Penn Medicine Physician Interviews

Dr. Leonid Emerel reviews the management of non-small cell and small cell lung cancer at the multidisciplinary cancer clinic in the Medical Arts Pavilion at Penn Medicine Princeton Thoracic Surgery. Dr Emeril reviews diagnostics, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and surgery, and the value of rapid access to the surgeons on staff.

Alexander W. R. Bridges, MD, offers the insight of a cardiothoracic surgeon to an engaging discussion of atrial fibrillation, its causes, risk factors, pathophysiology, populations affected, and treatments. The object of therapy, Dr. Bridges attests, is to stabilize the heart rhythm and reduce the lifetime risk of stroke and heart failure. Dr Bridges reviews the Cox-Maze 3 procedure, left atrial a...

Heritability has long been known to play a role in aortic aneurysm and dissection for individuals with the Marfan and Loeys-Dietz syndromes. Recent research at Penn Medicine and elsewhere has revealed the presence of genetic variants linked to these syndromes in non-syndromic disease. In this podcast, clinical genetics specialist Staci Kallish, DO, discusses this phenomenon, reviews ongoing studie...

Electrocardiologist Matthew A. Bernabei, MD, examines the history of ablation for atrial fibrillation and its latest iteration, pulsed field ablation, or PFA. Now available at Penn Medicine, PFA uses an electrical field rather than radiofrequency or cryotherapy to treat the aberrant signals that are the source of Afib. Unlike other ablation modalities, PFA is cardio-selective, and thus poses littl...

Cancer and surgery specialists Drs. Kara Maxwell, Daniel Lee, Jennifer Zhang, and Bryson Katona delve into the nuances of BRCA-positive breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancers in men. This wide-ranging discussion encompasses BRCA heritability, diagnostics, screening, risks, and treatment options.

Dr. Jonathan Nahas offers a concise overview of alcohol-related liver diseases, addressing their causes, consequences, and effects on the liver, and examines the importance of thorough assessment and management strategies, including liver transplantation.

Kendall Lawrence, MD, a specialist in aorta surgery, examines the physiology, symptomatology, types, and causes of acute aortic dissection and describes the management of these events at the Penn Aorta Center—including Center’s direct-to-OR program for patients presenting with acute aortic emergencies.

Dr. Nawar Latif offers a nuanced overview of heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy, or HIPEC, as an adjunct to surgery in women with ovarian cancer. The introduction of heated chemotherapy at the peritoneum greatly increases its absorption and minimizes the toxicity of therapy.

Dr. E. John Wherry, Director of the Colton Center for Autoimmunity at Penn Medicine, offers his insight on the Center’s therapeutic and novel research missions to revolutionize awareness, diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases through collaborative, transformative, and translational science.

Penn radiation oncologist Karishima Khullar, MD, offers an overview of low-dose radiation therapy for patients who have not responded to medications, steroid injections, and other standard treatments for osteoarthritis.

Clinician-researcher Daniel Lefler, MD, reviews Afami-cel, the first FDA-approved immunotherapy designed to treat synovial cancer, a rare, aggressive soft-tissue malignancy.

Rare, heritable Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, imposes an approximate 90% risk of breast cancer and the sarcomas, among other cancers, over the lifetime of affected individuals. Drs. Suzanne MacFarland, and Kara Maxwell, discuss the urgent need for early diagnosis and intensive life-long monitoring, family dynamics, communication, advocacy and the avenues for care in Li-Fraumeni.

Dr. Anuja Dokras reviews the Women's Health Center for Clinical Innovation, a leader in clinical advances, research, and interactive programs for women throughout the reproductive cycle, from inspiring fertility (Fast Track to Fertility) to postpartum care (HeartSafe Motherhood) and beyond.

Dr. Elizabeth Anne Genovese offers an overview of peripheral artery disease, or PAD and its end-stage form, chronic limb-threatening ischemia, and discusses the treatments available at the Penn Advanced Limb Preservation (PALP) program, including investigational therapies for the “no-option” patient.

In this episode, Dr. Lisa Levine leads a discussion focusing on what burden does pregnancy place on the heart, and why some women and birthing people develop heart disease for the first time during pregnancy.

Rebecca Hamm, MD, provides an engaging overview of standardization and implementation science at Penn Medicine, a new field that seeks to inform health care change, particularly with regard to disparities in maternal outcomes and women’s health.

Dr. Stephen Bagley provides an overview of two enrolling clinical trials at Penn Medicine. The first explores targeted CAR T therapy in recurrent IDH wild-type glioblastoma; the second pairs two investigational drugs in the treatment-of recurrent IDH-mutant glioma.

Fertility specialist Christine Skiadas, MD, offers her insight on the causes of the worldwide decline in male fertility, and how Penn Penn Fertility Care is approaching this mystery through genetic testing and assisted reproductive technologies, including in vitro fertilization.

Drs. Neilanjan Nandi and Anish Sheth of Penn Gastroenterology discuss the current set of colonoscopy and elucidate the advantages of GI Genius, a program that incorporates AI into practice to improve upon colonoscopy outcomes.

Dr. Michael Ibrahim offers an overview of the history and application of the Ross procedure, a method of aortic valve replacement that offers an alternative to the complexities of mechanical and bioprosthetic valves for younger adults.

Drs. Christian Bermudez and Asad Ali Usman furnish a comprehensive overview of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) Program at Penn Medicine and its affiliates, which now averages 200 to 250 cases of ECMO support every year, and reflect on recent advances in technique, the novel introduction of ECMO for COVID-associated ARDS, and patient survival on ECMO for up to six months as bridge to tra...

Lorraine Boakye, MD, discusses the application and research behind wearable motion sensing accelerometers that measure changes in velocity throughout the day for patients recovering from Achilles tendon injuries.

Parsing a topic of great concern in the wake of acute brain injury, David Fischer, MD, reviews the RECOVER Program for Disorders of Consciousness at Penn Medicine. RECOVER (REcovery of COnsciousness Via Evidence-based medicine and Research) is an effort to establish a clinical infrastructure for decisions involving neuroprognostication, and to provide comprehensive, specialized, and longitudinal c...

In this episode, Drs. Charles Vollmer and Nuzhat Ahmad lead a discussion focusing on pancreatitis, and how the Penn Pancreatic Center of Excellence specializes in treatment.