Episodes

  • How Neuroplasticity Is Shaping the Next Generation of Psychiatric Medicines

    How Neuroplasticity Is Shaping the Next Generation of Psychiatric Medicines
    May 13 2026
    Dr. Aaron Koenig, Chief Medical Officer at Delix Therapeutics, sheds light on a new class of medicines designed to promote neuroplasticity without the hallucinogenic effects associated with psychedelics. On this episode of Power to the Patients, Koenig explains to host Brandon Li how neuroplasticogens could provide scalable treatments for depression and other serious brain disorders, why separating plasticity from psychedelic experiences matters for clinical development, and how emerging biomarkers such as qEEG may help measure brain changes in patients. The conversation spans scientific rationale, clinical challenges, and long term potential of plasticity-based therapeutics in psychiatry and neurology.
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    34 mins
  • 70% Remission for Postpartum Depression? The Psychedelic Breakthrough

    70% Remission for Postpartum Depression? The Psychedelic Breakthrough
    Apr 30 2026
    Postpartum depression treatment advances with psychedelic therapy. Greg Mayes of Reunion Neuroscience discusses luvesilocin drug development. This episode explores how shorter-acting psilocybin analogs offer new hope for mothers. Greg highlights the success of the RECONNECT study and the path to FDA breakthrough designation.
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    36 mins
  • Why Psychiatry Is Finally Breaking Free From Dopamine

    Why Psychiatry Is Finally Breaking Free From Dopamine
    Apr 15 2026
    In this episode of Power to the Patients, host Brandon Li sits down with Ken Kramer, PhD, Vice President and Head of Neuropsychiatry Medical Affairs at Bristol Myers Squibb, to explore why psychiatry has lagged behind other therapeutic areas and what’s finally changing. Kramer explains how decades of reliance on dopamine-based antipsychotics shaped treatment, and why new mechanisms like muscarinic agonism are opening the door to safer, more effective options for patients with schizophrenia.
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    29 mins
  • Precision Medicine Got Kidney Disease Wrong—Until Now

    Precision Medicine Got Kidney Disease Wrong—Until Now
    Apr 1 2026
    Explore how variant functionalization is driving the future of mechanism-driven medicines as host Brandon interviews Jason Coloma, CEO of Maze Therapeutics, on Power to the Patients. Jason explains why most gene-disease associations fail to become therapies, how APOL1-mediated kidney disease reveals the power of precision nephrology, and what it actually takes to build an integrated genetics-to-drug-discovery platform.
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    42 mins
  • Why Dr. Ken Sharlin Believes Most Neurological Diseases Are Reversible

    Why Dr. Ken Sharlin Believes Most Neurological Diseases Are Reversible
    Mar 18 2026
    In this episode of Power to the Patients, host Brandon Li sits down with Dr. Ken Sharlin, neurologist, researcher, and clinical trial investigator, to explore how precision medicine, functional neurology, and emerging technologies are redefining what’s possible in neurodegenerative disease care. Dr. Sharlin challenges the traditional disease-centered model and shares why restoring biological balance - rather than simply managing symptoms, may unlock new pathways for prevention, reversal, and personalized treatment in conditions like MS, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.
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    38 mins
  • Why Serotonin Isn’t Outdated, Our Thinking Is

    Why Serotonin Isn’t Outdated, Our Thinking Is
    Mar 11 2026
    In this episode of Power to the Patients, host Brandon Li sits down with Dr. Jacob Jacobsen, neuroscientist and CEO of Evecxia Therapeutics, to challenge some of psychiatry’s most deeply held assumptions. Dr. Seld explains why clinical novelty, not mechanistic novelty, is what truly matters to patients, and how amplifying serotonin synthesis may offer a safer, more scalable path forward for treating depression and OCD.
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    41 mins
  • Who Really Protects Patients in Clinical Trials? With Dr. Lara Shirikjian

    Who Really Protects Patients in Clinical Trials? With Dr. Lara Shirikjian
    Feb 25 2026
    In this episode of Power to the Patients, host Brandon Li sits down with Dr. Lara Shirikjian, Medical Director at CenExel, to explore why operational excellence, not just innovation, drives progress in psychiatric drug development. Drawing on more than two decades of experience in schizophrenia and CNS research, Dr. Shirikjian explains how protocol mastery, direct sponsor communication, and community trust are essential to running high-performing research sites and advancing meaningful psychiatric treatments.
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    40 mins
  • Turning Pain Into Progress: How Sonia Prashar Built a Mission Around Mental Health

    Turning Pain Into Progress: How Sonia Prashar Built a Mission Around Mental Health
    Feb 18 2026
    In this episode of Power to the Patients, Brandon Li and Sonia Prashar, Founder and CEO of AIM Trials, sit down to discuss how hybrid and decentralized clinical trial models are reshaping mental health research. Sonia shares how her personal experience with postpartum depression inspired a mission to reduce patient burden, expand access, and improve data quality, while challenging stigma and outdated research assumptions along the way.
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    34 mins