Physicians Off The Beaten Path Physicians Off The Beaten Path

How do you take that first step and balance clinical duties with non-clinical interests? What specific advances in biotech could have the potential to revolutionize clinical treatment in the near future? What factors are you optimizing for in your career plan? Join this episode as Dr. Sam Kessel answers these questions and more and shares his story!
Sam completed his intern year in internal medicine. He was an associate for multiple angel networks, performing part-time due diligence on medical startups during medical training. He then went on to become a Consultant at LEK Consulting. He is now an associate at Locust Walk, where he works with various biotech companies using cutting-edge technologies to help them find partners and funding. He hosts the Nucleate Signal podcast and interviews folks who are the next generation of leaders in biotech.
He got his Bachelor's from Tufts University, MD from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.
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How can we, as MDs, ensure better representation of low-resource countries in the digital healthcare movement? What are the means to enhancing healthcare access through AI-led digital acceleration? How can you generate building blocks to guide your entrepreneurial journey? Dr. Alice Jacobs, CEO of Convergence Group, answers all these questions and more.
Alice is a physician and entrepreneur. She leads the Convergence Group, which works on improving access to and delivery of healthcare through AI-led digital acceleration. She founded her first company, IntelligentMDx, after losing a patient from a staph infection. She has worked with leading venture funds, including Third Rock Ventures/MIT/Bob Langer, GE Ventures, and GreyBird Ventures. She spent two years as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Caltech, guiding efforts to build the next generation of deep technology solutions.
She was recognized by Scientific American as one of the top 50 innovators and by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader, a 40 under 40 award by the Boston Business Journal, and for Healthcare Innovation in Clinical Diagnostics by Frost & Sullivan.
She holds a BA in Art History, a BS in Biological Sciences from Stanford with Honors in Developmental Neurobiology, and an MD from Harvard Medical School.

What did you optimize for when choosing the first position outside the clinical path? What are the challenges that M.D.s could encounter when leaving clinical medicine? What is the role of immigrant mentality in building risk tolerance? Dr. Shehnaaz answers!
Dr. Shehnaaz Suliman is a visionary physician, drug developer, and dealmaker with over 25 years of experience reshaping the biotech landscape. She is C.E.O. and board member at ReCode Therapeutics, an integrated genetic medicines company located in California that works on developing disease-modifying therapeutics using its powerful L.N.P. delivery technology to target organs and tissues beyond the liver. She was formerly president and C.O.O. at Alector, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Her professional experience began in 2001. Since then, Shehnaaz has changed six roles and seven companies, such as Theravance Biopharma, Genentech, Roche Partnering, Gilead Sciences, Lehman Brothers and Petkevich & Partners, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, and 10X Genomics.
Dr. Suliman received her M.D. from the University of Cape Town Medical School, South Africa. She also holds an M.B.A., with distinction, and an M.Phil. in development studies from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She was named one of the 2017 Fiercest Women in Life Sciences and one of the National Diversity Council’s Power 50 in 2021 (Most Influential Women in Business). Recently, Shehnaaz was featured on the 2023 Forbes 50 over 50 and was recognized as the 2023 Women of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

Dive into a seasoned venture capitalist's mind as they look at today's landscape! Dr. Farzad Soleimani is sharing valuable insights on:

Hands-on exposure to fields such as engineering and business
The skills and capabilities needed for success outside clinical medicine
The role of dual degree programs like MD/MBA 
What do the best founding teams have in common 

Farzad is the Healthcare Partner at 1984 Ventures, having seeded companies such as Trusted Health, Deep Scribe, Health Note, and Signos. He is the founder of eTherapi, a pioneering telemedicine company, and the founding co-director of the Texas Medical Center Biodesign Innovation Program. He started his investing career at MohrDavidow Ventures and continued to work at a number of innovation startups, such as Pocket Naloxone, Hansen Medical, and IGAN Biosciences.
Farzad completed his residency training at Baylor and earned his MBA, MD, MS, and BS from Stanford University. He is on faculty at Baylor Medical School, Rice Business School, and Rice Bioengineering Department.
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Unlocking Hyper-Personalized Learning in Medicine! Join us for an insightful chat with Dr. Sievert Weiss, co-founder of AMBOSS. Discover how digital tools create tailored learning experiences for aspiring medical professionals.
Sievert is a physician by training and a self-taught med-ed-tech co-founder who is notoriously curious to explore ways to improve healthcare and has an interest in public and global health issues. In 2012, right after graduation, he co-founded AMBOSS, a German medical technology company. Their mission is to improve global health by empowering physicians worldwide to apply the best care possible. Today, more than 2 million healthcare professionals in over 170 countries rely on AMBOSS. Sievert studied medicine in Germany, Portugal, and Brazil. He studied at the University of Göttingen.
We volunteer our time and money to make this content freely available – if you enjoy our content and find it helpful, you can support us by buying us a coffee here!

How should physicians navigate the distinction between physicians as citizens vs. physicians as professionals as it relates to policy advocacy? How can we rally different social norms and regulatory frameworks toward the intended change point? How would clinical practice ignite and foster advocacy work?
In this episode, Dr. Ana Cristina González Vélez answers all these questions and delves into her journey of advocating for women’s reproductive rights! 
Ana Cristina González Vélez is a Colombian reproductive rights activist and medical doctor. She is a known international researcher, advocate, and expert in the field of sexual and reproductive health as well as gender equality. She is the founder and active member of La Mesa por la Vida y la Salud de las Mujeres, Colombia, the team coordinator of the Feminist group Mercosur, and the founder and coordinator of the Medical Group for the Right to Decide in Colombia.
Ana holds an MD from Pontifical Bolivarian University in Colombia, a master’s degree in social health research from the Center for Study on State and Society in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a Ph.D. in Bioethics from Fiocruz Foundation in Brazil. She is currently a Fellow at the Harvard LEAD Fellowship for Promoting Women in Global Health.
We volunteer our time and money to make this content freely available – if you enjoy our content and find it helpful, you can support us by buying us a coffee here!