Xtalks Life Science Podcast Xtalks

In this episode, Ayesha spoke with William Schaffner, MD, Professor of Preventive Medicine Health Policy and Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University; and Kelly Moore, MD, MPH, President and CEO at Immunize.org and Associate Professor of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Schaffner and Dr. Moore discussed the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) recommendation of a trivalent influenza vaccine strain selection, as opposed to a typical quadrivalent vaccine, with the 2024/2025 influenza season reflecting the removal of the B/Yamagata strain. 
A renowned infectious disease expert, having appeared on numerous media outlets including CNN particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Schaffner’s primary interest has been the prevention of infectious diseases domestically and globally in both pediatric and adult populations. After residency training and a fellowship in infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Schaffner served in the US Public Health Service as an epidemic intelligence service officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. After that tour of duty, Dr. Schaffner joined the faculty at Vanderbilt, establishing a long collaboration with the Tennessee Department of Health. Dr. Schaffner has been a member of numerous expert advisory committees that established national vaccine policy. Dr. Schaffner was also the medical director and past president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and has served on the executive board for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 
Prominent infectious disease expert Dr. Moore served for 14 years as the director of the Tennessee Immunization Program and later founded her own consulting company, The Vaccine Advisor, to advise public health and industry before her current role as president and CEO of immunize.org, a leading nonprofit organization focused on national and global vaccine policy and immunization program implementation. Dr. Moore has served in a variety of immunization policy advisory roles with the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2016, including as chair of its Immunization Practices Advisory Committee. Dr. Moore is a graduate of the Vanderbilt School of Medicine and the Harvard School of Public Health. She completed her public health leadership training as an epidemic intelligence service and preventive me

In this episode, Ayesha spoke with Robert Barrow, CEO and Board Director at MindMed, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel product candidates to treat brain health disorders. 
The company is developing innovative psychedelic-based product candidates, with and without acute perceptual effects, targeting neurotransmitter pathways that play key roles in brain health disorders.
Mr. Barrow is an accomplished pharmaceutical executive and clinical pharmacologist with over a decade of experience leading drug development programs in a variety of disease areas. After joining MindMed as Chief Development Officer in January 2021, he was named CEO in June 2021. Mr. Barrow has a Masters degree in Pharmacology from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Wake Forest University, where he graduated summa cum laude and is a CFA charterholder.
Last month, MindMed received FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for its MM120 (lysergide d-tartrate) program for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
The company also announced that a Phase IIb study of MM120 in GAD met its key secondary endpoint, and 12-week topline data demonstrated clinically and statistically significant durability of activity.

 For more life science and medical device content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage. https://xtalks.com/vitals/
 
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In this episode, Ayesha spoke with John K. Celebi, MBA, President & Chief Executive Officer, Sensei Bio, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on the discovery and development of next-generation therapeutics for cancer patients.

Sensei Biotherapeutics specializes in creating conditionally active antibodies. These are engineered to operate specifically within the tumor microenvironment, enhancing the immune system's ability to combat cancer.

John Celebi, MBA, has over 25 years of experience building innovative entrepreneurial biotechnology companies.

Mr. Celebi currently serves on the Board of Directors of Egle Therapeutics SAS, a biotechnology company developing first-in-class immunotherapies targeting immune suppressor regulatory T cells (Tregs) for oncology and autoimmune diseases.

Mr. Celebi received an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and a BS in biophysics from the University of California, San Diego.

Tune into the episode to learn more about Sensei Bio’s mission and therapeutic approach.
 
 For more life science and medical device content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage. https://xtalks.com/vitals/
 
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In this episode, Ayesha spoke with Howard Berman, PhD, Founder and CEO of Coya Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company developing regulatory T cell (Treg) therapies targeting neurodegenerative, autoimmune and metabolic diseases. Dr. Berman founded Coya Therapeutics in 2021. 
Dr. Berman has over 18 years of entrepreneurial and industry experience working at the interplay of science and business. His experience offers him a unique combination of business acumen and scientific credibility with the ability to assess, quantify and bridge both disciplines.
Dr. Berman gained corporate experience with increasing responsibilities and positions as a Medical Science Liaison at AbbVie where he spent 7.5 years launching Venetoclax in CLL and later, supporting numerous solid tumor assets. He also served in leadership roles at Novartis Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly.
Dr. Berman received a Bachelor in Biology from the University of Michigan and a Masters and PhD in Neuroscience and Pharmacology from Weill Cornell Medical School.
Tune into the episode to learn more about Coya Therapeutics and its Treg-targeted therapies program. The company’s current pipeline includes its lead candidate product COYA 302, which is currently being evaluated in a clinical study for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

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In this episode, Ayesha spoke with Margaret Froh, President of the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO). Margaret is also a lawyer by training.
 
 The Métis are a distinct Indigenous people recognized in s.35 of Canada’s Constitution. Métis communities have their own shared customs, traditions and collective identities that are rooted in kinship, their special aboriginal relationship to the land and a distinctive Indigenous culture and way of life that persists to the present day.
 
 Cancer is a significant concern among Métis people in Ontario and across the Métis Nation Homeland, including women, as they experience higher cancer rates and lower cancer screening uptake than the non-Indigenous population.
 
 Cancer Prevention Action Week, which took place during the third week of February, focuses on supporting and empowering people to make changes to their lifestyle and promoting routine cancer screening to reduce the risk of preventable cancers.
 
 To help uncover and address cancer disparities among the Métis, Margaret has helped lead Métis-specific health research in collaboration with organizations like Ontario Health (formerly Cancer Care Ontario) and the Sunnybrook Research Institute.
 
 Margaret is also a recent breast cancer survivor and by sharing her personal cancer story, is helping raise awareness about the importance of routine cancer screening among the Métis.
 
 Tune into the episode to learn about the disproportionate impact of cancer on Métis communities and how Margaret’s leadership at the MNO is helping to drive changes to help improve cancer screening rates and better health outcomes.
 
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This episode features an interview with Bruce Culleton, MD, CEO, ProKidney, a late clinical-stage biotech company focused on the development of a pioneering cell therapy candidate that aims to transform the treatment landscape for chronic kidney disease.

Prior to joining ProKidney in 2023, Dr. Culleton served as Vice President and General Manager at CVS Kidney Care and also worked in leadership roles at Becton Dickinson and Baxter healthcare. Before beginning his career in industry in 2007, Dr. Culleton was a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Calgary.

ProKidney’s lead product candidate, REACT, is an investigational cell therapy designed to stabilize or improve kidney function in patients with chronic kidney disease with diabetes as the primary cause. The candidate is currently being evaluated in Phase II and Phase III clinical trials.

To hear more about ProKidney’s cell therapy for chronic kidney disease, including developmental, manufacturing and regulatory considerations, tune into the episode.

For more life science and medical device content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage. https://xtalks.com/vitals/

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