Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show

Send us Fan MailDr. Sharron Gargosky, Ph.D. is Chief Clinical Officer of Spinogenix, Inc. ( https://spinogenix.com/ ), a clinical-stage company pioneering a new class of therapeutics designed to reverse synaptic loss and dysfunction in the brain.Spinogenix is advancing two first-in-class oral small molecules. Tazbentetol is a synaptic regenerative therapy shown to regrow brain synapses — the vital connections between neurons. Clinical data have demonstrated rapid and significant improvements in memory and thinking in Alzheimer’s disease, as well as clinically meaningful slowing of disease progression in ALS. The therapy is also being evaluated in schizophrenia, with a Phase 2 trial underway. Tazbentetol has received Orphan Drug Designation from both the U.S. FDA and the European Medicines Agency for ALS, and the company has established an Expanded Access Program to provide investigational treatment options to eligible ALS patients.Spinogenix’s second program, SPG601, is a synaptic corrective therapy for Fragile X Syndrome — the leading inherited cause of intellectual disability and a known genetic driver of autism. Clinical data have shown normalization of abnormal brain activity patterns and improvements in attention and focus. SPG601 has received Orphan Drug and Fast Track Designations and is advancing toward late-stage development.Dr. Gargosky brings more than 25 years of global development leadership experience across small molecules, biologics, cell therapies, and diagnostics. She has overseen regulatory, CMC, non-clinical, clinical, and medical affairs programs across more than 15 countries, and has led multiple orphan and accelerated approval pathways.Previously, Dr. Gargosky held senior leadership roles at OncoSec Medical, Prima Biomed, Hyperion Therapeutics, Pfizer, and served in academia at Stanford University and Oregon Health & Science University.#Spinogenix #SynapticRegeneration #FragileX #AlzheimersResearch #ALSResearch #Neuroscience #BrainHealth #BiotechInnovation #Synaptopathy #ClinicalTrials #RegenerativeMedicine #Neurodevelopment #SharronGargoskySupport the show

Send us Fan MailPaul Woodward ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2813295/ ) is a filmmaker, storyteller, and advocate whose deeply personal work has touched audiences around the world.Paul is the producer of the feature documentary The Little Things ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZDDw4yYl_w ), a film that invites viewers behind the doors of Derian House Children's Hospice ( https://www.derianhouse.co.uk/ ) — not to witness sadness, but to witness love and the remarkable humanity that unfolds in the most challenging of circumstances.Inspired by his own experience as a parent, Paul began this project to say thank you to the hospice that cared for his son Kalel for seven years. What started as a personal tribute evolved into a powerful documentary that challenges common misconceptions about hospice care, celebrates the relationships between families and caregivers, and shows how places like Derian House become a bridge through grief — offering connection, compassion, and dignity when it’s needed most.Since its release — including streaming on Amazon Prime — The Little Things ( https://www.primevideo.com/detail/The-Little-Things/0TOUFVXP6JTZZTM28LEA8TS19H ) has moved audiences with its honesty, heart, and belief that the smallest moments can reveal the deepest meaning.Paul now serves as a Patron of Derian House, continuing his mission to spark conversation, awareness, and empathy for families navigating the unthinkable.Paul holds an MA in Professional Acting from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA), has over ten years of work spanning TV, film, theatre, and UK tours, and co-owns Old Swan Films ( https://oldswanfilms.com/ ), a company that focuses on human stories with emotional honesty.We’re honored to have Paul on the show to talk about the story behind the film, the lessons of love and presence he’s learned along the way, and what it truly means to find light in life’s hardest places.#TheLittleThings #ChildrensHospice #PaulWoodward#PediatricPalliativeCare #GriefAndLove #EndOfLifeCare#HospiceCare #Fatherhood #Bereavement #DocumentaryFilm #LifeAndLoss #CompassionSupport the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Allison Reiss, MD is an internal medicine physician, molecular biologist, and educator whose career sits at the critical intersection of inflammation, cardiometabolic disorders, and neurodegeneration.Dr. Reiss serves as Associate Professor of Medicine and Head of the Inflammation Laboratory at the NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine ( https://medli.nyu.edu/faculty/allison-b-reiss ).  She is also a Member of the Medical, Scientific & Memory Screening Advisory Board of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.For more than 25 years, Dr. Reiss' research has explored how immune and metabolic dysfunction contribute to neuronal loss in Alzheimer’s disease and accelerated atherosclerosis in conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes — helping illuminate the biological links between brain health, vascular disease, and aging.Clinically trained and board-certified in internal medicine, Dr. Reiss brings a rare translational perspective, connecting bedside observations with molecular mechanisms. Beyond the lab, she is a dedicated mentor and educator, directing translational research training for medical students and actively inspiring the next generation of clinician-scientists.Dr. Reiss' work has been recognized by organizations including the American Heart Association and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, and she serves in editorial leadership roles across several journals focused on cardiovascular disease, aging, and neurodegeneration.On this episode, we explore the evolving science of neuroinflammation, the metabolic roots of Alzheimer’s disease, and how understanding immune-brain-vascular crosstalk may unlock entirely new therapeutic strategies for aging populations.#AlzheimersDisease #Neuroinflammation #BrainHealth#DementiaPrevention #MetabolicHealth #VascularHealth#LongevityScience #Neurodegeneration #MedicalResearch #PhysicianScientistSupport the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Kevin Rynearson, Ph.D. is a medicinal chemist and translational neuroscientist focused on developing disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer’s disease.Over more than a decade, Dr. Rynearson's work has centered on the design and optimization of gamma-secretase modulators, an approach aimed at altering amyloid biology in a safer and more physiologically balanced way than earlier generations of therapies.During his time at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Dr. Rynearson helped advance mechanistic understanding of gamma-secretase activity, tau phosphorylation, and structure-activity relationships guiding next-generation Alzheimer’s drug design.Dr. Rynearson currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer of Acta Pharmaceuticals ( https://www.linkedin.com/company/acta-pharmaceuticals/ ), where he leads development of a clinical-stage gamma-secretase modulator emerging from decades of collaborative research, including work with renowned Alzheimer’s researcher Rudy Tanzi.In parallel, Dr. Rynearson is Head of Research at CogniSHIELD Global ( https://cognishield.com/ ), exploring preventative strategies and interventions aimed at supporting brain resilience and healthy cognitive aging.Dr. Rynearson’s work sits at the intersection of medicinal chemistry, neurobiology, and preventive neurology — with a focus on shifting Alzheimer’s treatment from late-stage symptom management toward early intervention and disease prevention. #AlzheimersDisease  #BrainHealth #Neurodegeneration #LongevityScience #CognitiveHealth #PreventAlzheimers #Neuroscience #BiotechPodcast #GammaSecretase #AmyloidBeta #Neuroinflammation #BrainAging #DementiaResearch #HealthyAging #TranslationalMedicine #DrugDevelopment #PrecisionMedicine #MemoryLoss #BrainResilience #FutureOfMedicineSupport the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Ben Hwang, Ph.D. is Chairman and CEO of Profusa ( https://profusa.com/ ), a pioneering bioengineering company developing tissue-integrated biosensors designed to continuously measure key chemical markers within the body. Profusa’s mission is to make our body’s chemistry as accessible as heart rate or step count — transforming personal and societal health through real-time molecular insight.Dr. Hwang has spent his career at the frontier where life science tools, digital systems, and global markets intersect. As an undergraduate research fellow in the laboratory of systems biology pioneer Leroy Hood at California Institute of Technology, he witnessed firsthand how transformative technologies can redefine biology.Dr. Hwang later held multiple senior leadership roles at Life Technologies (now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific), including President of Asia Pacific and Head of the qPCR Division — helping scale molecular biology platforms globally during a pivotal period for genomics and diagnostics.Earlier in his career, Dr. Hwang worked at McKinsey & Company and even began in professional sports with the Los Angeles Dodgers — an unusual trajectory that informs his leadership perspective today.Dr. Hwang earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Biology from Johns Hopkins University.#DigitalHealth #Longevity #Biosensors #ContinuousMonitoring #FutureOfMedicine #HealthcareInnovation #WearableTech #Biotechnology#PrecisionMedicine #HumanOptimization #HealthTech #PreventiveMedicine#AgingResearch #Biohacking #MedicalInnovation #MetabolicHealth #Hypoxia #Mitochondria #ChronicDisease #FutureOfHealthcareSupport the show

Send us Fan MailThomas Hamilton is a Board Director Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance   ( FARA - https://www.curefa.org/ ), Co-Founder of the CureFA Foundation ( https://curefafoundation.org/ ), which supports diverse and innovative research strategies aimed at curing the disease, and the Founder of FA212, LLC, an organization pursuing a novel gene therapy strategy designed to address both central nervous system and systemic manifestations of FA.Thomas' journey into rare disease advocacy began not in a laboratory, but at home when in 2013, his nine-year-old daughter Annie was diagnosed with Friedreich’s Ataxia — a rare, progressive neuromuscular disorder that affects balance and coordination and can lead to scoliosis, diabetes, sensory loss, and serious cardiac complications. Friedreich's ataxia (FA) is a rare, inherited, progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by a mutation in the FXN gene, which leads to a deficiency of the frataxin protein.Like many families facing a rare diagnosis, the Hamilton family was suddenly thrust into a world of uncertainty, limited treatment options, and an urgent need for answers.Rather than accept the status quo, Thomas made the life-altering decision to step away from his professional career and dedicate himself fully to accelerating therapeutic progress for FA.Thomas joined the executive leadership of the Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA), where he remains an active board member, and co-founded the CureFA Foundation to support diverse and innovative research strategies aimed at curing the disease.In 2014, working alongside family members and clinical partners, Tom helped establish an FA Center of Excellence at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia  ( https://www.research.chop.edu/friedreichs-ataxia-center-of-excellence ) in collaboration with University of Pennsylvania — creating a dedicated clinical and research hub for patients and scientists focused exclusively on Friedreich’s Ataxia. Driven by the belief that bold approaches were needed, Thomas also founded FA212, LLC to pursue a novel gene therapy strategy designed to address both central nervous system and systemic manifestations of FA. That program has evolved into SGT-212, now being advanced by Solid Biosciences ( https://www.solidbio.com/our-science/pipeline-programs/pipeline/ ).The therapy has entered human clinical evaluation through the FALCON study ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07180355 ), with the first participant recently dosed at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center — marking a milestone not only for the Hamilton family but for the broader FA community.Today, Annie is 19 and a student at University of Notre Dame, living with FA while witnessing firsthand the progress her family helped catalyze.Thomas and Annie’s story represents the growing power of parent-driven innovation in rare disease — where urgency, collaboration, and perseverance can reshape the therapeutic landscape.#FriedreichsAtaxia #RareDisease #GeneTherapy #SGT212 #FALCONTrial #RareDiseaseAdvocacy #PatientAdvocate #RareDiseaseResearch #BiotechInnovation #MitochondrialDisease #Ataxia#PrecisionMedicine #ClinicalTrials #HopeInScience #CureFA #FARA#NeurodegenerativeDisease #MedicalBreakthrough #ParentAdvocate#ProgressPotentialPossibilitiesSupport the show

Send us Fan MailDonna Letier is the Co-Founder and CEO of Gardenuity ( https://gardenuity.com/ ), a gardening and well-being company dedicated to helping people grow healthier lifestyles through accessible, personalized gardening experiences.An entrepreneur with a background spanning consumer brands, hospitality, and lifestyle innovation, Donna launched Gardenuity to bridge the gap between everyday wellness and nature — making gardening approachable even for people without outdoor space, time, or prior experience.Under her leadership, Gardenuity has pioneered customized container and desktop gardening systems designed to support mental health, stress reduction, nutrition, and meaningful daily rituals. Her work sits at the intersection of preventive health, behavioral wellness, and environmental connection, with growing recognition of gardening’s role in cognitive health, emotional regulation, and caregiver resilience.Donna is also an advocate for using gardening as a tool for intergenerational connection and memory engagement, exploring how sensory interaction with plants — from scent and touch to nurturing routines — can support individuals living with memory loss while providing caregivers with moments of restoration and purpose.#Alzheimers #BrainHealth #CognitiveHealth #DementiaCare #CaregiverSupport #HealthyAging #Longevity #Neuroplasticity #MentalWellness #PreventiveHealth #Gardening #HorticulturalTherapy #MemoryCare #AgingWell #LifestyleMedicine #Wellness #BrainLongevity #Caregiving #NatureHeals #ProgressPotentialPossibilitiesSupport the show

Send us Fan MailSusie Singer Carter ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susie_Singer_Carter ) is an award-winning filmmaker ( https://www.gogirlmedia.com/ ) and caregiver advocate with a powerful new docuseries, No Country For Old People ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0F7D1RR5X/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r  ), a Gold Anthem Award-winning exposé on nursing home neglect and the systemic failures facing America’s elderly. Through film, podcasting, and activism, she has become one of the most compelling creative voices in Alzheimer’s awareness and elder care reform.Susie first captured international attention with her Oscar-qualified short film My Mom and The Girl, starring Valerie Harper in her final performance — a deeply personal story born from Susie’s own caregiving journey. From writing and producing Bratz the Movie, to co-producing Soul Surfer, Susie has navigated Hollywood at every level — but it’s her advocacy-driven work that has become her defining voice.Susie is also the creator and host of the award-winning podcast Love Conquers Alz ( https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/love-conquers-alz/id1492023291 ), and she serves as host of the 3rd & Fairfax for the Writers Guild of America West.Most recently, Susie wrote, directed, and produced the 3-part docuseries No Country For Old People ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Loa4tGZ3GwI ), recipient of the 2024 Gold Anthem Award for Health Awareness. The film is a searing examination of nursing home neglect, systemic healthcare failures, and the human cost of institutional indifference — a subject she knows not just as a filmmaker, but as a daughter who lost her mother to Alzheimer’s.Susie also leads Respect Oversight Advocacy Reform for Long Term Care ( https://www.roar4ltc.org/ ) a 501c3 nonprofit movement that is embracing the power of storytelling to engage and mobilize the public, with a strong focus on younger generations, to demand dignity,  accountability, and reform in long-term care.Susie Singer Carter doesn’t just tell stories. She uses them to fight for change.Important Episode LinksNo Country For Old People; a Nursing Home Exposé -https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0F7D1RR5X/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r http://nocountryforoldpeople.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@UCZGC8Htb549M2TNVSR67FOw My Mom and the Girl - https://vimeo.com/266772460 Respect Oversight Advocacy Reform for Long Term Care - https://www.roar4ltc.org/#SusieSingerCarter #NoCountryForOldPeople #ElderCare #NursingHomeCrisis #CaregiverAdvocacy #AlzheimersAwareness#HealthcareReform #DementiaCare #PublicHealth #AgingPopulation#LongTermCare #HealthPolicy #CaregiverLife #ElderJustice #LongevitySupport the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Karsten Eastman, Ph.D. is the CEO and Co-Founder of Sethera Therapeutics ( https://setheratx.com/ ), a company focused revolutionizing peptide-based drug development with a cutting-edge enzymatic cross-linking technology, and their platform enables the synthesis of highly stable, polymacrocyclic peptides designed to engage multiple targets simultaneously, offering unparalleled precision in therapeutic design.Trained as a chemist at the University of Utah, where he earned his PhD in 2023, Dr. Eastman has built his career at the intersection of peptide synthesis, protein engineering, and radical enzymology. His work focuses on understanding how enzymes choreograph complex molecular transformations — and then harnessing those principles to build programmable, drug-like molecules.In collaboration with researchers at the University of Utah, Dr. Eastman and his team recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences a breakthrough discovery involving PapB, a radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) enzyme capable of installing precise, durable thioether “staples” into peptides in a single enzymatic step. This work opens vast new chemical space for macrocyclic peptide therapeutics and offers a powerful new approach to targeting diseases long considered “undruggable.”At Sethera Therapeutics, Dr. Eastman is translating this enzymatic platform into next-generation peptide medicines that aim to combine the selectivity of biologics with the drug-like properties of small molecules.#PeptideTherapeutics #DrugDiscovery #Biotechnology #Enzymology#RadicalSAM #PapB #SetheraTherapeutics #UndruggableDiseases#MacrocyclicPeptides #Bioengineering #Therapeutics #Innovation #ScienceBreakthrough #PeptideDrugs #EnzymeTechnologySupport the show

Send us Fan MailWhy do some scientific breakthroughs begin with ridicule?In this episode, we explore cancer research, serendipity, and the philosophy behind unconventional biomedical innovation.Dr. Alexander Shneider, Ph.D. is a biotech entrepreneur and scientist with more than three decades of experience spanning oncology, immunology, vaccines, and translational medicine. He is the Founder and CEO of CureLab Oncology ( https://www.curelaboncology.com/ ), where he is leading the development of a novel biological agent designed to fight cancer through a dual approach—stimulating anti-tumor immunity while also addressing the chronic inflammation that often underlies disease progression.CureLab’s lead therapeutic, Elenagen, has demonstrated a strong safety profile and encouraging signals of clinical benefit in international Phase II studies, and is being explored both as an adjunct to standard cancer treatments and for its broader potential in inflammation-driven and age-associated diseases. The platform’s reach may extend beyond human medicine, with ongoing interest in applications for oncology in companion animals.Over the course of his career, Dr. Shneider has advised biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and investment organizations across areas including R&D strategy, licensing, technology transfer, product development, and intellectual property. He previously founded CureLab, Inc., where he worked on tools for the rational design of DNA vaccines and the development of broad-spectrum influenza vaccine concepts.In academia, Dr. Shneider has held professor-level appointments and led the Genetic Vaccine Laboratory at Sechenov University, where he helped establish multicenter clinical research infrastructure focused on diseases involving chronic inflammation. His research has also explored evolutionarily conserved RNA structures as targets for antiviral therapies and next-generation vaccine design.In addition to his scientific and entrepreneurial work, he serves on the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals in immunology and aging research, reflecting his long-standing engagement at the intersection of basic science, clinical translation, and biotechnology innovation.#CancerResearch #BiomedicalScience #CancerInnovation#ScientificDiscovery #PhilosophyOfScience #Biotech #MedicalInnovation#Oncology #BreakthroughScience #StartupScience #SciencePodcast #DrugDevelopment #Serendipity #Innovation  #FutureOfMedicineSupport the show