dr. Eric Cadesky - past president of Doctors of BC, entrepreneur, and family physician.