The PennHealthX Podcast

Latest Episodes:

85 - Dr. Alex Beschloss - Insights, Policy, and Practice Oct 29, 2025

Show notes

Today, we’re taking with Dr. Beschloss. Dr. Beschloss is a resident physician in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and Wharton School, where he earned his MD/MBA. A Williams College alum, his work sits at the intersection of clinical care, health policy, and healthcare innovation. Before residency, he worked with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, focusing on healthcare financing and policy reform. He now serves as an Assistant Medical Director at Accompany Health, advancing value-based care models for dual-eligible and high-risk Medicare Advantage patients. In this episode, Dr. Beschloss shares how he brings a systems-level perspective to medicine—blending research, policy, and business insight to reimagine how care is delivered.

84 - Dr. Kevin Volpp - Behavior, Incentives, & Systems Oct 14, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of the PennHealthX Podcast, Habib sits down with Dr. Kevin Volpp to discuss his career as a physician–economist and his pioneering work at the intersection of medicine, economics, and behavioral science. Dr. Volpp is the Mark Pauly President’s Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, with joint appointments at the Perelman School of Medicine and the Wharton School. He founded the Center for Health Incentives & Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) and co-created Penn Medicine’s Nudge Unit—the first behavioral design team embedded in a health system. This episode explores how behavioral economics and incentive-based interventions are transforming healthcare decisions, improving outcomes, and shaping the future of medicine.

83 - Dr. Rachel Kelz - Surgery, Equity, & Innovation Oct 01, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of the PennHealthX Podcast, hosts Ziad Hassan and Habib Akouri sit down with Dr. Rachel Kelz to discuss her path into surgery and the wide-ranging impact of her career. Dr. Kelz is the William Maul Measey Professor of Surgery and Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. She also directs Penn’s Center for Surgery and Health Economics, where she applies advanced analytics and AI to improve surgical outcomes, health equity, and medical education. A nationally recognized surgeon, educator, and researcher, Dr. Kelz has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed studies and earned numerous awards for leadership, mentorship, and teaching.

82 - Dr. Daniel Hashimoto - Surgery, Innovation, & AI Aug 29, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Daniel Hashimoto, Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Biomedical Informatics. Dr. Hashimoto shares his journey at the intersection of surgery and artificial intelligence, exploring how computer vision and machine learning are reshaping surgical education and practice. He also reflects on his path to becoming a leading voice in the emerging field of surgical AI.

81 - Dr. Ryan O'Keefe - From Podcast to Practice Jul 26, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, hosts Ziad Hassan and Habib Akouri sit down with Dr. Ryan O'Keefe for an engaging conversation that takes the podcast back to its original roots. Ryan O'Keefe, MD, MBA, is a hospitalist at Penn Medicine and creator of Point of Care Medicine. Point of Care Medicine is an online educational reference for students and physicians alike providing critical information in the form of clinical templates, graphics and podcasts to support proper decision making through both proactive learning and in-the-moment refreshers. He discusses his journey obtaining an MBA and the path he has taken to impact medicine through education.

80 - Dr. Ryan Henrici - Biotech & Global Health May 19, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, hosts Ziad Hassan and Habib Akouri sit down with Dr. Ryan Henrici for an engaging conversation that bridges science, innovation, and personal journey. Ryan Henrici, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist specializing in infectious diseases and hematology. A former Marshall Scholar, he serves as Vice President of Discovery Medicine at BigHat Biosciences, where he leads the development of next-generation antibody therapeutics using artificial intelligence and synthetic biology. Additionally, he is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.

79 - Michael Karamardian & Medha Sharma - Leveraging the MD/MBA in a Dynamic Medical Landscape May 01, 2025

Show notes

Today's episode is a conversation between hosts Ziad Hassan and Habib Akouri and guests Michael Karamardian and Medha Sharma, previous Co-Presidents of PennHealthX.

78 - Josh Makower - A Career of Innovation in Med Tech and Venture Capital Mar 10, 2021

Show notes

Today’s episode is a conversation between Sope Eweje, one of the VP’s of Entrepreneurship and Ventures for Penn HealthX, and our guest, Dr. Josh Makower. Josh currently leads medical device investment as a general partner at NEA, one of the world’s largest and most active venture capital firms. Josh is also the Founder and Executive Chairman of ExploraMed, a medical device incubator that has created 8 companies over the past 20 years. Notable transactions from the ExploraMed portfolio include Acclarent, acquired by J&J in 2009, EndoMatrix, acquired by C.R. Bard in 1997, TransVascular, acquired by Medtronic in 2003 and Neotract acquired by Teleflex in 2017. On-going ExploraMed/NEA ventures include NeoTract, Moximed, Willow and ExploraMed V. In addition to his role at NEA, Josh serves on the faculty of the Stanford University School as an Adjunct Professor of Medicine and is Co-Founder of Stanford’s Biodesign Innovation Program, a unique training and educational program for multi-disciplinary health technology innovation with trainees that have gone on to form 50 companies that have had an impact over 2.7 million patients. Josh holds over 300 patents and patent applications for various medical devices in the fields of cardiology, ENT, general surgery, drug delivery, obesity, orthopedics, women’s health, and urology. He received an MBA from Columbia University, an MD from the NYU School of Medicine, and a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. In this episode, Sope and Josh discuss how he went from a music major to a prolific medical technology innovator and venture capitalist, and how each of the experiences he had along the way have shaped his passion for technological innovation in healthcare. We also discuss the role clinicians play in health care innovation and his view of invention as a skill that can be learned by technical and clinical stakeholders alike. We wrap up by discussing his thoughts on how COVID may impact the medical technology VC landscape and a piece of advice for students interested in using technology to improve healthcare. Footnotes Josh’s Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-makower-14a0b7ba/ NEA – https://nea.com Willow wearable breast pump - https://shop.willowpump.com/ Stanford Biodesign Innovation Program - http://biodesign.stanford.edu/

77 - Sandy Varatharajah - Planning For a Career to Transform Healthcare Via Digital Health Oct 17, 2020

Show notes

Today’s episode is a conversation with one of my colleagues, Sandy Varatharajah. Sandy is a 2nd year MBA student and a member of the Healthcare Management program at Wharton. In the episode, we discuss what drew her to the healthcare space, her previous experiences, including interning at the white house, consulting, and working for CityBlock. We also discussed the decision to get an MBA, and some of the interviews she has done for the Pulse Podcast by the Wharton Digital Health club. We end with some things she is most looking forward to in the coming years. If you like The Penn HealthX Podcast, you should check out Pulse, a podcast created and maintained by The Wharton Digital Health Club where they interview leaders in the digital health space. Show Notes Sandy’s LinkedIn Profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandyvaratharajah/ The Pulse Podcast - Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/wharton-pulse-podcast The Pulse Podcast - Medium Page https://medium.com/wharton-pulse-podcast Sandy’s Medium Profile https://medium.com/@sanvrajah

76 - Dr. Arpan Parikh - Using Business Skills to Improve The Future of Psychiatry Aug 23, 2020

Show notes

Today’s episode is a conversation I had with Dr. Arpan Parikh. Dr. Parikh was a colleague of mine at Wharton last year. He has since graduated and moved on to a role with CareMore Health. Dr. Parikh got his MD at Ohio State, and completed his residency in Psychiatry at Mt. Sinai in New York City. In the episode, we discuss what drew him to medicine and psychiatry, memories he had as a student, clinical roles he took on, why he chose to get an MBA, and how he will use his skills at CareMore Health. It was an absolute pleasure for me to speak with Dr. Parikh and learn from him. Host - Ryan O'Keefe Show Notes Arpan’s LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arpan-parikh-724897125/ Mt. Sinai Addiction Institute https://www.mountsinai.org/locations/addiction-institute CareMore Health https://www.caremore.com/

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