The Long COVID Clinical Podcast

In this episode, hosts Anita Chopra, Aaron Friedberg, and Carissa Lee speak with Dr. Andrew White about building electronic health record tools to help primary care providers identify and manage Long COVID. Dr. White describes a patient outreach campaign to detect symptoms 90 days after a positive COVID test, alongside in-visit decision-support “smart sets” that guide assessment, documentation, and care. The team emphasizes adapting existing systems, involving clinicians and patients in the design, and keeping workflows useful without adding too much burden on providers. They also discuss sharing the tools with other health systems and evaluating them through clinician feedback, screening results, and follow-up care data.Edited and Produced by Christopher Chiu and Carissa Lee

In this episode of the Long COVID Clinical Podcast, hosts Anita Chopra and Aaron Friedberg are joined by Dr. Stephanie Grach. Dr. Grach explains how conditions like Long COVID, POTS, ME/CFS, and fibromyalgia can overlap while offering practical guidance on recognizing symptoms, pacing activity, calming the nervous system, and choosing treatments based on each patient’s specific presentation. The conversation covers hydration, salt, compression, medication options, energy management, and emerging research while also emphasizing why personalized care is essential for patients with complex post-infectious conditions.Edited and Produced by Christopher Chiu and Carissa Lee

We are currently conducting a study of the educational impact of this podcast and highly welcome your voluntary participation. To participate, please visit: ⁠⁠https://redcap.link/lcpod⁠⁠In this heartfelt episode, hosts Anita Chopra and Andrew Schamess are joined by renowned cellist and advocate for Long COVID Joshua Roman as he shares his inspiring journey through fatigue, brain fog, and reinventing his life and music. They discuss how he navigates the unpredictable waves of symptoms, redefines creativity under constraints, and finds new purpose through performance art designed specifically for those living with chronic illness. Roman reveals the raw realities of living with long COVID and the lessons it taught him about identity, community, and self-care, which ultimately inspired his innovative Immunity concert series, a fusion of music, storytelling, and breathing exercises centered upon healing and connection. This episode concludes with practical takeaways on living fully with chronic illness: shifting expectations, re-discovering purpose, and valuing community.Learn more about Immunity here: https://www.joshuaroman.com/immunityEdited and Produced by Christopher Chiu and Carissa Lee

We are currently conducting a study of the educational impact of this podcast and highly welcome your voluntary participation. To participate, please visit: ⁠https://redcap.link/lcpod⁠In this episode, hosts Anita Chopra, Andrew Schamess, Aaron Friedberg, and Carissa Lee are joined by Dr. Michal Tal to discuss groundbreaking immunoengineering research that could redefine Long COVID diagnosis. Dr. Tal leads the MAESTRO study, the largest clinical study at MIT, in hopes of improving our understanding of chronic illnesses like Long COVID and Lyme Disease. Through extensive multimodal profiling, her work uncovers hidden cellular and vascular changes, offering patients more objective answers and targeted treatments. She describes how advanced techniques like capillaroscopy and molecular profiling are transforming vague symptoms into measurable data, moving away from stigma towards validated science. The episode concludes with Dr. Tal's reflections on the importance of accessible language and storytelling in research communication. Read more about Dr. Tal's research here: https://talresearchgroup.mit.edu/Edited and Produced by Christopher Chiu and Carissa Lee

In this episode of the Long COVID Clinical Podcast, hosts Drs. Anita Chopra, Andrew Schamess, and Aaron Friedberg are joined by Dr. Michael Brode, medical director of the post-COVID-19 program at UT Health Austin, to discuss the complexities of long COVID management in the primary care setting. Dr. Brode explains how systemic inflammation and autoimmunity may contribute to symptoms like brain fog and fatigue. He highlights innovative research, including skin biopsies indicative of nerve damage in many patients, and discusses potential treatments like IVIG. Dr. Brode's insights provide a comprehensive view of long COVID as a systemic neuroimmunological disease, underscoring the need for targeted interventions and the potential for transformative patient outcomes.Edited and Produced by Christopher Chiu and Carissa Lee

In this episode of the Long COVID Clinical Podcast, hosts Dr. Anita Chopra, Dr. Aaron Friedberg, and Carissa Lee are joined by Dr. Alba Azola, a rehabilitation physician and leading expert on long COVID at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Azola delves into the intricacies of autonomic nervous system dysregulation in long COVID and how it can manifest in diverse symptoms such as brain fog, POTS, and temperature dysregulation. The discussion explores innovative diagnostics and therapies, including blood-brain barrier studies and interventions like venous stenting. The episode offers insights into promising treatments, such as vagal nerve stimulation and IVIGs, and underscores the need for a nuanced, patient-centered approach to research and clinical management. Edited and Produced by Christopher Chiu and Carissa Lee

In this episode of the Long COVID Clinical Podcast, hosted by Drs. Anita Chopra, Tiffany Walker, Andrew Schamess, and Aaron Friedberg, Dr. Michael Peluso shares groundbreaking insights into long COVID research. Dr. Peluso is an infectious disease physician and leader of the Long-term Impact of Infection with Novel Coronavirus (LIINC) study at UCSF. The discussion highlights the persistent presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the gut and immune system, revealing elevated immune activation in post-COVID patients and unexpected virus fragment locations. Dr. Peluso explores pivotal clinical trials with antivirals and monoclonal antibodies, emphasizing the need for better biomarkers and collaborative research efforts to accelerate diagnostics and therapies. His work aims to transform long COVID from a mysterious condition into a manageable illness, offering hope for millions affected. Edited and Produced by Christopher Chiu and Carissa Lee

This episode of the Long COVID Clinical Podcast, hosted by Drs. Anita Chopra, Andrew Schamess, and Aaron Friedberg, features Dr. Nisha Viswanathan, internist and director of the long COVID Program at UCLA. The discussion delves into the complex relationship between long COVID and dysautonomia, including the distinctions between orthostatic intolerance, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and hyperadrenergic POTS. Dr. Viswanathan describes practical diagnostic tools such as the COMPASS 31 questionnaire and NASA Lean Test, and explores effective management strategies, including salt and fluid intake, and medications like fludrocortisone, beta blockers, and ivabradine. The conversation also touches on the overlap with conditions like ME-CFS and mast cell activation syndrome, and highlights upcoming treatments and research that promise to transform care for post-viral autonomic syndromes. The episode concludes with a focus on providing primary care physicians with actionable insights to improve patient outcomes in long COVID.Edited and Produced by Christopher Chiu and Carissa Lee

In this episode of the Long COVID Clinical Podcast, hosted by Drs. Tiffany Walker, Anita Chopra, and Aaron Friedberg, the team welcomes Dr. Abby Cheng, an expert in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Dr. Cheng discusses the development and impact of the AAPMR's comprehensive guidance on long COVID, emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to treatment. The conversation covers the evolution of symptom-specific guidelines into a practical compendium for primary care providers, highlighting the need for real-time support in managing long COVID. Dr. Cheng also addresses the challenges of pharmacological management, the significance of recognizing long COVID in differential diagnoses, and the latest updates on potential treatments and ongoing research efforts. The episode concludes with insights into the NIH's RECOVER TLC trials, offering hope for future advancements in long COVID care. Edited and Produced by Christopher Chiu and Carissa Lee

This episode of the Long COVID Clinical Podcast, hosted by Drs. Anita Chopra, Andrew Schamess, and Aaron Friedberg, features Dr. Hector Bonilla, an infectious disease specialist from Stanford University School of Medicine. The discussion centers on the innovative use of repurposed medications like low-dose naltrexone and Abilify in treating long COVID and ME/CFS. Dr. Bonilla shares insights into the overlap between these conditions, highlighting symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog, and explores how these symptoms can be managed with off-label therapies. He explains the science behind targeting immune pathways and the potential of these drugs to reduce inflammation and improve patient outcomes. The episode also covers Dr. Bonilla’s clinical trials, dosing protocols, and the promising results seen in patients. It concludes with practical strategies for clinicians and patients, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based approaches in managing chronic illness.Edited and Produced by Christopher Chiu and Carissa Lee