Meg welcomes Dr. Amy Hauck Newman, the Scientific Director and the Chief of Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch and Medicinal Chemistry Section of the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Intramural Research Program also known as “NIDA” IRP. It is one of the 27 institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and it is dedicated to understanding the causes, consequences and treatment of substance use disorders.

On today’s show, Dr. Amy Hauck Newman discusses her work in developing novel medications to treat substance use disorders. She explains the lengthy process of drug development and the importance of intellectual property and partnerships. Dr. Newman also highlights the role of AI and machine learning in healthcare and drug design.

Amy shares her journey into chemistry and the challenges and rewards of starting and leading her own laboratory. The use of drugs like Ozempic is touched on as well as various aspects of substance use disorder and the challenges associated with its treatment. Amy talks about the challenges in treating cocaine and methamphetamine use disorder and the emotional weight of working in this field. Finally, the conversation gets into the challenges in engaging the pharmaceutical industry when it comes to fighting substance use disorders.

Further Reading:

Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch at NIDA

Presynaptic and Postsynaptic Mesolimbic Dopamine D3 Receptors Play Distinct Roles in Cocaine Versus Opioid Reward in Mice

NIH Postbac Program

NIH Summer Internship Program (SIP)

Episode Credits:

The Game-Changing Women of Healthcare is a production of The Krinsky Company.

Hosted by Meg Escobosa.

Produced by Meg Escobosa, Calvin Marty, Chelsea Ho, Medina Sabic, Markala Comfort, and Wendy Nielsen.

Edited, engineered, and mixed by Calvin Marty.

All music composed and performed by Calvin Marty.

©2024 The Krinsky Company

Meg welcomes Kathryn Bowsher, managing director of ActOne Healthcare, a consulting firm focused on commercializing healthcare innovations. Kathryn developed this expertise by launching more than 40 products and initiatives across a wide range of therapeutic areas, sites of care, and business models over the course of 25 years.

Kathryn is the co-founder, advisor to, and previous Chair of the Board of Pocket Naloxone, an over-the-counter opioid overdose treatment.

In this episode, Meg and Kathryn discuss the challenges of getting Pocket Naloxone to market and the innovative delivery mechanism they developed. Kathryn emphasizes the importance of improving access, lowering cost, and reducing stigma associated with naloxone. She digs into the need to put patients at the center of healthcare by reducing complexity and cost for healthcare providers, and Meg asks Kathryn to share her extensive experience raising capital across her storied career.

Also discussed are many of Kathryn’s insights on healthcare challenges and opportunities such as issues with appointment scheduling and workflow, patient-centric approaches, information-sharing, telehealth, medication access, the persistence of old models of care, and educating stakeholders to further positive change.

Further Reading:

• Consumer Meets Healthcare: Ted Talk
• Critical Questions for Rethinking Healthcare

Episode Credits:

The Game-Changing Women of Healthcare is a production of The Krinsky Company.

Hosted by Meg Escobosa.

Produced by Meg Escobosa, Calvin Marty, Chelsea Ho, Medina Sabic, Markala Comfort, and Wendy Nielsen.

Edited, engineered, and mixed by Calvin Marty.

All music composed and performed by Calvin Marty.

©2024 The Krinsky Company

Meg welcomes Liz Kwo, MD, MBA, and Masters in Public Health (all from Harvard). Dr. Kwo is the Chief Commercial Officer at Everly Health, a personalized diagnostic-driven care-at-home solution. She is an experienced healthcare executive specializing in P&L management, B2B/B2C marketing and sales, strategic partnerships, and post-merger integration. Dr. Kwo is an expert at building and scaling digital health products, leveraging predictive and prescriptive analytics to improve outcomes.

In this episode, Liz shares her experience as a healthcare executive, investor, physician, and company builder, and how those can tie the market and community needs together to reach more patients. She discusses her personal inspiration, experience bringing companies to market, getting the right investors, and teaching resilience across generations.

Dr. Kwo’s new book, Digital MD: Revolutionizing the Future of Health Care is available for pre-order now! Link below…

Further Reading:

• Digital MD: Revolutionizing the Future of Health Care
• Current state and future potential of AI in occupational respiratory medicine
• The Promise of Liquid Biopsies for Cancer Diagnosis
• Evaluating the Clinical and Cost Effectiveness of Musculoskeletal Digital Health Solutions

Episode Credits:

The Game-Changing Women of Healthcare is a production of The Krinsky Company.

Hosted by Meg Escobosa.

Produced by Meg Escobosa, Calvin Marty, Chelsea Ho, Medina Sabic, Markala Comfort, and Wendy Nielsen.

Edited, engineered, and mixed by Calvin Marty.

All music composed and performed by Calvin Marty.

©2024 The Krinsky Company

Meg is joined by Caitlin Donovan, Global Head of Uber Health, which focuses on delivering a “better patient experience with transportation, same-day prescription, and home delivery for groceries and over-the-counter items, enhancing benefit coordination.”

Caitlin explains Uber Health’s services: transportation, prescription delivery, and grocery and over-the-counter benefits. Meg and Caitlin dive into the challenges of executing Uber Health’s vision, the importance of aligning incentives, and the critical task of understanding the healthcare ecosystem at large. Caitlin shares insights on engaging health plans and providers, as well as the future plans and innovations of Uber Health. Lastly, Caitlin discusses the key factors in successfully bringing new solutions to the healthcare market and leading well-balanced teams.

Further Reading:

2020 product update, Uber Technologies reported that Uber Health grew 300% in two years.

2021, Uber Health and Surgo Ventures partnered with two federally qualified Washington, D.C. health centers to launch the Rides for Moms program

2023: Uber’s Revenue Up 29% as U.S. Ride-Hailing Business Improves

“How Uber Health Is Addressing The Maternal Health Crisis”

Episode Credits:

The Game-Changing Women of Healthcare is a production of The Krinsky Company.

Hosted by Meg Escobosa.

Produced by Meg Escobosa, Calvin Marty, Chelsea Ho, Medina Sabic, Markala Comfort, and Wendy Nielsen.

Edited, engineered, and mixed by Calvin Marty.

All music composed and performed by Calvin Marty.

©2024 The Krinsky Company

Meg welcomes Natalie Douglas, an award-winning healthcare specialist, an experienced entrepreneur, CEO, board director, and investor. She is the founder of Lucidity LLC and RealiTi Health, as well as chairman of the board for Entia Ltd and TidalSense. She is also an investor and advisor for many portfolio companies, such as Ceek Women’s Health, RwHealth, Vitaccess.

In this episode, Natalie shares her experience in various leadership roles in life sciences, pharma services, medical devices, digital, SAS, and data analytics. She discusses various challenges and some of the innovative solutions she’s led as a private equity-backed CEO, building a global market, fem tech, and the next era of the healthcare landscape.

Natalie was honored with “Pharma Voice Top 100,” “Health Investor Power Top 50,” “Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Finalist),” “First Woman in Business Services Awards,” and “The Sunday Times Fast Track in the following categories over multiple years: Top Track, Buyout Track, Profit Track.”

Further Reading:

• https://www.lucidityllc.com/#Founder
• PharmaVoice: Exploring New Frontiers
• Managing Data From Disparate and Siloed Sources

Episode Credits:

The Game-Changing Women of Healthcare is a production of The Krinsky Company.

Hosted by Meg Escobosa.

Produced by Meg Escobosa, Calvin Marty, Chelsea Ho, Medina Sabic, Markala Comfort, and Wendy Nielsen.

Edited, engineered, and mixed by Calvin Marty.

All music composed and performed by Calvin Marty.

©2024 The Krinsky Company

Meg welcomes Nancy G. Brinker, the founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and The Promise Fund of Florida. Nancy was also United States Ambassador to Hungary from 2001 to 2003 and Chief of Protocol of the United States from 2007 to the end of the George W. Bush administration.

Nancy walks us through her personal experience with her sister Suzy's battle with breast cancer and how that great loss inspired her to dedicate her life to fighting the disease, creating Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Meg and Nancy discuss Nancy’s current work with the Promise Fund of Florida, a nonprofit dedicated to improving access to breast and cervical cancer screenings. She explains her restlessness and desire for faster progress, leading her to create a new model of care that focuses on early detection and treatment for underserved populations. Nancy highlights the importance of patient navigators and partnerships with federally qualified healthcare centers in providing comprehensive care.

Further Reading:

• https://nancybrinker.com/about/
• Promise Fund of Florida
• Susan G. Komen
• Promise Me: How A Sister’s Love Launched The Global Movement To End Breast Cancer
  EditSign
  EditSign
• Forty is the new 50 when it comes to breast cancer screening for women

Episode Credits:

The Game-Changing Women of Healthcare is a production of The Krinsky Company.

Hosted by Meg Escobosa.

Produced by Meg Escobosa, Calvin Marty, Chelsea Ho, Medina Sabic, Markala Comfort, and Wendy Nielsen.

Edited, engineered, and mixed by Calvin Marty.

All music composed and performed by Calvin Marty.

©2024 The Krinsky Company

Meg welcomes Dr. Jennifer Schneider, Co-Founder and CEO of Homeward Health, a technology-enabled, community-based healthcare provider delivering high-quality care to those who lack access, specifically rural Americans and the Medicare population.

Discussion topics:

• Leveraging technology and AI to make healthcare delivery more equitable
• Dr. Schneider’s personal experiences receiving care in rural US
• The differences in cultures of care
• How a care model focused on partnership, rather than competition, can help fill service gaps
• Female leadership
• Gender gaps in ownership, payment equity, and value perception
• Homegrown, an initiative from Homeward working to mitigate these issues through mutual learning and support

Further Reading:

• https://homewardhealth.com/
• Decoding Health Signals: Silicon Valley’s Consumer-First Approach to a New Era of Health
• ABC 13 Grand Rapids, MI: "Hope Delivered," Matt Gard.
• Rite Aid And Homeward Partner To Support Seniors In Underserved Communities
• Homeward to Rearchitect Rural Healthcare for 60 Million Americans

Episode Credits:

The Game-Changing Women of Healthcare is a production of The Krinsky Company.

Hosted by Meg Escobosa.

Produced by Meg Escobosa, Calvin Marty, Chelsea Ho, Medina Sabic, and Wendy Nielsen.

Edited, engineered, and mixed by Calvin Marty.

All music composed and performed by Calvin Marty.

©2023 The Krinsky Company