Reimagine Medicine

Head injuries are common in children and teens. They can be mild, like a bump on the head, or more serious, like a concussion. It can be hard to tell the difference between a mild head injury and one that is more severe. Head injuries are more common in the spring and summer months, when children are active in outdoor activities and playing sports. Parents and children alike are excited about the return of youth sports after a hiatus due to the pandemic. Lois Sayrs, PhD, specializes in Child Health and Injury. Dr. Sayrs will help answer the question, “If your child experiences a head injury, how do you know when it is time to see the doctor?” Episode Guest: Lois Sayrs, PhD Hosted by: Jonathan Lifshitz, PhD and Katie Brite, MD

Physicians are trained to deal with medical emergencies, but COVID-19 thrust hospitals in Phoenix — and around the world — into crisis mode for nearly a year. Phoenix was a COVID hotspot, as were other cities like New York. There have been 30 million cases and more than 540,000 deaths in the US, nearly 17,000 of whom were Arizonans. This was a tremendous test of crisis leadership as medical teams worked to understand the disease, identify treatment protocols and share valuable information. Marilyn Glassberg, MD, shares insights from her experience leading frontline teams and how a tweet led to a new predictive model for COVID lungs. Episode Guest: Marilyn Glassberg, MD Hosted by: Jonathan Lifshitz, PhD and Katie Brite, MD

February is American Heart Month, and this year the theme is, Heart Disease: It Can Happen at Any Age. Heart disease doesn’t happen just to older adults. It is happening to younger people more often, partly because the conditions that lead to heart disease are happening at younger ages. It is important to learn about your risk of heart disease and the steps necessary to have a healthy heart. Wayne Franklin, MD, shares advancements that are improving outcomes for pediatric cardiac patients. Episode Guest: Wayne Franklin, MD Hosted by: Jonathan Lifshitz, PhD and Katie Brite, MD

What drives people to pursue careers in medicine? Physicians are definitely Type A personalities who want to be the ones in charge, finding solutions to complex issues. But they are motivated by a commitment to serve. Haig Aintablian, MD, is committed to serving patients in urgent need, whether they present at the emergency department or an under-resourced hospital in Armenia. Dr. Aintablian is a PGY3 resident in Emergency Medicine at UCLA and a graduate of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. He recently traveled to Armenia — amid a pandemic and a war — to donate $100K in medical supplies, ultrasound supplies and medical training. Episode guest: Haig Aintablian, MD Hosted by: Jonathan Lifshitz, PhD and Katie Brite, MD The reimagine Medicine podcast is now available on Vurbl.

For older adults, a hospital stay can create challenges beyond the medical condition that caused them to be hospitalized. As Baby Boomers age, it is estimated that twenty percent of the U.S. population will be retirement age by 2030. Building age-friendly health care systems is crucial to serving the health care needs of older adults. Nimit Agarwal, MD, developed the Mind, Mobility, Medication program to look at components of care during hospitalization and build independence for patients post-hospitalization. Dr. Agarwal is director of the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and the Center for Healthy Aging at Banner Health in Phoenix. Episode guest: Nimit Agarwal, MD Hosted by: Jonathan Lifshitz, PhD and Katie Brite, MD

Algorithms are moving out of the lab and into society, where they are asked to answer tough questions: Which inmates to release? Which job applicants to hire? Which patients to treat? These types of questions cause algorithms to stumble — not so much because they are hard to answer, but because they are hard to ask. Episode guest: Ziad Obermeyer, MD Hosted by: Jonathan Lifshitz, PhD and Katie Brite, MD

Students are going back to school in virtual and in-person learning modalities adapted for a pandemic. We will discuss the risk/reward of sending children to school while keeping them healthy. Episode guest: Gary E. Kirkilas, DO Hosted by: Jonathan Lifshitz, PhD and Katie Brite, MD

Precision medicine takes a big-data approach to disease prediction, prevention, detection and treatment designed to benefit both individual health and public health. The promise of precision medicine is to enhance our knowledge of disease and identify treatment as well as medication that is best-suited to the patient. Advancements in technology are rapidly expanding the possibilities. In this episode, we are exploring the role that big data, machine learning and AI play in precision medicine.   Episode guests: Will Heise, MD, Hamed Abbaszadegan, MD, MBA, FACP Hosted by: Jonathan Lifshitz, PhD and Katie Brite, MD

Each of us inherit genetic material that forms who we are and that guides our way through life. Experiences throughout life can modify the genome and the genetic transcripts that constitute us. In one way, genetics are a determinant of health. However, social determinants of health can overshadow, highlight or coincide with genetics to increase vulnerability or resilience to disease. We have brought together interdisciplinary thought leaders to discuss the contribution of inherited genes to health and disease. We will explore the capabilities, future trends and challenges of genetic knowledge, counseling and interventions. Episode guests: Anastasia Wise, PhD, Michael Kruer, MD, Matt Huentelman, PhD, and Dee Quinn, MS, CGC Hosted by: Jonathan Lifshitz, PhD and Katie Brite, MD

In 2017, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey declared a public health state of emergency as more than two Arizonans were dying each day from opioid overdoses. The Arizona Opioid Epidemic Act was introduced in response to the opioid epidemic. It is the most comprehensive package any state has passed to address this issue and crisis to date. As a result, undergraduate and graduate health education and practitioner programs in Arizona have developed a first-of-its-kind statewide curriculum that calls on all provider types to address the public health emergency. We are talking with leaders who are at the forefront of helping solve America’s biggest public health issue. Episode guests: Cinda Stone, MEd, Maria Manriquez, MD, FACOG, and Luke Peterson, MD Hosted by: Jonathan Lifshitz, PhD and Katie Brite, MD