The Health Crossroad with Dr. Doug Elwood and Dr. Tom Elwood

Dr. Randy Schekman is a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2013, he shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his role in revealing the machinery that regulates the transport and secretion of proteins in human cells. A former editor-in-chief of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, he currently serves as editor-in-chief of the open-access journal eLife, which publishes the most important advances in the life and biomedical sciences. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and his prestigious honors include receiving the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research. Dr. Schekman obtained his doctorate from Stanford University where he worked with Dr. Arthur Kornberg, another Nobel laureate. Along with his tremendous achievements in the realm of science, Dr. Schekman is a strong advocate of the importance of public research universities and public education. As a result, he donated his Nobel Prize money to the Berkeley campus in order to create an endowed chair in the life sciences. In this interview, Dr. Schekman discusses his amazing story of getting his first grant "trashed" but then finding his way to researching baker's yeast and moving into genetics and protein exporting mechanisms. Other topics include translational medicine and the NIH, how his research led to insulin production and hepatitis surface antigen, and George Palade, another Nobel laureate.

Dr. Peter Klatsky is an Infertility Specialist, is board certified in both Obstetrics and Gyencology and Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility. Dr. Klatsky graduated from The Mount Sinai School of Medicine where he was inducted into to the alpha omega alpha honors society. He completed his residency training at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and his Infertility fellowship at Brown University. He received an MPH from Columbia University.Dr. Klatsky’s scientific accomplishments include clinical research on infertility treatments, as well as cutting edge research in molecular genetics. He has given numerous invited presentations and published in national and international medical journals. In addition to his scientific and academic achievements, he remains passionate about making health and justice available to more people. In addition to caring for couples with infertility in New York, he spends much of his time working on public health programs for women in Africa and the developing world. Dr. Klatsky currently works at The Montefiore Medical Center, where he sees patients and is an Assistant Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In addition to caring for infertile couples in the United States, he is an active social entrepreneur in Global Reproductive Health. His work in east Africa was recently recognized with grants from The World Bank and Vitol Foundation to develop and pilot an innovative application “Fuel For Life” that will provide emergency communication, transportation, and reimbursement service that connects patients and providers at rural health centers to referral hospitals by leveraging existing transportation and telecom assets.

This Topic Update focuses on the health within the United States and the litany of challenges the system faces. In our discussion, we explore multiple topics that are at the forefront of our conversations with our guests, including medical homes, ACOs, ObamaCare and the ACA, obesity, access to care, and legalization of marijuana, health literacy, and many others.

Joan Grant is here today to share her story as a patient. Joan, who is now in her 80s, has experienced several challenges with her health. Importantly, her shoulder was limiting her functional abilities and her knee was injured due to a fall over her dog. Joan met with physicians who advised her to undergo surgery; however, she did not feel that was the right path for her. Instead, she underwent a series of acupuncture treatments and physical therapy and has regained her function. Joan discusses this journey and provides her insights into her health care, describing some of the challenges she met when in the health system including Medicare, coordination of care, and access.

David E. Albert, MD is an Oklahoma native. He is a physician, inventor and serial entrepreneur who has developed medical and other life-saving technologies and products over the last 30 years, turning a number of those innovations into tech startups. Today, he is a founder of three tech companies, InnovAlarm, Lifetone Technology and AliveCor. His previous startups include Corazonix Corp (sold to Arrhythmia Research Technology and Data Critical (sold to GE). Dr. Albert left GE in 2004 as Chief Scientist of GE Cardiology to disrupt several new markets. His latest invention, the iPhone ECG, became a global sensation via a 4-minute YouTube Video in January around the Consumer Electronics Show and was featured on local media, ABC, CBS, CNN and Fox News among many other media outlets. Dr Albert has 37 issued US patents, a large number pending and several new "secret inventions" in development. He has authored or co-authored over 50 scientific abstracts and publications principally in the Cardiology literature. Also, Dr Albert has lectured at the Entrepreneurship programs at the MIT Sloan School and the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Albert graduated with Honors from Harvard College and from Duke University Medical School. Dr. Albert lives in Oklahoma CIty with his wife and his two "young kids". The Albert's two other children are grown and out of the house. In this interview, Dr. Albert discusses disruptive technologies and how they are leading into a new era of medical care.