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Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show
Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show
Author: Ira Pastor
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© 2026 Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show
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Interviews and Discussions With Fascinating People Who are Creating A Better Tomorrow For All Of Us - Host - Ira S. Pastor
816 Episodes
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Send us Fan Mail What if most dogs aren’t dying of old age - but from losing their ability to move? Dr. Laurie McCauley, DVM, DACVSMR, CCRT, CVA, CVC is a pioneer in veterinary rehabilitation and one of the most influential figures in canine sports medicine. With over two decades at the forefront of the field, she founded the first dedicated veterinary rehabilitation clinic in the United States and designed the world’s first underwater treadmill specifically for dogs - innovations that helpe...
Send us Fan Mail What if paralysis wasn’t permanent—but just a biological system we haven’t figured out how to reboot? Dr. Lior Shaltiel, Ph.D. is Chief Executive Officer of NurExone Biologic ( https://nurexone.com/ ), a biotech company pioneering a novel exosome-based platform aimed at repairing the central nervous system. Dr. Shaltiel brings a rare combination of deep scientific training and cross-border biotech leadership. He earned his Ph.D. in molecular pharmacology from Ludwig Maximil...
Send us Fan Mail What if the biggest barrier in healthcare today isn’t science - but stigma? Eric Foster is Chief Commercial Officer at Ardelyx ( https://ardelyx.com/ ), a biopharmaceutical company where he leads global commercialization strategy for innovative therapies addressing high-burden gastrointestinal and cardiorenal diseases. A seasoned biotech executive with over two decades of experience, Eric has built and scaled high-performing commercial organizations across some of the...
Send us Fan Mail What if we could restore vision, communicate directly with the brain, and even extend human life—not with machines alone, but with living, engineered biology? Dr. Alan Mardinly, Ph.D. is the Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of Science Corp. ( https://science.xyz/ ), a neurotechnology company developing next-generation brain interfaces and biohybrid neural implants aimed at restoring human function. Dr. Mardinly leads the company’s biohybrid program, focused on combin...
Send us Fan Mail There are over 9,000 rare diseases affecting 300 million people—and yet 90% of them have no approved treatment. Why? Craig Martin is the Founder and CEO of Orphan Therapeutics Accelerator ( https://www.orphantxl.com/ ), a pioneering nonprofit launched in 2024 to advance shelved therapies for ultra-rare diseases—bringing overlooked science back to life and guiding it through approval and into patients’ hands through innovative development and commercialization pathways. With...
Send us Fan Mail Inside a fusion reactor, you’re not just creating a star—you’re building a machine that has to survive one. Temperatures hotter than the sun, relentless neutron bombardment… and materials that slowly destroy themselves from the inside out. Daniel Clark is a nuclear engineer and fusion energy expert working at the forefront of turning fusion from a scientific pursuit into a practical energy solution. Daniel is currently Director of Nuclear and Fuel Cycle Engineering at Type ...
Send us Fan Mail What if the reason we haven’t explored deep space isn’t because we can’t… but because our engines are fundamentally too slow? Richard Dinan is Founder and CEO of Pulsar Fusion ( https://pulsarfusion.com/ ) and one of the few entrepreneurs in the world not trying to bring fusion power to Earth… but to space. While most fusion startups are focused on powering cities, Richard is building engines designed to power spacecraft—fusion propulsion systems that could dramatically cut...
Send us Fan Mail Imagine treating back pain not with surgery, not with opioids—but by using your own stem cells to repair the damage at its source. Lance Alstodt is President, CEO, and Chairman of BioRestorative Therapies, Inc. ( https://biorestorative.com/ ), a publicly traded regenerative medicine company focused on developing stem cell-based therapies to treat highly prevalent conditions, including chronic lower back pain and metabolic disorders. With more than 25 years of experience acr...
Send us Fan Mail What if we could build a fusion reactor that runs continuously—without the instability issues that have plagued the field for years? Brian Berzin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Thea Energy ( https://thea.energy/ ), a next-generation fusion company focused on advancing stellarator technology—one of the most promising but historically underexplored approaches to magnetic confinement fusion. Brian brings a unique combination of deep technical and financial expertise, with a back...
Send us Fan Mail We’re living through a golden age of rare disease breakthroughs—but for many patients, the hardest part begins after the drug is approved. Today we’re joined by two leaders from the multinational biopharmaceutical company UCB ( https://www.ucb.com/ ) who are helping reshape how the rare disease community thinks about what happens after a therapy is approved—because for many families, approval is just the beginning of the journey. Dr. Kim Moran, Ph.D. is Senior Vice Presiden...
Send us Fan Mail Whether it’s a battlefield, a construction site, or a farm, the challenge is the same: how do you turn massive amounts of visual data into fast, accurate decisions? Increasingly, the answer is autonomous systems. transforming how we see the world—turning raw imagery into decisions at unprecedented speed. Bill Irby is CEO and Board Member of EagleNXT ( https://eaglenxt.com/ ), a leading provider of full-stack drone, sensor, and software solutions serving both commercial and g...
Send us Fan Mail Preventing transplant loss doesn’t just save organs—it could eliminate hospitalizations, reduce lifelong medications, and transform millions of lives. Dr. Janine Gaiha-Rohrbach, Ph.D. is a globally recognized leader in immunology and medical strategy, currently serving as Head of Global Medical Immunology at Biogen ( https://www.biogen.com/ ). With a PhD in Immunology and Virology from the University Hospital of Berne and extensive postdoctoral research at the Ragon I...
Send us Fan Mail Pharma has spent decades building a graveyard of failed drugs — but hidden inside that data may be treatments that actually worked… for someone. Vin Singh is Founder and CEO of BullFrog AI ( https://bullfrogai.com/ ), a company working at the intersection of machine learning, causal modeling, and drug development. BullFrog is focused on a fundamental problem in biopharma — not just how to analyze increasingly large datasets, but how to extract meaningful cause-and-effect re...
Send us Fan Mail Bone marrow transplants have always depended on finding the right donor at the right time. But what if bone marrow could be stored, shipped, and used on demand—just like a drug? That’s exactly what Ossium Health is now showing in human clinical data. Kevin Caldwell is the Co-Founder, CEO, and President of Ossium Health ( https://ossiumhealth.com/ ), a clinical-stage bioengineering company pioneering off-the-shelf, cryopreserved bone marrow therapies derived from deceased org...
Send us Fan Mail There’s an entire medical specialty, Physiatry, dedicated not to treating disease - but to helping patients regain their lives. And most people have never heard of it. Dr. Michael Yochelson is a Physiatrist and a nationally recognized leader in rehabilitation medicine and brain injury care ( https://shepherd.org/staff-directory/michael-yochelson/ ). Dr. Yochelson serves as the Chief Medical Officer at Shepherd Center, one of the top hospitals in the United States for spinal...
Send us Fan Mail Lyme disease affects hundreds of thousands of people every year—and yet we still struggle to diagnose it, treat it, and prevent it. David Walsey is a strategic biotech leader with more than two decades of experience helping public life sciences companies translate scientific innovation into market impact. As Executive Director of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation ( https://www.bayarealyme.org/ ), David leads national efforts to accelerate research, improve diagnostics, and...
Send us Fan Mail For decades, male birth control has remained one of medicine’s most elusive goals. Now, a new non-hormonal pill is entering human trials—and could finally change the balance of reproductive responsibility Akash Bakshi is CEO and Co-Founder of YourChoice Therapeutics ( https://www.yourchoicetx.com/ ), a company working to develop the first hormone-free birth control pill for men. Akash’s work sits at the intersection of biotechnology innovation, reproductive health, and soci...
Send us Fan Mail There’s an animal that can rebuild its entire body structure in just a few days—and it might hold clues to a new kind of medicine. Eden Ben is CEO of Amorphical ( https://www.amorphical.com/ ), a pioneering biotech company out of Israel that’s been quietly building a completely new approach to mineral-based therapeutics. Founded in 2004, Amorphical has developed a proprietary nano-formulation of amorphous calcium carbonate—what they call ACC—engineered using biomimicry prin...
Send us Fan Mail What if AI didn’t need massive data centers—and could think more like the human brain? Sean Hehir is the Chief Executive Officer of BrainChip ( https://brainchip.com/ ), a pioneer in neuromorphic computing and ultra-low-power artificial intelligence hardware designed for intelligent edge devices. At BrainChip, Sean oversees the commercialization of the company’s Akida neuromorphic processor—an advanced AI chip inspired by the architecture of the human brain. Akida enables r...
Send us Fan Mail Norberto Chaclin is Executive Vice President, Chief Research & Development Officer of Mondelēz International ( https://www.mondelezinternational.com/about-us/leadership/executive-team/norberto-chaclin/ ), a global snacking leader with 2025 net revenues of approximately $38.5 billion, driven by iconic brands such as Oreo, Ritz, LU, Clif Bar and Tate's Bake Shop biscuits and baked snacks, as well as Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Toblerone chocolate. Norberto most rec...



