Conference Coverage

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Guest: Abigail Sporer, PhD, MBA At the intersection of expertise, strategy, and collaboration, medical affairs professionals are translating vaccine science into meaningful and actionable insights for healthcare providers. In this candid conversation from the 2026 Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS) Annual Meeting, Dr. Matt Birnholz and Dr. Abigail Sporer, Director...

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Guest: Justin O’Rourke, PhD, MBA Trust is foundational to effective scientific communication—but what factors actually drive it? Find out as Dr. Matt Birnholz speaks with Dr. Justin O’Rourke, a recent business psychology PhD graduate from The Chicago School, about his research on physician perceptions of medical science liaisons (MSLs) and their implications for delivering...

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Guest: Susanna Gallani, PhD AI is enabling a more thoughtful, value-driven approach to healthcare—one that prioritizes patient outcomes over the volume of services delivered. At the 2026 Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS) Annual Meeting, Dr. Matt Birnholz sat down with this year's keynote speaker, Dr. Susanna Gallani, to explore how rich data can be transformed int...

Guest: Jeffrey Hsu, MD, PhD The field of sports cardiology has experienced remarkable growth, with new guidelines, expanding programs, and increasing recognition of cardiovascular risk in athletes. Hear from Dr. Jeffrey Hsu as he shares current and emerging approaches to risk assessment, prevention, and management of cardiac conditions in this population. Dr. Hsu is a Clinical Assistant Professor...

Guest: Aaron Miller, MD Early real-world experience with the 2024 McDonald criteria suggests a meaningful increase in multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnoses, driven largely by recognition of optic nerve involvement and reclassification of radiologically isolated syndrome. Hear from Dr. Aaron Miller as he reviews emerging evidence, explains how these updates are reshaping diagnostic pathways, and addres...

Presenter: Marcus Shaker, MD, MSc, FAAP, FACAAI, FAAAAI Financial and space limitations are two of the most pressing issues facing allergists and immunologists in academic practice. Fortunately, negotiation principles, like BATNA and ZOPA, and disruptive innovation tactics can help address these common issues. To learn more, we recently spoke with Dr. Marcus Shaker. Not only is he a Professor of P...

Presenter: Mustafa Ozcam, PhD Emerging research is redefining the role of the gut microbiome in food allergy and immune tolerance. Here to share some of the most groundbreaking findings is Dr. Mustafa Ozcam. He discusses how gut microbes metabolize allergenic proteins, shape immune development, and serve as potential biomarkers to predict oral immunotherapy success in food allergy patients. Dr. Oz...

Presenter: Scott Sicherer, MD Based on a randomized study, children with higher baseline thresholds of peanut reactivity achieved markedly higher rates of sustained unresponsiveness after oral immunotherapy compared with untreated peers. Learn more about this study and its clinical implications with Dr. Scott H. Sicherer. Not only is he a Professor of Pediatrics and the Director of the Jaffe Food...

Presenter: Sally E. Wenzel, MD, ATSF Given that severe asthma management is entering a new era of biologically driven precision, Dr. Sally Wenzel joins us to discuss the complexity within Type 2 inflammation and the limitations of relying on a single biomarker assessment. She also differentiates childhood-onset allergic asthma from adult-onset disease, underscoring how age of onset—along with unde...

Guest: Adil Harroud, MD Guest: Dylan Hamitouche Host: Ryan Quigley Multimodal aging signatures are reshaping our understanding of progression and prognosis in multiple sclerosis (MS). Host Ryan Quigley sits down with Dr. Adil Harroud and Mr. Dylan Hamitouche to learn more about implications for the future of risk stratification and personalized treatment in MS, a topic they presented on at the 202...

Guest: Jennifer Yang, MD Emerging evidence shows that children with multiple sclerosis exhibit accelerated biological aging. Learn more about the potential implications with Dr. Jennifer Yang, who spoke about this topic at the 2026 ACTRIMS Forum. She's an Assistant Professor of Neurosciences at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and the Division of Pediatric Neurology at Rady Children's Hospital.

Guest: Raphael Schneider, MD, PhD, FRCPC, CIP Multiplex proteomic biomarker panels are redefining how we understand and monitor multiple sclerosis (MS) by capturing interconnected pathways in a single sample. Hear from Dr. Raphael Schneider as he explores how these tools could inform prognosis, risk stratification, and clinical trial design, which he spoke about at the 2026 ACTRIMS Forum. Dr. Schn...

Presenter: Ryan Quigley Can real-time transepidermal water loss (TEWL) monitoring reduce the risk of anaphylaxis during oral food challenges in young children with peanut allergy? A pilot trial suggests it may. TEWL-guided stopping significantly lowered anaphylaxis rates and reaction severity without delaying treatment. This benefit was linked to earlier discontinuation of allergen exposure based...

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Guest: Christopher T. Chen, MD What if a simple blood draw could reveal whether a patient is responding to treatment before surgery? That question is at the heart of a study presented at the 2025 ESMO Congress, which investigated neoadjuvant immune checkpoint blockade in mismatch-repair-proficient (MMR-p) colon cancer. In addition to confirming that combination...

Guest: Marc Avram, MD Understanding the differences between follicular unit extraction (FUE) and follicular unit transplantation (FUT) is essential for selecting the most appropriate approach for each patient. Dr. Marc Avram shares how harvesting methods, scarring patterns, and other patient-specific considerations can help inform technique choice. Dr. Avram is a dermatologist, hair loss and trans...

Guest: Marc Avram, MD Lengthy hair transplant procedures place significant physical demands on patients, physicians, and staff, making ergonomics a critical part of success. Dr. Marc Avram outlines practical, real-world strategies to improve positioning, workflow, and the procedural environment to enhance comfort, efficiency, and long-term musculoskeletal health. Dr. Avram is a dermatologist, hair...

Host: Hallie Blevins, PhD For patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), cognitive impairment can quietly erode independence and quality of life. In this AudioAbstract, Dr. Hallie Blevins discusses a head-to-head comparison of cognitive training, aerobic exercise, and a combined approach and explores how we can better support cognition in these patients.

Guest: John H. Strickler, MD The treatment landscape for HER2-positive gastroesophageal cancer is rapidly evolving, with zanidatamab emerging as a new option following years of limited progress beyond trastuzumab. Dr. John Strickler joins us to share insights on how recent FDA approvals and novel agents are transforming outcomes in this complex disease setting. Dr. Strickler is a Professor of Medi...

Guest: Daniela Molena, MD For patients with locally advanced gastroesophageal cancer, surgery remains a critical component of curative treatment—even in the era of chemoradiation and advanced imaging. Dr. Daniela Molena explores the challenges of assessing complete clinical response and the risks of non-operative management. Dr. Molena is an Associate Professor of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine...

Guest: William Hall, MD From tumor detection to biomarker development, artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the landscape of gastrointestinal oncology. In this expert-led program, Dr. William Hall explains how AI is being applied to data to identify tumor features and treatment susceptibilities faster and more precisely than traditional methods. Dr. Hall is a Professor and Chair of Ra...

Guest: Seth Wander, MD, PhD Over the past decade, CDK4/6 inhibitors have transformed the treatment landscape for HR+ breast cancer, but resistance remains a key clinical challenge. Hear from Dr. Seth Wander as he explores the latest translational insights into resistance mechanisms, including genomic alterations affecting cell cycle and signal transduction pathways, and discusses evolving therapeu...

Host: Pavani Chalasani, MD, MPH Guest: Timothy Yap, MBBS, PhD, FRCP Early findings from the PETRA study suggest that combining saruparib with camizestrant may offer added clinical benefit in ER+/HER2– advanced breast cancer, particularly in patients with BRCA or PALB2 mutations. Tune in to hear from Dr. Pavani Chalasani and Dr. Timothy Yap as they discuss this encouraging new data on tolerability...

Host: Ryan Quigley Guest: Kathrin M. Bernt, MD Guest: Rushabh Mehta, BS Guest: Fatemeh Alikarami New data presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition reveals how chemotherapy and immunotherapy may drive the emergence of CD-19–negative, myeloid-like subclones in pediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Mr. Ryan Quigley sits down with Dr. Kathrin...

Guest: Ashvini Keshavan, MRCP, PhD Very few patients in UK memory services receive an Alzheimer’s diagnosis supported by molecular testing, limiting timely access to emerging therapies. The ADAPT trial—which was funded by the Blood Biomarker Challenge, a multi-million-pound program supported by the Alzheimer's Society, Alzheimer's Research UK, and players of People's Postcode Lottery—aims to close...

Guest: Victoria Coleman-Cowger, PhD Gene therapy offers transformative potential for individuals with sickle cell disease, but the psychosocial challenges that accompany such a major decision are often underestimated. Hear from Dr. Victoria Coleman-Cowger as she highlights recommendations for supporting emotional wellbeing during and after gene therapy and explains the importance of recognizing bo...