Episodios

  • #49 - Reverse-engineering cancer survival - Nicolas Wolikow - Cure51
    Oct 19 2025
    Can we learn from extreme cancer survivors to develop new treatments? This is the bet that Nicolas Wolikow and his team at Cure51 are making. Backed by the world's top cancer centers and specialists, they work around the clock to build the largest-ever health dataset of patients who defied the odds—people diagnosed with stage 4 cancer who were given a few months to live, yet survived more than five years. The goal is to understand what makes their biology unique and what characterises their incredible response to the treatments they received. A unique approach to identify new therapeutic targets and enrich our arsenal against a disease whose incidence continues to grow day by day. In this episode, Nicolas lifts the veil on the rigorous method they follow to achieve this feat, from the collection of clinical and multi-omics data to the identification of these targets and their validation in clinical trials. A method to reverse-engineer cancer survival, founded on the latest progress in computational biology, and whose success depends on the close collaboration between patients, hospitals, and industrial partners! Timeline: 00:00:00 - Nicolas’ background as an entrepreneur at the interface of healthcare, technology, and digital innovation 00:06:45 - Understanding the mechanisms behind cancer thanks to exceptional survivors 00:10:24 - Stories of patients in full remission after a stage 4 cancer diagnosis 00:12:21 - Building the platform to host the largest dataset of cancer survivors ever made 00:14:36 - Making sense of the survivors’ data to identify underlying biological mechanisms 00:19:28 - Early findings and novel therapeutic targets investigated so far 00:28:18 - The economic model behind Cure51 00:30:45 - Convincing hospitals and health systems to join Cure51’s mission What we also talked about with Nicolas: HLTH Europe Cancer stages Chemotherapy Rosalind Franklin Variant.bio We cited with Nicolas some of the past episodes of the series: #40 - Cracking biology through AI - JP Vert - Owkin As Nicolas mentioned during the episode, you can learn more about Cure51’s activities on their website, and follow their latest news on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. You can reach out to Nicolas via LinkedIn and find more details about the ROSALIND study in this abstract. To hear Camille Moses’ incredible story as a cancer survivor, we invite you to listen to her testimonial on the Project Purple podcast. ✉️ If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email! ⭐️ And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏 You can also support my work by doing a PayPal donation @ImpulsePodcast! 👍 Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!
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    44 m
  • [SNIPPET] - Nicolas Wolikow on understanding the mechanisms behind cancer
    Oct 19 2025
    To discover the whole episode, type "#49 - Reverse-engineering cancer survival - Nicolas Wolikow - Cure51" on your preferred streaming platform.
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    4 m
  • #48 - Driving precision medicine with real-world data - Blythe Adamson - Flatiron Health
    Sep 21 2025
    Disclaimer: Blythe and I both work for Roche; nevertheless, all opinions expressed in this episode are our own and do not necessarily represent the position of our employer. What's really behind the term "real-world data" in clinical science? And what can it actually be used for? I asked Blythe Adamson of Flatiron Health to find out the answer. It turns out real-world data is all the medical data collected in the “real world”, meaning outside of any clinical trial. In other words, it's the vast majority of medical data that exists. This includes everything from the results of blood tests, scans, and vaccinations to doctors' handwritten notes. While the idea of using it to develop new treatments seems obvious, the reality is far from simple. Because access to this data is disparate and varies from one country to another. Because the diversity of their modality renders their interpretation complex. And because until recently, we did not have the computational tools to make it work. But now, in the age of AI and mass digitalisation of healthcare, all of this is changing at lightning speed. Drawing on her expertise at the intersection of epidemiology, data science, and health policy, Blythe walks us through the immense challenges and opportunities of real-world data, and how they are poised to revolutionise the development of tomorrow's therapies. An episode to understand precision medicine and the central role of real-world evidence! Timeline: 00:00:00 - Blythe’s background at the interface of epidemiology, data science, and health policy 00:09:33 - The power of real-world data in medicine and drug development 00:17:11 - The barriers to accessing and leveraging real-world data at scale 00:20:26 - Two examples where AI can help make sense of real-world data 00:25:46 - Traditionally overlooked real-world data modalities in medicine 00:27:52 - Breaking down language barriers across real-world datasets 00:35:10 - Some predictions on the next AI-driven breakthroughs in oncology What we also talked about with Blythe: Operation Warp Speed Resilience Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) Trusted Research Environments De-identification American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) American Heart Association European Society of Cardiology We cited with Blythe some of the past episodes of the series: #40 - Cracking biology through AI - JP Vert - Owkin As Blythe mentioned during the episode, you can visit her blog at blytheadamson.com for more information about her work. The book recommended by Blythe is Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen. You can get in touch with Blythe via LinkedIn, and follow the activities of Flatiron Health on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram. ✉️ If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email! ⭐️ And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏 You can also support my work by doing a PayPal donation @ImpulsePodcast! 👍 Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!
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    43 m
  • [SNIPPET] - Blythe Adamson on the power of real-world data for precision medicine
    Sep 21 2025
    To discover the whole episode, type "#48 - Driving precision medicine with real-world data - Blythe Adamson - Flatiron Health" on your preferred streaming platform.
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    4 m
  • #47 - Pushing responsible AI in health - Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite - HealthAI
    Sep 14 2025
    How can we solve the puzzle of regulating AI in healthcare? This is the question that Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite and his team at HealthAI - The Global Agency for Responsible AI in Health ask themselves every day. Their goal? To help international organizations, governments, and local stakeholders strike a balance between regulation and access to the latest innovation in the field. A thorny equation, considering the speed of progress in AI and the time it takes to establish a regulatory framework that, by definition, applies in the long term. With passion and enthusiasm, Ricardo shares the approach they are taking to achieve their mission: by fostering a global community to share best practices and adverse events, by building tailored in-country mechanisms aligned with international guidelines, and by curating the most comprehensive directory of registered AI solutions, which countries and innovators can consider. One thing seems certain: we must evaluate these new technologies from a risk-benefit perspective, drawing on the well-known methods of post-market monitoring that have been applied to pharmaceutical products for decades. A way to remain critical of their use, grant patients and healthcare professionals access to them, and to drive this transformative shift with confidence and security. Timeline: 00:00:00 - Ricardo’s background at the interface of medicine, research, and health policy 00:04:55 - Why we are at a turning point in healthcare 00:08:33 - HealthAI’s role in translating international guidelines for AI use in healthcare to local realities 00:13:08 - Bridging long-term regulation and rapid technological progress 00:21:55 - Curating the right AI solutions in healthcare 00:25:55 - Building trust and adoption among clinicians and patients 00:32:26 - The parallel between elevators and AI in healthcare 00:37:30 - The potential of AI for predictive population health management What we also talked about with Ricardo: HIMSS Europe Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) Stéphanie Allassonniere Agentic AI Ambient AI Elisha Otis As Ricardo mentioned during the episode, you can learn more about HealthAI here and follow their activities on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube. The books recommended in the episode include AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference by Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor, Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia, and Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson. We both strongly recommend the newsletter Ground Truths by Dr. Eric Topol, a reference for staying up to date on the latest advances in medicine. You can get in touch with Ricardo via LinkedIn. ✉️ If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email! ⭐️ And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏 You can also support my work by doing a PayPal donation @ImpulsePodcast! 👍 Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!
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    52 m
  • [SNIPPET] - Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite on blind spots in health systems
    Sep 14 2025
    To discover the whole episode, type "#47 - Pushing responsible AI in health - Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite - HealthAI" on your preferred streaming platform.
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    4 m
  • #46 - Rethinking the stethoscope and its use - Diana van Stijn - Lapsi Health
    Sep 7 2025
    When we think of the term "medicine," one of the symbols that comes to mind is the stethoscope. Its use in almost every physical examination by healthcare providers makes it one of the most iconic and widely recognized medical devices. Despite the emergence of digital technologies and the first electronic stethoscopes, their operating principle and design still rely heavily on the patent filed by Dr. David Littmann in the 1960s. But in the era of miniaturization and artificial intelligence, there is a reason to believe that the stethoscope is ripe for a true transformation. Among those who share this opinion are Lapsi Health and the team of Diana van Stijn. Inspired by her experience as a pediatrician and the central role of body sounds in her profession, Diana envisions a new kind of stethoscope—without tubing, fitting in the palm of a hand, and leveraging the latest technological advancements to better equip physicians. This vision gave birth to Keikku, a next-generation digital stethoscope. Beyond rethinking the format and use of the stethoscope for doctors, Diana and her colleagues imagine a future where patients can use it themselves, paving the way for continuous auscultation. In this episode, we explore how Diana and her team are turning this vision into reality, and what it could mean for the prevention, detection, and monitoring of diseases, extending far beyond pediatrics. With humor and enthusiasm, Diana also shares a few secrets about her approach to balancing clinical practice, motherhood, and entrepreneurship in healthcare! Timeline: 00:00:00 - Diana’s background as a Pediatrician, startup Co-Founder, and former National Team Swimmer 00:11:10 - The role of body sounds in medicine 00:15:08 - Early ideas on disrupting traditional stethoscopes 00:22:21 - Building Keikku, a portable, intuitive, and radically modern stethoscope 00:26:43 - Incorporating AI in the interpretation of body sounds 00:30:50 - Moving toward continuous auscultation and getting Keikku into the hands of patients What we also talked about with Diana: Shavini Fernando MedTech World Cirque du Soleil Jhonatan Bringas Dimitriades Magnetic Resonance Imaging Computed Tomography As Diana mentioned during the episode, you can learn more about Keikku here and the other devices in Lapsi Health’s pipeline via their official website. To dive further into some of the topics mentioned in the episode, Diana recommends reading Intelligence-Based Medicine: Artificial Intelligence and Human Cognition in Clinical Medicine and Healthcare by Anthony C. Chang and the article published on JMIR Publications that she co-authored, Promises, Pitfalls, and Clinical Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Pediatrics by Bhargava H. et al. You can follow Lapsi Health’s activities on LinkedIn, and get in touch with Diana via LinkedIn too! ✉️ If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email! ⭐️ And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏 You can also support my work by doing a PayPal donation @ImpulsePodcast! 👍 Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!
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    47 m
  • [SNIPPET] - Diana van Stijn on the magic of body sounds
    Sep 7 2025
    To discover the whole episode type "#46 - Rethinking the stethoscope and its use - Diana van Stijn - Lapsi Health" on your preferred streaming platform.
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    4 m