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Copyright: © Richard Jacobs
You probably didn't realize that you're likely wearing a material that can serve as the foundation of biomaterials used for a variety of functions, including drug delivery, tissue regeneration, and in vitro disease modelling. That's right, Jeannine Coburn, PhD is an assistant professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute who is altering silk fibroin—a material found in most articles of clothing—to create unique properties that could have a number of biomedical applications. In addition to silk fibroin, Dr. Coburn and her team are working with chondroitin sulfate and bacteria and plant-derived cellulose for testing methods of tissue regeneration and studying disease processes that occur in the body.
One of the main focuses of Dr. Coburn's lab is on intratumoral drug delivery—the delivery of drugs locally inside cancerous tumors rather than systemically as conventionally done today. In order to do this, they are considering different drug delivery modifications that will allow the drugs to act more or less with the material in which they are enclosed, thereby allowing for control over the rate at which the drugs are released into tumors. In this way, the drug delivery system would mimic that of conventional practices while minimizing the many negative effects of chemotherapy on the body's organs.
Dr. Coburn discusses the main challenge of this pursuit—namely the problem of rejection by the body. In other words, how can they prevent the body from encapsulating and attacking the drug that it identifies as a foreign body? Answering this question leads to an informative and intriguing conversation about the body's mechanism of immune response, inflammatory responses, and how cancer cells shut off their immune recognition and how that can be modelled in vitro for the study of immunotherapy drugs used to treat cancer.
Interested in learning more? Tune in for the full conversation and don't hesitate to contact Dr. Coburn directly by email at jmcoburn@wpi.edu.
It might not be the first thing you associate with pulmonology, but the study of the lungs actually has quite a bit to do with the study of sleep. Dr. Seema Khosla didn't really make this association either until she slowly began learning about the importance of sleep and the critical role it plays in our health. "It was something that I never really thought about when I was a resident," she recalls, mentioning a time when she thought going days without sleep and pushing through it was more like wearing a badge of honor than engaging in a dangerous and detrimental way of living.
She now serves as the medical director of the North Dakota Center for Sleep, where she sees patients who are suffering from a variety of sleep conditions ranging from insomnia, to narcolepsy, to sleep apnea, to REM sleep behavior disorder—a disorder that causes people to act out their dreams. She discusses pulmonary-related sleep issues, including poorly-controlled asthma, emphysema, and other chronic medical conditions that can cause insomnia and fragmented sleep.
She provides a glimpse into the fascinating world of sleep studies, where real-time changes in oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood are correlated with real-time brain wave changes, indicating disruption from certain sleep stages. Dr. Khosla also touches more broadly on how people's attitude toward sleep seems to be changing for the better, effective options for the treatment of sleep apnea that do not involve CPAP machines, and why so many people are initially resistant to the idea of seeking help from sleep doctors. Lastly, she discusses her takeaway from a recent conversation she had with a Fitbit representative regarding plans to further implement sleep tracking technology in their products.
Tune in for all the details and get in contact by calling 701-356-3000
"Research has shown that traditional approaches in security just aren't working," says Dan Schoenbaum, citing large security breaches with British Airways and Target as just a couple of examples. Despite having large, sophisticated security programs, many companies simply aren't able to prevent people from stealing their data or leveraging their websites and accessing customers' credit card information. It's an approach that's been taken for the past 25 years, and according to Schoenbaum, it's the wrong one.
When Schoenbaum discovered Risk IQ, he discovered an entirely different approach to the problem of internet security—one that focuses on what's outside of the firewall, where the majority of attacks originate. "The heart and core of what we do is data science," he explains. The team at Risk IQ spends their days reviewing billions of web pages, social media platforms, and mobile applications, scanning for the illegitimate ones among the legitimate.
As the COO and President of Risk IQ, Schoenbaum joins the podcast to discuss the details of all this and more, including the path that led him to Risk IQ, the ins and outs of what they offer, the changing landscape of cyber security and cyber-attacks, and what's to come. Press play to hear the full conversation and visit https://www.riskiq.com/ to learn more.
Dr. Wei-Shin Lai, family physician, and husband Jason Wolfe, a video game developer, discuss their interesting and organic journey as sleep improvement entrepreneurs born out of necessity. They detail the process of how their company, SleepPhones (sleepphones.com) came to be, and discuss the many benefits of their soft, sleeping aid.
Confronting her own problem of getting to sleep efficiently, especially after late night work, Dr. Lai explains how she sought a better solution. She often used meditative music for relaxation but found that headphones were clumsy and awkward, and ear buds were just plain uncomfortable. As necessity is the mother of invention, Dr. Lai set out to create her own. After creating the first successful working prototype of her soft, sleeping aid, she enlisted the partnership of her husband as they soldered and sewed the first 500 units right on their kitchen table. And spreading her good fortune, Dr. Lai began to provide this sleeping solution to many of her patients who suffered from bad sleep or insomnia and were regularly taking sleeping pills to assist them with sleep.
Lai and Wolfe discuss the technology behind their product. And after eleven years in business, they have continued to advance and improve their product. As they state, many people find that the SleepPhones headband is more comfortable than competitors' products, even the much bigger companies with large revenue.
One of the additional benefits to their product is that it is designed to sit over the ear making them supremely comfortable even for those who sleep on their side. Their super soft headband is made of their specialized SheepCloud™ fabrics, and contains very thin, padded removable speakers in which users can play any auditory preference, from music, to audiobooks, meditations, white noise, or anything else that an individual finds relaxing and helps them to fall asleep.
Dr. Lai talks about the various testimonials they have received from people who have now been able to end their use of sleeping pills. People have stated that the sleeping headphones have even saved marriages, helping people get their sleep when sharing beds with partners who snore, etc.
Wolfe discusses some of the content providers they have worked with, and he hints about the new initiative they have developed internally that utilizes AI and machine learning to discover what sound technologies are the most effective for various applications. And Lai and Wolfe discuss the many fabrics that they offer in their products, that vary for user preferences, environments, and differing climates.
Douglas W. Losordo, MD, FACC, FAHA, Executive Vice President, Global Head of Research and Development, and Chief Medical Officer of Caladrius Biosciences, delivers a thorough overview of biopharmaceutical research and product development.
Dr. Losordo has spent decades digging deep into the many and various biological science issues that are relevant to advanced medical research. His work has made a significant impact in the areas of angiogenesis/vasculogenesis, progenitor/adult stem cells, tissue repair/regeneration, as well as vascular biology in general.
Dr. Losordo's company, Caladrius Biosciences, Inc., is a noted clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company featuring multiple technology platforms that are specifically targeted to certain cardiovascular indications as well as autoimmune diseases. In this informative podcast Dr. Losordo gives an overview of his company's work and their research. He states their primary objective is not to manage disease but to actually restore health. He outlines many of their late stage programs in the area of cardiovascular disease, clinical trials, and progress they have made. In prior studies they have found that just a single dose of their therapies makes people better long term. Trials are promising and he expects continued approvals as they bring more products to the market. Caladrius is committed to the development of innovative products for cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases that carry great potential to restore health to people with chronic, often severe, illnesses, to address many unmet medical needs.
The biopharmaceutical expert discusses blood vessel regeneration, and the research they are doing in this area of angiogenesis. He talks about their work with patients and how their process works, in detail, explaining how the cells are injected and how angiogenesis begins. Dr. Losordo discusses their experimentation with cells and the dramatic successes they see in the repair of ischemic tissue. Dr. Losordo talks about some of the many regulatory issues that impact the medical and biological science development industries. He outlines how their refractory angina program has been designated with a high designation for accelerated approval.
Dr. Losordo's successful career in regenerative medicine therapeutics has received significant backing. He has obtained over $35 million in National Institutes of Health funding for discovering and developing new therapeutic concepts in the laboratory that provide the basis for clinical studies that may lead the way to medical breakthroughs.
Kelly Glazer Baron, PhD, MPH, DBSM, Associate Professor in the Division of Public Health, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Utah, delivers a fascinating overview of sleep and its importance.
As an experienced clinical psychologist with specialty training in behavioral sleep medicine, Dr. Baron has been a leader in the area of sleep research for many years. In her clinic, Dr. Baron provides cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for insomnia, as well as myriad other sleep disorders such as circadian disorders, sleep apnea, nightmares, sleep walking, and narcolepsy. She received her bachelor's degree from Ohio State University then went on to complete a master's degree and PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Utah.
The sleep doctor discusses her background and what motivated her to pursue this specific area of research and treatment. She talks about her two main areas of interest: how the disruption of sleep and the circadian rhythm can lead to the development of obesity and diabetes, and the advancement of wearables in regard to sleep technology. She talks about the benefits of wearables and how learning about your sleep can help you to improve the sleep you get. She answers questions that relate to circadian rhythms and what essentially makes one a 'night owl.' She explains that those who identify as night owls, the people who stay up later and then wake up later the next day, are certainly better off if they are allowed to exist as night owls as opposed to those who are night owls and are forced into a more 9 to 5 existence. However, she states that timing really isn't the issue, but it is the alignment of melatonin and sleep schedule that impacts dietary behaviors. For example, people who force themselves to sleep earlier in their melatonin timing have greater meal frequency and tend to eat more calories, and if they are overweight… have signs of insulin resistance. Thus, ultimately, being a night owl isn't a factor, but it's really more about whether that night owl is forced to function in the morning. Dr. Baron states that if people find their ideal sleep schedule, and are allowed to maintain their natural rhythm, then they are probably better off than someone who is forcing themselves to adhere to a schedule based on what society says.
Dr. Baron discusses sleep loss and its affect on metabolism. But as she states, there are multiple factors that determine weight, and sleep is merely one. She does mention however, that many times late sleepers find that fitting exercise into their day is challenging, and thus needed movement may be squeezed out of their daily schedules.
Additionally, she details sleep devices and the benefits of sleep monitoring data. And she adds that many times the data simply confirms what a user may have suspected, such as sleep is intermittent, or they are not sleeping deep enough, etc.
In Dr. Baron's research they are interested in helping people get rid of bedtime procrastination and other issues that interfere with good sleep. She explains the many issues and activities that may interrupt sleep or impact one's ability to get to bed and also relax before sleeping.
Dr. Baron's research has been generously supported by the NIH, and she has been regularly featured in top tier media such as the New York Times, US News and World Report, Men's Health, Webmd.com, and others.
In this informative podcast, Kevin Kastelnik and Guillaume Gautier, the founders of dreaminzZz (dreaminzzz.com), discuss sleep and hypnosis and the benefits of relaxation for reducing stress and increasing productivity.
After many sleepless nights amidst an incredible amount of work, Kastelnik began to dig deeper into the process of sleep. He found that poly-phasic sleep (sleeping multiple times, and typically more than two) was successful, and allowed him to absorb heavy workloads more efficiently while still feeling well rested.
Kastelnik discusses his company's vision and their primary product, HYPNOS. The objective of HYPNOS is to facilitate access and ease of use for modern hypnosis, applying it to any type of application from service, to health, fitness, or wellness. At dreaminzZz, Kastelnik and Gautier bring together technology, methods of hypnosis, and creative innovation to launch efficient alternatives to achieve their highest priorities.
HYPNOS is the first connected hypnosis mask. It is a set of groundbreaking tools that enables users to utilize hypnosis in their professional activities, synchronized to visual and motion simulations in order to bring the benefits of hypnosis to customers.
Kastelnik & Gautier talk about the mechanisms of HYPNOS. The HYPNOS sleep mask provides light and vibration that are connected to a mobile app, which works to allow people to focus on many areas that need attention, from stress reduction to pain reduction, to relaxation, fear, and much more.
The app will deliver hypnotic suggestions that allow the users to fall asleep or achieve their objective. They talk about the various suggestions that users can utilize, which allow users to fall asleep 3 times faster than usual. Specifically, while listening to the story in the app, the hypnotic suggestions are introduced, which as stated above, enables sleep to come faster. And with quality, restorative sleep being achieved faster and more efficiently, everyone can improve their health.
The sleep and hypnosis experts talk about the feedback they are getting from their users. As they state, sleep disorders and stress are the two main areas that their more than 10,000 users primarily tend to focus on.
Finally, the hypnosis marketers discuss their product rollout globally, and the new, exciting products that they will be introducing in the coming years.
Roger Sholanki, CEO of Book4Time (book4time.com), provides an analysis of the many issues that individuals and businesses face in regard to booking and scheduling for every industry.
Sholanki is an experienced and tested entrepreneur who has spent his career focused on disruptive companies and products that seek to improve the global health and wellness industry in general. Never accepting any given situation, Sholanki thrives on challenging the status quo, and he inspires his team at Book4Time as they set the bar higher for everything from product development to customer success. He is a pioneer in the spa and wellness industry and Book4Time is the world's most innovative cloud-based management software.
Sholanki talks about Book4Time's objectives as a business management platform focused on the global wellness industry. He states that online booking is the preference today as call booking wanes more and more. Sholanki discusses the users' preferences, and how users research then book their reservations. He explains the details of their app and how users can benefit from its many features. From spas in hotel resorts, to the beauty industry, wellness, leisure, and more, there are many industries and services that can take advantage of Book4Time's platform. Sholanki provides specific examples of their wide customer base and how they each utilize the specific booking and reservation application features.
Sholanki gives specific details about the app's features and their uses. With Appointment Booking users can maximize and grow their revenue with convenient, centrally managed guest bookings as well as optimized therapist schedules. With Marketing & Retention, the app enables users to drive revenue and retention with specialized memberships, loyalty points, and even referral incentives. Revenue Management allows every user to precisely manage and track revenues over the cloud with a sophisticated point-of-sale and payment processing system. Business Intelligence & Reporting provides for centrally managed and automated business processes and best practices. Their Staff Management feature allows users to save time on staff scheduling and bolster productivity with goal tracking, incentives and more. And their Inventory Management feature keeps everything centrally managed, so you know the inventory and can manage it for all your spa locations, and so much more.
The organizational tech entrepreneur talks about feedback from consumers and the areas of their app in which he hopes to expand. He describes certain challenges that come up in the booking process and how Book4Time is solving various industries' problems.
Dr. John Torday, MSc, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Ob/Gyn, Harbor-UCLA, Division of Neonatology, discusses biomedical research, genomics, and life.
Dr. Torday's extensive career in medicine and education has afforded him some choice opportunities, working and researching as a faculty member at prestigious universities such as Harvard Medical School, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the David Geffen School of Medicine.
Dr. Torday discusses some of his early experiences in the field, as well as some of the incredible advances he has seen in science and medicine. He specifically talks about the landmark observation of his career: that the cortisol hormone could accelerate human development, which was the beginning of neonatology. The implications of this observation were immense and became the fodder for much research ongoing.
The neonatology expert comments on the vast changes in biomedical research, from biochemistry to the transition to molecular biology, and the concept of genomics. He talks in depth about the importance of epigenetics. Epigenetics is the study of heritable phenotype changes that do not require alterations in the existing DNA sequence. He muses on the concepts of epigenetics, regarding embryogenesis (embryonic development). As he states, epigenetic inheritance is passed in more than one generation, which is a particularly interesting and vital point in regard to research. He answers questions regarding genetic expression and the idea of epigenetic heritability. As he states, environment such as habitation in water or on land, play a role in organism development. And additionally, he states that diet can have an influence as well.
Speaking about evolutionary development, the PhD discusses some of his thoughts on various species, considering land and water environments. He provides extensive details on the complex biological factors that are involved. He talks in detail about three genes he states are necessary: parathyroid hormone-related protein gene, glucocorticoid receptor, and the beta adrenergic receptor.
Additionally, he expounds upon the importance of intercepting the loss of homeostatic control, which would provide for profound advances in the way we treat disease. He discusses the distinguishing traits between species, and then recounts some of the concepts and theories he has studied regarding the origin of life.
Dragos Axinte, Professor of Manufacturing Engineering, The University of Nottingham, gives us a glimpse into the complex world of advanced robotic technology.
Axinte is an experienced professional specializing in manufacturing engineering. Throughout his impressive career he has held two NATO Research Fellowships in Italy and Denmark. He has been an active part of the groundbreaking research teams at the University of Birmingham as well as the University of Nottingham. Axinte was named Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineer (IMechE) and Fellow of the International Academy of Production Engineering (FCIRP), and continues to contribute to the dialogue internationally in his industry.
As the prominent Director of the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre (UTC) in Manufacturing and On-Wing Technology, Axinte works with his team to develop a range of robotic technologies that can enable engines to be inspected and repaired at remote locations, all while remaining on-wing. Axinte discusses the form and design of the robots they are creating. He mentions that they are making snake-like robots, for this design is best for entering tiny spaces that are impossible for other forms to access. He provides detailed information on how the robots access these interior spaces and exactly the kinds of jobs that they perform, such as engine maintenance, and more.
Axinte talks about the various technologies that they have developed at Rolls-Royce. He provides details on their current designs and his expectations for future redesigns and improvements. He speaks about their challenges in design and use, and the importance of making their robotic technology easy to use by untrained operators, so extensive training is not necessary. Speaking about future advances, he provides information on other operational challenges they will face in development. Axinte states that there are many opportunities to utilize their technology in the aerospace, oil and gas, and defense industries.
Axinte hopes that the future will bring more integrated use of artificial intelligence in their robotic manufacturing, and he and his team are working toward this and other goals.
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