Over 90% of American sickle cell disease (SCD) patients are Black or African American, contributing to a history of underfunding and stigma. Patients in debilitating pain are misconstrued as drug seekers. What medicines they receive have side effects and fail to address the root cause.

In this season’s finale, I interview John Paderi, Chief Scientific Officer at IHP Therapeutics. Inspired by Biodesign’s patient-centric approach, he is developing a novel, self-administered drug for SCD pain crisis.

Join us to discover the SCD patient journey, shortcomings of existing therapies, and his learnings as CSO—risks, opportunities, strategy and all.

We also explore how he integrates Biodesign with his academic training, surprising parallels between SCD and migraines, and his most rewarding moment at IHP so far!

References:

Overview on Sickle Cell Pain Management (Osunkwo et al.)

Health Care Disparities in Sickle Cell Disease (Lee et al.)

Impact of Opioid Epidemic on Sickle Cell Patients (Sinha et al.)

Low-cost, rapid, accurate, portable, heat-proof… These are just a few of the many boundary conditions Prof. Suman Chakraborty keeps in mind while designing for low-resource settings.

Inspired by the simple arts and crafts we do in primary school, he builds paper-based frugal diagnostics. He explores the deep science in everyday items. Tune in to hear how he invented pencil-drawn electrodes and microfluidic channels you can print in any office!

We also discuss the demand-supply gap in point-of-care devices, his recent push towards device-free testing, and his philosophy on keeping curiosity alive by pursuing simplicity of the mind.

References:

WHO India Health System Review (How Health Expenditures Drive Poverty)

Publication from Chakraborty Lab on Paper-and-Pencil Microfluidics

“We always love our technology,” Dr. Geetha says. “It’s easy to say - yeah, that false negative? It has to be false.” Today, I speak with the founder of Niramai, a safe, accessible AI-based cancer diagnostic that’s gone beyond buzzwords to create large-scale, global impact.

Join us to hear how Dr. Geetha built the world’s largest database of thermal breast images, navigated doctors’ worries of being replaced by A.I., and adapted her product for diverse contexts, to be low-cost for rural screening and low-risk for quick FDA clearance.

Along the way, she shares why cancer rates are increasing among young women, how entrepreneurship feels like racing down an empty highway, and the one thing in her daily routine she prizes more than food!

References:

Feature on Niramai and Breast Cancer Stats in India

WHO Global Cancer Burden News Release

Article Linking Breast Cancer, Childbirth, and Breastfeeding

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