Finding Genius Podcast

Professor Jeffrey M Karp, Principal Investigator, Karp Lab (karplab.net), provides an overview of the current state of diabetes treatment. Dr. Karp is a celebrated Professor of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Additionally, Dr. Karp is a principal faculty member at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, as well as an affiliate faculty member at the Broad Institute and with the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. Dr. Karp specializes in the fields pertaining to drug delivery, stem cell therapeutics, medical devices, and tissue adhesives. Dr. Karp discusses his background, from his early undergrad training as a chemical engineer at McGill University, a public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to his PhD work at the University of Toronto, continuing with a postdoc at MIT. The research doctor discusses diabetes in detail, and the incredible resources that are needed for this one medical condition. He talks about some amazing discoveries made through gastric bypass surgeries, and how doctors quickly acknowledged that many of their gastric bypass surgery patients no longer needed medication for their type 2 diabetes after the procedure. Dr. Karp talks about the medical community's mission thereafter, to achieve the same response in a more minimally-invasive way. The solution—a pill. Dr. Karp discusses the immense work that got the medical community through the research and to the solution. As he states, the pill they've created, which is taken before a meal, forms a transient coating that can limit nutrient absorption, effectively limiting the nutrient contact with the GI tract and thus mimicking the effects achieved earlier through the gastric bypass surgery. Dr. Karp continues by explaining some of the treatments for weight loss and diabetes, and he expounds upon their progress getting their research into the clinical trial stage. Dr. Karp has published more than 125 peer-reviewed papers, with greater than 18,500 citations, and he has given over 300 lectures on topics within his areas of expertise. And Dr. Karp has 100+ already issued or pending patents (national and international).

If you've ever experienced chronic pain, odds are that you've tried various solutions to mitigate that pain. Maybe you've found something that works. Great! If not, you may be looking for an alternative to your current therapy. One of the latest technologies in pain management utilizes painless electromagnetic pulse therapy to provide long-term pain relief. Dr. Jeff Marksberry, Chief Medical Officer of medical technology company Oska Wellness, discusses the Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Technology that is utilized in the Oska Pulse. This device emits precise frequencies of pulsed electromagnetic fields to provide pain relief on virtually any area of the body that may be painful. Dr. Marksberry discusses the many benefits of using the Oska Pulse (of note – there are no known side effects), and how patients have achieved significant pain reduction – some patients have been able to manage their pain exclusively with the Oska Pulse. For more information, visit https://www.oskawellness.com and find the device on Amazon.

Many of us have heard of the numerous benefits of meditation, yet many of us have also faced numerous challenges in adopting this practice into our daily lives. Maybe we are too busy. Maybe we don't know what we're doing. Maybe it's a combination of the two. Without judgment, Andrew Feinstein, founder and CEO of Find Your Mind Meditation joins us today to discuss his meditation journey as a busy young professional. He discusses how he overcame the barriers that many of us face while learning how to meditate and how and why how he incorporates meditation into his daily life. Andrew advocates that we can find the time in our day to practice meditation­­—no matter how busy we are­­­­­­—and explains why and how it will benefit us in the long run. For more information, visit https://www.fymmeditation.com/.

Smart cities, personal assistants, and human longevity; what do each of these things have in common? They're all—in one technical way or another—possible only by virtue of the fact that neural networks and other models for AI processing exist. Alexey Potapov, PhD, is a researcher in the area of AI at SingularityNET, and he joins the podcast to talk about a number of topics, including the limitations of neural networks and how natural symbolic networks can compensate for them, areas of research in AI that are continuing to grow, the demand for improved AI presented by the rise of smart cities, and the current popularity of natural language processing models. Tune in for the details and learn more at https://singularitynet.io/.

Robin Eric Weiner, author, The Geography of Genius, talks about his book, his interests, and why geniuses are the way they are. In The Geography of Genius, the New York Times bestselling author, Weiner, author of The Geography of Bliss, journeys from Athens to Silicon Valley—and takes a look back at history to show how truly creative geniuses flourished in very specific places at very specific times. Weiner explains how we have been looking at geniuses all wrong. He talks about the myths of geniuses. Weiner states that myth number one is that geniuses are 'born.' He provides the example of Mozart, who was certainly born with amazing talent, but Weiner states that we must also consider that he was born into a very musical family in area that was musically-oriented, in an extremely musical period in history. Myth number two, he states, is that genius is made through hard work. Weiner states that hard work does play a role, but that's not enough. Thus, Weiner proposes that geniuses are actually grown, cultivated. Weiner's point: geniuses are not random, but there are groupings—certain places produce more geniuses, and he talks about the many factors that are involved. Weiner provides detailed information about some of the places in the world, and their companion times, that produced the world's greatest geniuses. Continuing, Weiner talks about the tyranny of expertise, and how there is a now common problem in academia in which individuals are not allowed to freely expound upon their ideas unless those ideas are specifically in their exact area of expertise. And Weiner talks about how we romanticize geniuses, but as the times change so do our perceptions.

Josep Bassaganya-Riera, DVM, PhD, founder, Chairman and CEO of Landos Biopharma, delivers a fact-filled overview of his company's work, developing safer therapeutics for autoimmune disease. Dr. Bassaganya-Riera has received numerous research grants from a wide variety of science and health institutions, including the National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), as well as many industrial corporations. Dr. Bassaganya-Riera holds the title of Principal Investigator and Director for the Modeling Immunity to Enteric Pathogens (MIEP) project, which investigates the various immunoregulatory mechanisms underlying infections with certain gut pathogens by introducing mathematical systems to current mucosal immunology. Dr. Bassaganya-Riera discusses his work with Landos Biopharma, an emerging biotech company that is already an integral player in the development of groundbreaking oral treatments for patients who suffer from autoimmune diseases. He discusses the unmet needs in Crohn's disease treatment in detail, as well as colitis—a chronic digestive disease recognized by inflammation of the colon's inner lining. Dr. Bassaganya-Riera discusses their successful completion of phase one clinical trials, and he talks about his enthusiasm for further advancement of their therapeutics. The research doctor discusses other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. He outlines their progress thus far and explains their lead clinical asset, BT-11, which is a unique, oral, locally-acting tiny molecule that targets the Lanthionine Synthetase C-Like 2 (LANCL2) pathway in the gastrointestinal tract for the treatment of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease). Dr. Bassaganya-Riera has a prolific track record of publishing and securing his important work and has published over 100 scientific papers, and secured 9 patents. He was awarded the 2018 Research Excellence Award from the prestigious Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech.

Samantha "Sam" Bond is a Certified Medical Illustrator and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago. In this podcast, Bond discusses her work, and her excitement about illustration, medical game development, and much more. Sam Bond wears many diverse hats in the business world. She is a successful medical illustrator, Unity developer, and innovative interactive designer. In 2016, Bond graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Master's of Science in Biomedical Visualization (BVIS). She is an Atlanta, Georgia native and proudly attended the University of Georgia where she received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Scientific Illustration. Bond talks about her background and journey. She enthusiastically explains the emerging medical game field, and how these beneficial games can educate people about medicine and healthcare. She discusses the wide audience for select games, from technical games designed for neurosurgery residents, and more general games for the average person who wants to learn more about health. From general anatomy to vaccines, the topics are wide and varied, for a seemingly unending receptive audience of diverse inquisitive minds. By using the power, and fun, of games, Bond explains that gaming can be a great tool to educate and inform. The medical gaming technology guru talks about some of the institutions that are interested in utilizing this groundbreaking platform. From companies that focus on surgical training and beyond, the need is clearly real. Bond talks about the success of the immunity and vaccination games and how they are changing the way we learn.

After obtaining his medical degree, Dr. Joseph Mercola practiced conventional medicine for about five or six years before discovering more natural approaches that were actually more effective for improving his patients' health, allowing him to heal people that other healthcare professionals couldn't. When people began coming from around the world seeking his help, he decided to create a website that would allow him to educate a greater number of people. Dr. Mercola is passionate about improving people's health without the use of drugs or surgery. Click play to hear practical tips that you can incorporate into your lifestyle, learn about why life expectancy in the U.S. is declining, and get specific advice on how you can take hold of your own health to change this trajectory. For more information, visit Mercola.com. Keep an eye out for his book on the dangers of electric and magnetic fields, EMF'd.

Steve Zarpas, President and CEO at PHK Inc. (phketo.com) discusses ketones, and his company's mission. Zarpas' company, PowerHouse Ketones is a beverage company that features 100% bioavailable, all-natural ketones that mimic ketones that our livers naturally produce. Steve attended George Washington University where he majored in the scientific areas of chemistry and biology. Zarpas talks about his early interest in ketones, and the exciting new field of exogenous ketone supplementation that has created a buzz in the health community. Zarpas discusses the many and varied, immense benefit of ketones and ketone supplementation. And as ketones produce more energy per each breath of air than carbohydrates do, they are an excellent way to not only improve health but make our bodies more efficient in processing. Unfortunately, to date, many people do not experience the incredible physical and cognitive energy benefits that come with a ketone-fueled body and mind, because the American diet is largely carbohydrate based. Zarpas discusses bioactivity, and how ketones work. He explains the differences—ketone esters versus salts, but makes the distinction that his particular focus is on ketone acid, which is exactly what the liver makes when the body converts fat into ketones. The ketone and good health enthusiast talks about some of the best ways to utilize ketone acid. Zarpas talks about their upcoming products, such as their functional beverage that some early testers have said tastes great. Effects can be seen quickly, and it promotes the production of endogenous ketones. He talks about the benefits to athletes as well as sedentary people. The cognitive effects are obvious and the improvements in energy level and sharpness are demonstrable. And Zarpas explains how he uses the product to increase his endurance, increase recovery, and energy.

During the Ebola outbreak in Africa in 2014, a response camp was designed in order to create a clinical environment that included observation bays, recovery bays, and areas for isolation. When the project didn't go through at the last minute, the assets in place had to be burned due to an inability to disinfect the canvas structures that made up the camp. Not only is this an unsustainable use of resources, but the lack of pre-existing medical public health infrastructure created conditions conducive to an outbreak in the first place. Clinics On Wheels wants to develop medical public health infrastructure in austere environments in order to provide general public healthcare on a regular basis, while also being ready to respond immediately should an outbreak occur. In this episode, Tony Cowan, Director of Emergency Response Technology for Clinics on Wheels explains the varied uses and economic benefits of quality care that has mobile capabilities. For more information, visit www.clinicsonwheels.com, or their parent company, World Housing Solution, at www.worldhousingsolution.com. You can also email Cowan directly at tonyc@worldhousingsolution.com.