The PennHealthX Podcast

For our last episode of 2017, I hosted Dr. Patrick Brennan, the current Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS). We touch on Dr. Brennan’s passion for infectious disease, how he began to take on leadership roles in medicine – including those with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, and as an advisor to the CDC and Secretary of Health and Human...

In this episode, I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to sit down with one of the most successful and respected healthcare leaders out there, Dr. Arthur Rubenstein. His accolades are too extensive to list in detail, but in short, Dr. Rubenstein is internationally known for his research achievements in endocrinology and diabetes, as well as for his role as the Dean of Penn’s Med School and as Exe...

In this episode, Ryan sits down with Chris Molaro and Adam Pardes, the co-founders of the Philadelphia start-up NeuroFlow. NeuroFlow is a digital health software firm that uses advanced data analytics and machine learning algorithms on real-time biometric data to quantify stress, focus and relaxation for mental health. Map 5:10 – The NeuroFlow Pitch – Chris 8:45 – Why Adam felt compelled to co-fou...

In this episode, I was able to sit down with Dr. Neha Vapiwala who is one of my mentors, and overall one of my absolute favorite people at Penn Med. She just began work as the new Assistant Dean of Student Affairs for the Perelman School of Medicine. We touch on her time at Johns Hopkins where she studied biology and Hispanic studies, and even worked with Dr. Ben Carson! We then discussed her time...

Aaron Bhole is a first year med student at the Thomas Jefferson University Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia. He is involved with a group at Jefferson called Physician Executive Leadership – or PEL – which is a HealthX like organization that focuses on developing future physician leaders. We were able to hit on Aaron’s interest in the intersection of business and medicine, PEL, drug pr...

Ryan is joined by Dr Saurabh Jha to discuss writing and tweeting as a physician, and how medical students can most effectively ease themselves into that world. We discuss a number of Dr. Jha's articles, touch briefly on the future of radiology, and learn about some of Dr. Jha's favorite writers. Map 3:15 – coming to the U.S and choosing radiology 7:00 – when and why did he become interested in wri...

On the most recent episode of the Penn HealthX Podcast, we were able to speak with Dr. Dana Kuhn. Dr. Kuhn shared his heartbreaking story of finding out he was infected with HIV after receiving treatment for hemophilia. He then unknowingly passed the virus on to his wife, who then died of AIDS-related pneumonia a few years later. While taking time to recuperate with his children, Dr. Kuhn found wo...

In this episode, Ryan is joined by the three founders of Spectrum Scores - Phil Williams, Naveen Jain, and Jun Jeon. We discuss how they came up with the idea for Spectrum Scores - a website dedicated to helping LGBTQ+ patients find competent healthcare providers who are able to address their unique healthcare needs - and the experience of getting it off the ground. Map: 3:30 – October 11th – Rele...

In this bonus episode of The Penn HealthX Podcast, we'd like to share a conversation host Ryan O'Keefe had with Nathan Dollinger, the host of The Future of Healthcare Podcast. Ryan and Nathan discuss why they started their podcasts, some of their favorite guests, and riff on some topics in healthcare that they are passionate about. If you enjoy The Penn HealthX Podcast, you'll love The Future of H...

BA Sillah joins the Penn HealthX Podcast to discuss getting an MBA, and investing in healthcare in Africa. 3:00 – The MBA year at Wharton 7:30 – deciding not to go into residency 15:30 – rising interest in business in medicine 19:00 – working in Africa 26:00 – addressing problems unique to the healthcare systems of emerging countries 33:00 – the downside to charity care 38:40 – working for Excelsi...

Eric Heil joins the Penn HealthX Podcast to discuss his career, passion for systems engineering, and experience founding, and eventually exiting, RIghtCare Solutions. RightCare, a company focused on reducing acute care hospital readmissions, was acquired by NaviHealth. 2:45 – growing up in Iowa 4:00 – going to Penn to play basketball 5:45 – playing in the NCAA tournament 7:15 – choosing to study e...

Tim Carlon joins us to talk about his MBA year, and his interest in value-based care. We touch on ACO's, bundled payments, MACRA, and other fun acronyms like MIPS. If you plan on being a physician, you will undoubtedly be impacted by the shift to value-based care. Take notes. 4:45 – Tim’s interest in IR 6:10 – why get the MD/MBA? 14:45 – becoming interested in value-based care payment models 22:20...

Gregg Khodorov and Julia Tartaglia, the co-presidents of the Biomedical Entrepreneurship Network (BEN) at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, join me to discuss their interests, BEN, and The Scientista Foundation. Map: 4:00 – Gregg – getting the MBA before med school 7:11 – working for Pfizer 9:45 – undergrad at GW and deciding to go into medicine 12:15 – Julia’s path to medicine – stu...

Nora Becker joins me to discuss her research on the ACA and it's effects on contraceptive usage. Map: 5:15 – her time at Pomona and becoming interested in public health 7:15 – deferring acceptance to Penn’s MD/PhD program to work for the Obama Campaign 10:00 – doing research at Wharton and getting a PhD not in basic science 13:00 – the value in appreciating health policy these days and how quickly...

Dr. Debbie Kelly joins us to speak about her career, and the decision to leave clinical practice to work in pharma. Map: 5:30 – finding ophthalmology 9:45 – things that she didn’t like about clinical practice 12:30 – learning about GSK, industry, and the options for MD’s 21:00 – shifting to Pharmacovigilance 28:30 – getting contacted by the headhunter and going to Spark 34:15 – mulling the decisio...

Ryan Littman-Quinn tells us about how he became an mHealth expert, and the challenges of overseeing successful projects abroad in Botswana and other African countries. Map: 5:20 – reaching out to click diagnostics and taking the job as graphic designer 8:20 – going to Botswana 14:00 – what is mHealth? 21:00 - working for the UPenn Botswana partnership 27:00 – Ryan’s first project – mLearning to su...

Dr. Kovarik tells us about her career, and how she became a leader in the teledermatology field. Note: In the intro, I mistakenly said that the Accessderm Platform was rolled out both in Philly and Africa. It is a U.S only platform. Other local platforms are used in Africa. Map: 5:22 - Finding Dermatology at Baylor 8:39 - The beginning of telederm 12:20 - Becoming a leader in the field 14:45 - Iss...

We kick off the Penn Health-X Podcast with Dr. Fajgenbaum! Map 4:30 – football at Georgetown, his mother’s illness, and starting AMF 8:45 – getting to Penn Med and being diagnosed with Castleman Disease 13:40 – relapsing, and not being content with the state of research 17:20 – mentors, the orphan disease center, and starting the CDCN with an email 21:00 – getting the MBA and learning to manage a...