The Health Technology Podcast

Tom Osborne: Predicting the Future with Big Data

Thomas Osborne, MD, Chief Medical Informatics Officer, VA Palo Alto Health Care System

Thomas Osborne, MD, is the Chief Medical Informatics Officer at VAPAHCS. He graduated from Dartmouth Medical School, and completed his diagnostic radiology residency at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA, and neuroradiology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He is board-certified in radiology and has his CAQ in neuroradiology, both from the American Board of Radiology. His current focus is on building collaborations within the VAPAHCS network to positively transform healthcare, and his interests include applications of artificial intelligence in medicine to advance health care.

Ali Farahanchi: How the Pandemic is Changing Investing

Ali Farahanchi, Managing Director, DHVC

Ali Farahanchi is Managing Director at DHVC, an early-stage tech and life science fund in Palo Alto. With more than $650M assets under management and 100+ companies in its portfolio, DHVC invests in variety of areas in healthcare including therapeutics, diagnostics and tools, and digital health, with strong emphasis on novel mechanisms and data-driven platforms. Previously Ali has worked in research and in consulting roles in semiconductor and healthcare industries, and has obtained graduate degrees in engineering and management from MIT and University of Chicago.

Prasad Shirvalkar: On a Mission to Solve Chronic Pain

Prasad Shirvalkar, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, UCSF School of Medicine

Dr. Prasad Shirvalkar is a neurologist and interventional pain medicine specialist who provides the full spectrum of care for chronic pain conditions. This includes conservative, nonsurgical treatments such as medications and nerve blocks (anesthetic injections near nerves that are sending pain signals). He also treats patients with advanced neuromodulation therapy by implanting peripheral and spinal cord stimulators, which are devices that relieve pain by sending electrical signals to the spine.

Shirvalkar cares for hospitalized patients and provides telemedicine visits for established patients. He coordinates with other providers for each patient, collaborating to treat any pain condition.

Shirvalkar's research aims to develop new therapies for hard-to-treat pain disorders, such as post-stroke pain and phantom limb pain, by harnessing technologies such as brain and spinal cord stimulation. He is conducting a study using electrodes implanted in the brain to understand how individuals interpret pain signals, with the goal of personalizing brain stimulation therapies. He is also interested in how sudden, severe pain episodes can progress to become chronic and in whether early intervention can prevent chronic pain.

Shirvalkar earned his doctoral and medical degrees at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He then completed a residency in neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he served as chief resident. He completed a fellowship in pain management at UCSF.

Shirvalkar belongs to the American Academy of Neurology, American Pain Association, American Pain Society, American Society of Anesthesiologists, International Neuromodulation Society and North American Neuromodulation Society, where he serves on the scientific program committee.

In addition to medicine and science, Shirvalkar has a passion for percussion. He plays jazz drums in his free time and used to play with the Oakland Raiders' band.

Heather Bowerman: Working with a Changing Playbook During the Pandemic

Heather Bowerman, Founder & CEO, DotLab

Heather Bowerman is the founder and CEO of DotLab, a molecular diagnostics company in women’s health. DotLab has been named as an “Amazing Medical Breakthrough” by Reader’s Digest and as one of the “Fierce 15” companies of 2019 by FierceMedTech. Bowerman has been recognized as a Top 35 Global Innovator by the MIT Technology Review, a World Technology Award Finalist for Health & Medicine, and as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs by Goldman Sachs. She was previously a consultant at McKinsey & Company and an associate in the Obama White House’s Office of Science & Technology Policy, and is a graduate of the UC Berkeley College of Engineering and Harvard University.

Steve Blank: Advice for Entrepreneurs in a Crisis

Steve Blank

Entrepreneur‐turned‐educator Steve Blank is the Father of Modern Entrepreneurship. Credited with launching the Lean Startup movement, he’s changed how startups are built; how entrepreneurship is taught; how science is commercialized, and how companies and the government innovate.

Steve is the author of The Four Steps to the Epiphany, The Startup Owner’s Manual and his May 2013 Harvard Business Review cover story defined the Lean Startup movement.

He teaches at Stanford, Columbia, Berkeley and NYU; and created the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps now the standard for science commercialization in the U.S. His Hacking for Defense class at Stanford is revolutionizing how the U.S. defense and intelligence community can deploy innovation with speed and urgency, and its sister class, Hacking for Diplomacy, is doing the same for foreign affairs challenges managed by the U.S. State Department.

Steve blogs at www.steveblank.com.

Ajay Dharia: On the Front Lines Against the Coronavirus

Ajay Dharia, MD, Pulmonary & Critical Care, UCSF Medical Center; Principal, MedTech Venture Partners

Ajay Dharia received his medical degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA after obtaining his engineering degree from UC Berkeley. He completed his residency and fellowship in internal medicine and pulmonary/critical care at UCSF Medical Center. After completing his fellowship, Ajay transitioned into a medical device lab working on the development of artificial organ technology. He continues to practice clinically during extended hours in two ICUs in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ajay is also Principal at Medtech Venture Partners, the UCSF Rosenman Institute’s investment firm.

Harsh Vathsangam: Virtual Cardiac Rehab at Moving Analytics

Harsh Vathsangam, PhD, CEO & Co-Founder, Moving Analytics

Harsh Vathsangam is the CEO of Moving Analytics. He is driven by a passion for taking technological solutions and applying them to benefit people’s lives. Prior to Moving Analytics, Harsh received his PhD from the University of Southern California working at the intersection of artificial intelligence and mobile health. He is the author of several peer-reviewed publications in machine learning and chronic disease management. He was a USC Annenberg Fellow and winner of USC PhD Achievement Award in recognition of outstanding academic research. He is also one of the inventors of iGest, an alternative communication device for children with cerebral palsy and winner of the NASCOMM award for social innovation. He holds an undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

Joe Mandato: Who You Need on Your Board and Why

Joe Mandato, Managing Director, DeNovo Ventures

Joe joined De Novo Ventures as a Managing Director in March 2003. Prior to joining De Novo, Joe served as Chairman of Confer Software, a developer of software used to create efficiencies and streamline processes in healthcare. He also served as President/CEO of Origin Medsystems, a developer of minimally invasive surgical devices for use in general, cardio-thoracic, and ob-gyn surgery, which was acquired by Eli Lilly & Company in 1992 and spun out as one of the units which formed Guidant Corporation in 1995. At Guidant, Mr. Mandato served as a member of the founding management committee and CEO of two of its five operating units, Origin and Heart Rhythm Technology. He also co-founded and served as CEO of Gynecare, a women’s health spin-out of Guidant, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson. Subsequent to his tenure at Guidant, he served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Mayfield Fund, a venture capital firm. Earlier in his career, he was CEO of Ioptex Research, a developer of intraocular lenses used in cataract surgery, which was acquired by Smith & Nephew PLC. He joined Ioptex from Cilco AG in Zug, Switzerland, the Europe, Middle East, and Africa headquarters of a unit of Rorer Group, where he served as CEO. He began his career in healthcare as a Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps.

Joe received his Doctor of Management from Case Western Reserve University, and serves on its Board of Trustees. His research focused on the evolving role of boards in ensuring effective governance. He serves on the adjunct faculty of The University of San Francisco’s Graduate School of Management and co-teaches the course Medical Device Innovation at Stanford University. He also serves on the boards of The Institute of International Education and Save the Children.

Joe sits on the boards of Axogen, Endogastric Solutions, Facet Solutions, Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN), InSound Medical, M2 Medical, Tear Science, Inc. and WaveTec Vision Systems.

James Eadie: Investing in the Team

James Eadie, MD, Partner, Santé Ventures

James Eadie, MD, is Partner at Santé Ventures. He joined the firm in 2010. Previously, James served in the Air Force and was the medical director and Vice-Chair of Emergency Medicine at Wilford Hall Medical Center, an academic level-one trauma center in San Antonio. He completed two tours in Iraq as a critical care transport team chief and as the emergency department commander. He separated honorably as a Major in 2008. James received his MBA from the University of Texas McCombs School Of Business, his MD from Harvard Medical School, and a BS in bioengineering, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Michigan. He is board certified in emergency medicine and completed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

 

Matt Milford: Transforming Mental Health Care

Matt Milford, Co-Founder & CEO, Foresight Mental Health

From the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology website

Matt Milford and Doug Hapeman dropped out of UC Berkeley with a vision to transform mental health care. Their venture, Foresight Mental Health, is a data-driven mental health care service that uses modern technology to deliver highly personalized, data-backed treatment plans to their patients.

Foresight is based in Berkeley and provides patients with a wide range of treatment and services to improve mental health and lifestyle. The company is composed of psychiatrists, therapists, neuropsychologists, software engineers, bioengineers, nutritionists and data scientists with a mission to revolutionize the industry.

Matt and Doug were frustrated with how mental healthcare operates in the U.S. They explained that 55% of psychiatrists don’t accept health insurance and in the Bay Area, the number is even higher. Comparatively, in the healthcare industry, less than 15% of providers do not accept insurance. They said that most options are very costly, often even hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket.

“We focus a lot on combating the stigma around mental health,” said Doug. “Traditionally, it’s been very stigmatized. With younger populations, people are starting to talk about it being more open, and we want to encourage and facilitate that openness and combat any remaining stigma.”

Foresight uses a personalized patient profile that analyzes vital information including one’s genetics, comprehensive symptoms, and brain-chemical balance estimates. Foresight combines that data with their patients’ mental health history, family history, and lifestyle to create a personalized patient portfolio.

Matt got an intimate look into entrepreneurship and innovation at the European Innovation Academy in Nice, France in the summer of 2016 through SCET’s summer abroad program. At EIA, Matt gained an early start in entrepreneurship and technology. His interests in entrepreneurship and innovation, coupled with his passion for mental healthcare, led him to co-found Foresight Mental Health with his friend and co-founder Doug.

Although Foresight works with all ages, its focus is on helping university-age students. They currently help hundreds of UC Berkeley students at one of their nearby locations.

To help modernize the mental health world, Foresight is reimagining the space where treatments are done. The clinics are calm and welcoming environments with music playing and a modern look.

In the coming months, Foresight plans to open more clinics and expand its technology to new areas of healthcare and wellness.

“We’re learning a lot here, in a totally new and different way than at Berkeley,” said Matt. “We’re set on our mission of reinventing mental healthcare through the use of technology to make people happier and healthier.”