Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show

Send us Fan MailDr. Heather Ikemire, Ph.D. is Executive Director of Lifetime Arts ( https://lifetimearts.org/ ), a national service organization focused on accelerating the impact of creative aging nationwide and leading this national, multi-sector movement to establish creative aging as an essential driver of older adult health and well-being.The vision of Lifetime Arts is to imagine a world without ageism and social isolation, where creative aging is embraced as a fundamental human right.Dr. Ikemire joined the Lifetime Arts team as Deputy Director in July 2022 and has been involved in leading Lifetime Arts’ work to organize initiatives like the annual International Creative Summit in partnership with colleagues from the U.K. and Finland, bringing together more than 440 arts and aging leaders from 24+ countries.Dr. Ikemire came to Lifetime Arts with twenty years of experience in arts education and nonprofit management, including fifteen years with the National Guild for Community Arts Education, also a national service organization. While working there, she was focused on directing the Guild’s large-scale, multi-year investment in Catalyzing Creative Aging as well as Creative Youth Development National Partnership.Dr. Ikemire has a Ph.D. in Theater for Youth from Arizona State University and a B.A. in English Literature from Vassar College.Important Episode Link - E.A. Michelson Philanthropy -https://eamichelsonphilanthropy.org/vitality-arts/videos/Go visit the “Videos to Inspire” page to see this work in action – and hear from Jane Fonda in the Foundation’s recent video about the importance of creative aging.#LifetimeArts #HeatherIkemire #CreativeAging #Ageism #SocialIsolation #HumanRights #SocialPrescribing #Health #WellBeing #NationalGuildForCommunityArtsEducation #CommunityArts #HealthyAging #Dance #Music #Education #Drama #Art #Literature #EAMichelsonPhilanthropy #Libraries #Museums  #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #Podcasting #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Science #Technology #ResearchSupport the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Nikolay Kukushkin, Ph.D. ( https://www.nikolaykukushkin.com/ ) is Clinical Associate Professor of Life Science and a research fellow at the Center for Neural Science, at NYU ( https://liberalstudies.nyu.edu/about/faculty-listing/nikolay-kukushkin.html ).  Dr. Kukushkin studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms of memory formation and his research has been exploring that memory is not just confined to neuronal circuits, but rather exists in all types of cells in humans and other organisms, relying on a conserved set of molecular tools.Working at the convergence of neuroscience, molecular biology, evolution, and philosophy, Dr. Kukushkin’s core research program currently deals with the role of time patterns in memory formation and how these time patterns of experience determine which memories are formed, and which ones are forgotten.Prior to joining NYU, Dr. Kukushkin held a post-doctoral appointment at Harvard Medical School, Department of Cell Biology. He was also a fellow of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation for his work on the temporal aspects of protein degradation and its role in cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and cognitive disability.Dr. Kukushkin’s academic work has been published in Nature Communications, Nature Medicine, Neuron, and PNAS among others. Dr. Kukushkin is also the author of a bestselling, award-winning book “One Hand Clapping: The Origin Story of The Human Mind” (Alpina Non-Fiction, Moscow, 2020), which deals with the origins of human consciousness. The book will be published in English in 2025 by Prometheus (US) and Swift Press (UK and worldwide).  The book won the most prestigious book prize for Russian nonfiction, the Enlightener (Prosvetitel) Award, as well as the Alexander Belyaev Medal, awarded to the best Russian-language nonfiction and science fiction.Dr. Kukushkin holds a D. Phil. in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford (UK) and a B. Sc. in Biology from St. Petersburg State University (Russia).Important Episode Link - Nature Communications, November 2024 - The massed-spaced learning effect in non-neural human cells - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53922-x#NikolayKukushkin #NYU #NeuralScience #Memory #Learning #Neurons #Neuroscientist #Brain #NonNeuralCells #ProteinDegradation #Dementia #SeaSlugs #AplysiaCalifornica #Cramming #STEM #Innovation #Science #Technology #Research #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #Podcasting #ViralPodcastSupport the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Ian Simon, Ph.D. is the Director for the Office of Long COVID Research and Practice ( https://www.hhs.gov/longcovid/index.html ), in the Office of Science and Medicine, in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.The Office of Science and Medicine harnesses the power of collaboration, scientific analysis, data-driven innovation, and emerging technologies for advancing initiatives across the Department, including not just Long COVID, but in the areas of behavioral health, health equity, kidney disease, infection-associated chronic conditions, mother-infant dyad, sickle cell disease, and traumatic brain injury. Previously Dr. Simon was the Assistant Director for Health Strategy and Biopreparedness at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he led pandemic prevention and biosecurity policy priorities. Most recently, he was the Senior Advisor to the Director of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).Prior to working at NIAID, Dr. Simon was the Assistant Director of the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) Science and Technology Policy Institute. In that role, he specialized in developing policy initiatives including bioeconomy, STEM education, pandemic preparedness, biosecurity, and international S&T cooperation. A virologist by training, Dr. Simon has also held health and science advisor positions at the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Senate, including serving as the Health and Science Advisor to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, as part of the American Society for Microbiology Congressional Science Fellowship. He earned his B.S. from the University of Maryland and his Masters and Ph.D. from Yale University.Important Episode Link - Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Long COVID - https://www.hhs.gov/ash/advisory-committees/long-covid/index.html#LongCovid #InfectiousDiseases #Virology #HHS #Policy #Biopreparedness #OSTP #USDepartmentOfHealthAndHumanServices #Epidemics #Pandemics #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Technology #Science #ResearchSupport the show

Send us Fan MailEli Mohamad is a prominent figure in the biotech, space, and AI industries who has co-founded several successful startups and has a real passion for groundbreaking ventures that focus on the development of futuristic technologies.Currently as a Core Team Member at CryoDAO ( https://www.cryodao.org/ ), a decentralized organization focused on sourcing and funding research in cryopreservation, Eli continues to work at the forefront of innovative technologies and applies his extensive experience in biotechnology and innovative projects to advance novel cryopreservation technologies and their various applications, from critical tissue and organ preservation, to cryo-sleep and suspended animation for space exploration.Eli has also been involved in setting up another decentralized organization called HydraDAO ( https://hydradao.org/ ) which is focused on funding and incubating biological replacement research to significantly extend human lifespan and will be looking at everything from Limb Regeneration, Organ Bioprinting and Xenotransplantation, to  Progressive Brain Replacement,  head/brain transplants, and even whole body replacement via non sentient cloning.Throughout his career, Eli has held various leadership positions in cutting-edge companies including as Co-founder and Chief Business Officer at X-Therma Inc., a company focused on complex tissue preservation; Advisor and Chief Business Officer at Rimac Automobili, working on high-performance electric vehicles; CFO/CBO at Insilico Medicine, Inc., as well as Co-founder of Organ Preservation Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to the future of organ banking, Orphidia Ltd., a medical diagnostics company, and Walkmore, a data science company.Eli holds a Master's degree in Science, Technology and Innovation Management from the University of Sussex. He is also an alumnus of Singularity University's GSP (Global start up) 2012 program.  Kai Micah Mills ( https://kaimicahmills.com/ ) is the visionary founder of Cryopets ( https://cryopets.com/ ), a company focused on advancing cryopreservation technologies for pets. Cryopets was founded in 2023 with the aim of revolutionizing the field of cryopreservation. Starting with pets, the company is innovating on existing methods to create reliable and accessible cryopreservation services. Cryopets aspires to make cryopreservation available in local veterinary clinics and, eventually, in human hospitals.With a deep passion for defeating death, Kai is driven by the belief that true progress in longevity science must be bold and unapologetic. He has received backing from the prestigious Thiel Fellowship and is a recognized thought leader in the radical life extension community.Kai is a co-founder of CryoDAO and HydraDao.Important Episode Link - Vitalist Bay - https://www.vitalistbay.com/#EliMohamad #KaiMicahMills #Longevity #Immortality #LifeExtension #ProgressiveBrainReplacement #Cryopreservation #OrganPreservation #Bioprinting #VitalistBay #Vitalism #AdamGries #NathanCheng #HydraDAO #CryoDAO #DeSci #Cryonics #Regeneration #Cryoprotectants #LimbRegeneration #Xenotransplantation #HeadTransplant #BrainTransplant #SpinalCordInjury #SergioCanavero #RenXiaoping #ClonedNonSentientBodies #Cloning #ArtificialWombs #Cryosleep #Crypto #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Technology #Science #ResearchSupport the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Nahid Bhadelia, MD, MALD is a board-certified infectious diseases physician who is the Founding Director of BU Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases ( https://www.bu.edu/ceid/about-the-center/team/nahid-bhadelia-md-mald/ ) as well an Associate Professor at the BU School of Medicine. She served the Senior Policy Advisor for Global COVID-19 Response for the White House COVID-19 Response Team in 2022-2023, where she coordinated the interagency programs for global COVID-19 vaccine donations from the United States and was the policy lead for Project NextGen, $5B HHS program aimed at developing next generation vaccines and treatments for pandemic prone coronaviruses. She also served as the interim Testing Coordinator for the White House MPOX Response Team. She is the Director and co-founder of Biothreats Emergence, Analysis and Communications Network (BEACON), an open source outbreak surveillance program. Between 2011-2021, Dr. Bhadelia helped develop and then served as the medical director of the Special Pathogens Unit (SPU) at Boston Medical Center, a medical unit designed to care for patients with highly communicable diseases, and a state designated Ebola Treatment Center. She was previously an associate director for BU’s maximum containment research program, the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories. She has provided direct patient care and been part of outbreak response and medical countermeasures research during multiple Ebola virus disease outbreaks in West and East Africa between 2014-2019. She was the clinical lead for a DoD-funded viral hemorrhagic fever clinical research unit in Uganda, entitled Joint Mobile Emerging Disease Intervention Clinical Capability (JMEDICC) program between 2017 and 2022. Currently, she is a co-director of Fogarty funded, BU-University of Liberia Emerging and Epidemic Viruses Research training program. She was a member of the World Health Organization(WHO)’s Technical Advisory Group on Universal Health and Preparedness Review (UHPR).  She currently serves as a member of the National Academies Forum on Microbial Threats and previously served as the chair of the National Academies Workshop Committee for Potential Research Priorities to Inform Readiness and Response to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) and member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Current State of Research, Development, and Stockpiling of Smallpox Medical Countermeasures.Dr. Bhadelia’s research focuses on operational global health security and pandemic preparedness, including medical countermeasure evaluation and clinical care for emerging infections, diagnostics evaluation and positioning, infection control policy development, and healthcare worker training. She has health system response experience with pathogens such as H1N1, Zika, Lassa fever, Marburg virus disease, and COVID-19 at the state, national, and global levels. #NahidBhadelia #BostonUniversity #CenterOnEmergingInfectiousDiseases #HIV #EmergingInfections #Policy #Preparedness #HealthSecurity #SpecialPathogensUnit #BSL4 #Ebola #HotZones #DataScience #DiseaseSurveillance #OneHealth #H1N1 #Zika #LassaFever #MarburgVirus #Covid #InfectiousDiseases #Outbreaks #Zoonoses #Epidemics #Pandemics #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Technology #Science #ResearchSupport the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Debra Whitman, Ph.D. is Executive Vice President and Chief Public Policy Officer, at AARP ( https://www.aarp.org/ ) where she leads policy development, analysis and research, as well as global thought leadership supporting and advancing the interests of individuals age 50-plus and their families. She oversees AARP’s Public Policy Institute, AARP Research, Office of Policy Development and Integration, Thought Leadership, and AARP International.Dr. Whitman is an authority on aging issues with extensive experience in national policy making, domestic and international research, and the political process. An economist, she is a strategic thinker whose career has been dedicated to solving problems affecting economic and health security, and other issues related to population aging.As staff director for the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, Dr. Whitman worked across the aisle to increase retirement security, lower the cost of health care, protect vulnerable seniors, safeguard consumers, make the pharmaceutical industry more transparent, and improve our nation’s long term care system.Before that, Dr. Whitman worked for the Congressional Research Service as a specialist in the economics of aging. She provided members of Congress and their staff with research and advice, and authored analytical reports on the economic impacts of current policies affecting older Americans, as well as the distributional and intergenerational effects of legislative proposals.From 2001 to 2003, Dr. Whitman served as a Brookings LEGIS Fellow to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Earlier in her career, she conducted research on savings and retirement for the Social Security Administration, helping to establish the Retirement Research Consortium and serving as the founding editor of the Perspectives section of the Social Security Bulletin.Dr. Whitman has been quoted by or appeared in numerous media outlets including The New York Times, Bloomberg, USA Today, NBC Nightly News, CBS News, The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, and Politico, among others. She serves on several boards, including the National Advisory Council on Aging for the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging, the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, the National Coalition on Health Care, and the Pension Rights Center.Dr. Whitman holds master’s and doctorate degrees in economics from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in economics, math and Italian from Gonzaga University.Dr. Whitman recently released 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘺: 𝘈𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 7 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 ( https://www.amazon.com/Second-Fifty-Answers-Questions-Midlife/dp/039386765X ), to explore the most important questions we face as we age and offer practical advice for living a longer, healthier, more meaningful second half of life.#AARP #Aging #AmericanAssociationOfRetiredPersons #DebraWhitman #AgeTech #Longevity #Geroscience #Gerontology #Dementia #Alzheimers #LifeLongLearning #PalliativeCare #Hospice #EndOfLife #Death #Dying #USSenateSpecialCommitteeOnAging #Economics #SocialSecurity #Medicare #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #Podcasting #ViralPodcast #STEM #Innovation #Science #Technology #ResearchSupport the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Marcia McNutt, Ph.D. is President of the National Academy of Sciences ( https://www.nasonline.org/directory-entry/marcia-mcnutt-6apamq/ ), where she also chairs the National Research Council, the operating arm of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and serves a key role in advising our nation on various important issues pertaining to science, technology, and health.From 2013 to 2016, Dr. McNutt served as editor-in-chief of the Science journals. Dr. McNutt is a geophysicist who prior to joining Science, was director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and science adviser to the United States Secretary of the Interior from from 2009 to 2013. During her tenure, the USGS responded to a number of major disasters, including earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, and Japan, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Dr. McNutt led a team of government scientists and engineers at BP headquarters in Houston who helped contain the oil and cap the well. She directed the flow rate technical group that estimated the rate of oil discharge during the spill’s active phase. For her contributions, she was awarded the U.S. Coast Guard’s Meritorious Service Medal.Before joining the USGS, Dr. McNutt served as president and chief executive officer of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), in Moss Landing, California. During her time at MBARI, the institution became a leader in developing biological and chemical sensors for remote ocean deployment, installed the first deep-sea cabled observatory in U.S. waters, and advanced the integration of artificial intelligence into autonomous underwater vehicles for complex undersea missions.From 2000 to 2002, Dr. McNutt served as president of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). She was chair of the Board of Governors for Joint Oceanographic Institutions, responsible for operating the International Ocean Drilling Program’s vessel JOIDES Resolution and associated research programs.Dr. McNutt is a National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI)-certified scuba diver and trained in underwater demolition and explosives handling with the Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) of the United States Navy and the United States Navy SEALs.Dr. McNutt began her academic career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she was the E.A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics and directed the Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science & Engineering, jointly offered by MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Her research area is the dynamics of the upper mantle and lithosphere on geologic time scales, work that has taken her to distant continents and oceans for field observations. She is a veteran of more than a dozen deep-sea expeditions, on most of which she was chief or co-chief scientist.Dr. McNutt received a B.A. in physics from Colorado College and her Ph.D. in Earth sciences at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She holds honorary doctoral degrees from the Colorado College, the University of Minnesota, Monmouth University, the Colorado School of Mines, University of Miami, Uppsala University, Michigan State University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, George Washington University, Boston University, Texas A&M University, Indiana University Bloomington, and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. #MarciaMcNutt #NationalAcademyOfSciences #Convergence #USGeologicalSurvey #ScienceMagazine #MontereyBayAquariumResearchInstitute #AmericanGeophysicalUnion #MIT #Geoscience #EarthScience #Physics #STEM #Innovation #Science #Technology #Research #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #Podcasting #ViralPodcastSupport the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Nina Siragusa, Ph.D., MBA, is the Strategy, Business, and Data & Digital Lead within the global R&D organization of Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. In this role, she leads strategic projects, manages business operations, and drives digital transformation.Previously, she served as Chief of Staff to Dr. Laura Matz, Chief Science and Technology Officer at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. As part of the Science and Technology Office Leadership Team, she was responsible for fostering cross-sectoral collaboration, innovation, and digitalization across Merck’s three business sectors. She also spearheaded the company’s efforts in Bioconvergence, a multidisciplinary approach that synergizes biology, engineering, data, and digitalization. This initiative promises groundbreaking advancements in healthcare and the life sciences, heralding a new era of scientific collaboration for a healthier, more sustainable future.Prior to that, Dr. Siragusa contributed to corporate innovation in several leadership roles:• As Biotechnology Lead of a synthetic biology innovation project,• As Senior Manager, responsible for creating strategic alignment and building high-performing teams, and• As Associate Director, focusing on sourcing innovative ideas to generate new business opportunities.Dr. Siragusa earned her Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Tuebingen, Germany, and conducted research in Europe and the USA, including at Yale University, before joining Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in 2016.In 2024, she completed an MBA in Digital Transformation Management with a focus on Digital Leadership at Goethe Business School, Frankfurt, Germany.Dr. Siragusa is also the lead author of the recently published book, Bioconvergence Revolution: Challenges and Opportunities in Research Productivity. You can find it here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-61593-1Home Page Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany - https://www.emdgroup.com/en#NinaSiragusa #EMDGroup #MerckKGaADarmstadtGermany #Bioconvergence #Ethics #Collaboration #Fungi #NaturalProducts #Biomimicry #AI #DrugDiscovery #Bioremediation #TranslationalMedicine #SmartManufacturing #DigitalTwins #Supermind #MIT #ResearchFunding #Israel #STEM #Innovation #Science #Technology #Research #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #Podcasting #ViralPodcastSupport the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Jackie Kunzler, Ph.D. is Senior Vice President and Global Head of Research and Development (R&D), and member of the Executive Management Committee, of Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies ( https://www.terumobct.com/ ), where she focuses on innovation and development leading the way for unlocking the potential of blood and cell collections in varied sectors, including blood banking, plasma-based therapies and cell and gene therapies.Dr. Kunzler joined Terumo from Baxter Healthcare where she held successive leadership roles in their business, including as Baxter Healthcare's Senior Vice President for Quality and Regulatory and Head of Global Life Sciences.Dr. Kunzler holds a Ph.D. in Cell Biology/Neuroscience from the University of Illinois, Chicago. She earned a Master of Science in Toxicology from the University of Florida, Bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Medical Technology (Laboratory Medicine) from University of Iowa and an MBA in Healthcare Administration from Benedictine University.#Terumo #JackieKunzler #Blood #SickleCell #Alzheimers #Dementia #Biotherapies #Immunology #TherapeuticApheresis #AutoimmuneDiseases  #BloodDisorders  #BloodBanking #TransfusionMedicine #RegenerativeMedicine #TherapeuticPlasmaExchange #ConvalescentPlasma #ExtracorporealPhotopheresis #Parabiosis #Longevity #Aging #HospiceCare #STEM #Innovation #Science #Technology #Research #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #Podcasting #ViralPodcastSupport the show

Send us Fan MailSam Murray, MT-BC, CADDCT, CDP, is a Music Therapist at Goodwin Living ( https://goodwinliving.org/ ), a non-profit senior living and healthcare organization, located in Northern Virginia, that serves more than 2,500 older adults in the National Capital Region (Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland) and more than 25,000 older adults across the nation who participate in their brain health programs.Sam and her team are exploring novel ways to help residents living with mild cognitive impairment or dementia connect with through music therapy programs. With approximately 7 million Americans facing Alzheimer's today, and the eventual loss of communication that they experience, music therapy is becoming more widely acknowledged by many experts as a viable way to communicate with individuals for whom language is no longer enough, helping to re-establish comfort and connection.Goodwin Living’s foundation recently invested in a new instrument called the Crdl ( https://www.crdl.com/ ) that helps translate physical touch into music, in essence transforming a person's body into an instrument, for an entirely new concept in communications and human interaction. #GoodwinLiving #SamMurray #SamTedrow #SeniorLiving #Crdl #MusicTherapy #BrainHealth #Neurodivergent #Dementia #Alzheimers #SocialIsolation #PallaitiveCare #Hospice #EndOfLifeCare #Autism #MentalDisabilities #VisualImpairments #FrancisCollins #ReneeFleming  #STEM #Innovation #Science #Technology #Research #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #Podcasting #ViralPodcastSupport the show