You Make Me Sick!

In this episode, we speak with Suzette Bianchi, RN. Suzette is a Charge RN in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Boston Medical Center and has been at the bedside for over 30 years. She has been on the front lines of medical crises from the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s to the COVID-19 pandemic. She holds a permanent Charge RN role and also serves as an instructor for continuous dialysis, or continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). She joins us today to talk about her experiences as an RN, how the field has changed, and how she has managed to remain at the bedside in the ICU without succumbing to burnout or becoming jaded. We are grateful to have Suzette with us for this Nurses Week episode!

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Adam Yala to explore his groundbreaking research on using A.I. to predict breast cancer with his deep learning model, Mirai. We dive into the potential of A.I. in healthcare, the challenges it faces, and what the future may hold—including whether A.I. could one day take on the roles of nurses and practitioners. This is a fascinating and eye-opening look at how A.I. is transforming medicine today and what’s next on the horizon.Dr. Yala is an assistant professor of Computational Precision Health at UC Berkeley and UCSF. His research focuses on developing machine learning methods for personalized medicine and translating them into clinical care.His previous research has focused on two areas: 1) predicting future cancer risk, and 2) designing personalized screening policies. His breast cancer tool, Mirai, has been tested at 43 hospitals from 14 countries.Adam's tools now underly prospective trials, and his research has been featured in the Washington Post, New York Times, and the Boston Globe. Prof Yala obtained his BS, MEng and PhD in Computer Science from MIT where he was a member of MIT Jameel Clinic and MIT CSAIL.

In this episode we are joined by Pastor Abby Henrich to discuss the issue of food insecurity. We discuss what food insecurity is, who it is most likely to effect, why it can be so detrimental to overall health, and how to help those in need, especially at this time of year when so many benefit from the kindness of others. . Abby is a Dual Pastor and Co-Founder of Grace Community in Boston MA as well as Pastor at Stratford Street United Church in West Roxbury MA. She is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and Colgate University, Abby is also the cohost of “The Progressive Sacred Podcast” where she and her fellow hosts discuss topics ranging from science and religion to women in the clergy to progressive takes on Christianity. Abby has been at the forefront of promoting progressive christianity which is characterized by a willingness to question tradition, accept human diversity, including religious diversity, seeking social justice, care for the poor and oppressed, tending to the environment, and gathering as a community in new ways. Her efforts at Grace Community have helped to feed the homeless, host gun buy backs, allocated goods to help undeserved communities here and abroad, and promote the spirit of inclusion, kindness, love and joy. Abby is also the pastor at Stratford Street United Church, a progressive Protestant church which is home to Rose’s Bounty, a food pantry located in the West Roxbury area of Boston. She is here today to discuss the topic of food insecurity, who it affects, why is it a growing concern, and how we can help to provide nutritious food to those in need, especially at this time of year.

In this episode we are joined by Scientist and Researcher Dr. Brian Wang to discuss the work he and his colleagues are pursuing at Panoplia Laboratories in Cambridge MA. Dr. Wang and his team are in pursuit of Broad Spectrum Antivirals that can be available on day zero of the next pandemic. We discuss the methods of bioengineering that Panoplia Labs will be using, including the use of synthetic biology to aid the body's own immune system against viruses. We also discuss the possible routes of administration, as well as the barriers and timelines associated with this innovative and remarkable biotechnology. You won't want to miss this fascinating and informative episode.Our guest Dr. Brian Wang is the co founder and executive director of Panoplia Laboratories in Cambridge MA. Brian was also the prior head of research and development at the biotech company Alvea, Dr. Wang completed his postdoctoral education at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed his graduate studies at UC Berkley and received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University. Brian has been published in Nature Communications, The Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Angewandte Chemie International Edition. He is the owner if multiple patents and has been the recipient of the Emergent Ventures Fellowship from The Mercatus Center as well as the National Science Foundation Fellowship from the National Science Foundation.

In this episode we are joined again by Tropical and Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Davidson Hamer. We discuss Arboviruses, what they are, how they are spread, and what kinds of illnesses they can cause. We talk in depth about the current Dengue spread and what may be driving the historic increase in cases and what to expect in the coming months to years. We also discuss West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and the current situation here in the New England area, Dr. Hamer is a Professor of Global Health and Medicine at the Boston University School of Public Health and Chobanian & Avesidian School of Medicine, he is also an Adjunct Professor of Nutrition at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. He is a specialist in infectious diseases with a particular interest in tropical infectious diseases and has extensive field experience in neonatal and child survival research including studies of micronutrient interventions, maternal and neonatal health, malaria, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases.For over 20 years, he has supervised and provided technical support to numerous studies in developing countries that evaluated interventions for improving neonatal survival, integrated community case management (iCCM), improving access for pregnant women to emergency obstetrical care, treatment and prevention of malaria, HIV/AIDS, micronutrient deficiencies, diarrheal disease, and pneumonia. Dr. Hamer is also the Surveillance Lead for the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network, a global network of 70 sites in 31 countries that conducts surveillance of emerging infectious diseases using returning travelers, immigrants, and refugees as sentinels of infection (https://geosentinel.org).He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, Infectious Diseases Society of America, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and the International Society of Travel Medicine and has been published in hundreds of medical journals including; Journal of American Medicine, Journal of travel medicine, Journal of Global Health, International Journal of Infectious Disease, and many, many more.

In this episode we are joined by Elko NV police office Jake Ballensky. Officer Ballensky is a US national Guard Veteran having served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan and has experience as a police officer working for the Las Vegas Metro Police Department and Elko NV police department. Today he joins us to discuss police and their roles as first responders, the stress and burnout that comes with the job, PTSD and how police practice has changed during his time serving the public.

In this episode we speak to Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Davidson Hamer and explore the current H5N1 spread among US cattle and if there is potential for spread to humans, and if so, could this cause the next great pandemic due to such high mortality rates and airborne spread. Dr. Hamer is board certified in infectious diseases and is a Professor at Boston University as well as Tufts University in Boston MA. Dr. Hamer is also the Surveillance Lead for the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network, which is a global network of 70 sites in 31 countries that conducts surveillance of emerging infectious diseases using returning travelers, immigrants, and refugees as sentinels of infection.He has extensive field experience in neonatal and child survival research , maternal and neonatal health, with focuses on studies of micronutrient interventions as well as malaria, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases.