In this episode, host Shikha Jain, MD, speaks with Nadine Spring, PhD, about the importance of DEI in clinical care, driving positive social change forward and more.

• Welcome to another exciting episode of Oncology Overdrive 0:14
• About Spring 0:20
• The interview 1:00
• Tell me about the journey that got you to where you are today? 1:18
• Can you tell me more about Adtalem Global Education and your role there? 5:11
• Why does diversity and equitable representation in clinical trials and care matter? 6:23
• What is SpringWell360, and what do you hope to achieve with the work you are doing through this organization? 8:28
• Do you think that current funding challenges will impact these initiatives over the next few years? 11:37
• Do you feel like you will have to re-imagine or modify how you describe the work you are doing to help people understand its impact? 12:11
• How do you suggest clinicians and institution leaders get involved in raising awareness and increasing diversity in clinical trials? 12:48
• What do you say to people who are doing this work and are getting frustrated or burnt out? How do you keep them motivated? 16:37
• What keeps you motivated to continue this work? 17:56
• When you talk to people about clinical trials, how do you address patients’ mistrust or fear of the unknown? 19:04
• If someone could only listen to the last few minutes of this episode, what would you want listeners to take away? 23:58
• How to contact Spring 25:15
• Thanks for listening 25:59

Nadine Spring, PhD, has spent her career fighting for more inclusive and diverse representation in clinical research. She is a recognized leader in advancing health equity, particularly through her work at SpringWell360, which advocates for the inclusion of underserved populations in clinical trials.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Jain at oncologyoverdrive@healio.com. Follow Healio on X and LinkedIn: @HemOncToday and https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemonctoday/. Follow Dr. Jain on X: @ShikhaJainMD. Spring can be reached at www.springwell360.com or via email nadine@springwell360.com.

Disclosures: Jain and Spring report no relevant financial disclosures.

In this special crossover episode with Physicianary, guest Navin Goyal, MD, and Physicianary host, Hansa Bhargava, MD, discuss side gigs in the health care space, encourage physicians to explore their fields of interest and talk about his book, Physician Underdog.

• Intro 0:28
• Navin Goyal, MD 0:35
• You have done a lot to help Medicaid patients with your venture capital group, OFFOR Health. Can you tell us about that? 1:25
• What was the driver of your venture capital group? Was it access to care? 3:21
• Tell us about your interest in health equity and access to care? What happened next. 6:28
• Tell us about your book, Physician Underdog. Did the book come before, during or after your journey with your venture capital group? 7:55
• What is your advice to physicians and health care workers who feel burnt out and unfulfilled in their career path? 11:54
• Bhargava and Goyal discuss change and adapting to changes in career paths. 14:57
• Bhargava and Goyal discuss the difference between careers in health care and other professions that are likely to pursue new avenues. 16:42
• There are plenty of physicians out there looking for side gigs. What is your advice to physicians and health care workers who want to explore other avenues and side gigs? 19:29
• How do you do it all? 22:10
• Thanks 24:42

Navin Goyal, MD, is a venture capitalist, entrepreneur, physician and author—driven by his passion for human-centered leadership. He is the co-founder and managing partner at LOUD Capital, specializing in early-stage investments in healthcare and technology startups. Goyal is also co-founder of OFFOR Health, a venture-backed startup that provides mobile anesthesia services for pediatric patients on Medicaid, and Beyond Physician, an online learning management platform and job marketplace to enable physicians to learn new skills, get contract work and grow their thought leadership. His journey and insights are captured in his book, Physician Underdog.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Jain at oncologyoverdrive@healio.com. Follow Healio on X and LinkedIn: @HemOncToday and https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemonctoday/. Follow Dr. Jain on X: @ShikhaJainMD. Follow Dr. Bhargava on X @hansabhargavaMD and on Instagram @doctorhansaMD. Follow Goyal on Instagram @navin.g.md, X @Navin_MD, Facebook and LinkedIn and visit his website: navingoyalmd.com.

Disclosures: Bhargava and Goyal report no relevant financial disclosures.

In this episode, host Shikha Jain, MD, speaks with Kimberly Richardson about driving changes in patient advocacy efforts, the importance of including DEI in cancer research and clinical trials and more.

• Welcome to another exciting episode of Oncology Overdrive 0:14
• About Richardson 0:20
• The interview 1:15
• How did you get to where you are today as such a leader and advocate? 1:56
• Did you feel welcomed into this space when you started doing your advocacy work, or did you feel like it was an uphill battle? 5:12
• Jain and Richardson on how physicians and patient advocates can come up with solutions that coincide with the transformation of what advocacy work has become. 8:23
• What are the different ways people can be patient advocates? 10:59
• Jain and Richardson on research advocacy and the power of the ripple effect when it comes to how this work impacts patients. 15:45
• Jain and Richardson on how physician and patients can collaborate to overcome institutional challenges with timing of visits and quality of care. 19:11
• Richardson and Jain on educating patients in underrepresented communities on research and policy changes that will lead to more diversity in clinical trials. 24:21
• If you could look back one year from now, what do you hope your research grant accomplishes? 30:00
• If someone could only listen to the last few minutes of this episode, what would you want listeners to take away? 32:00
• How to contact Richardson 32:33
• Thanks for listening 33:27

Kimberly Richardson is a survivor of ovarian cancer and early stage, triple positive breast cancer. Kimberly has founded the Black Cancer Collaborative, a 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization that creates partnerships between Black cancer patients and the medical and scientific communities on issues of health equity, patient inclusion and clinical trials participation.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Jain at oncologyoverdrive@healio.com. Follow Healio on X and LinkedIn: @HemOncToday and https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemonctoday/. Follow Dr. Jain on X: @ShikhaJainMD. Richardson can be found on Bluesky under Black Cancer Collaborative and on LinkedIn.

Disclosures: Jain and Richardson report no relevant financial disclosures.

In this episode, host Shikha Jain, MD, speaks with Anna Rathkopf about the mental and physical toll of cancer treatment and survivorship, using photography to connect with patients and caregivers and more.

• Welcome to another exciting episode of Oncology Overdrive 0:14
• About Rathkopf 0:20
• The interview 1:23
• How did you get into storytelling through photography around your cancer diagnosis and your caregiver experience? 1:46
• How did you navigate questions and challenges surrounding fertility during the first five years of your diagnosis? 4:07
• On top of everything else going on in your life at the time, how did your decision to document your treatment become part of your plan? Why was it so important for you to do in that moment? 7:50
• Did photography help you feel like you had some control in your life? 10:45
• Overall, how did this impact your mental health along with your physical health? 11:17
• What were you doing from a photojournalistic standpoint prior to your diagnosis? How did that prepare you for this next step in what you have created? 14:46
• How did your partner’s caregiving responsibilities incorporate into your photography? 16:48
• Jain and Rathkopf on the sacrifices caregivers make. 19:53
• If you had to give advice to someone going through the initial time after cancer diagnosis, caregiver or patient, what would you say you would do the same or differently? 21:29
• What do you suggest loved ones do or say to help patients and caregivers? 24:49
• What was the transition into survivorship like for you after the first five years? How did that change your mentality? 27:24
• If someone could only listen to the last few minutes of this episode, what would you want listeners to take away? 33:34
• How to contact Rathkopf 34:20
• Thanks for listening 35:22

Anna Rathkopf is an award-winning photographer whose work focuses on empathy, health, and identity. She is the author of HER2: The Diagnosed, The Caregiver, and Their Son, a poignant exploration of the realities of cancer under 50.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Jain at oncologyoverdrive@healio.com. Follow Healio on X and LinkedIn: @HemOncToday and https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemonctoday/. Follow Dr. Jain on X: @ShikhaJainMD. Rathkopf can be found on Instagram @rathkopfphotography. Purchase HER2: The Diagnosed, The Caregiver, and Their Son on Amazon or on the website www.rathkopf.com.

For more from the Rathkopfs: Check out photos and video from their installation at A(I) Brighter Tomorrow: Cancer and Beyond) exhibition at Montefiore Einstein through April 18, 2025.

Disclosures: Jain and Rathkopf report no relevant financial disclosures.

In this episode, host Shikha Jain, MD, speaks with ASH president, Belinda Avalos, MD, about the importance of DEI practices in medicine, leading molecular medicine developments and more.

• Welcome to another exciting episode of Oncology Overdrive 0:14
• About Avalos 0:18
• The interview 1:18
• How did you know you know you wanted to be a hematologist and how did you end up in this space doing the work you’re doing now? 1:47
• Jain and Avalos on the innovations and patient relationships in the field of HemOnc that drive physician interest. 3:25
• What drove your passion to get involved in DEI and equitable care in medicine? 5:08
• Jain and Avalos on diversity in clinical trials. 7:48
• Jain and Avalos on the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to patient care. 9:08
• What do you see as the biggest barriers to driving change in this space? How can we actually make changes that will result in real-world transformation? 10:11
• Tell me about the work that you do in the spaces of women in hematology and medicine. 11:25
• What types of things should we be doing to drive gender equity changes in medicine? 13:40
• Do you feel hopeful about where we are going with the changes being driven by societies like ASH? 15:24
• What else excites you about hematology and the innovation in the field now? 17:02
• What are the biggest transformations we are going to see in hematology over the next decade? 23:26
• Where will you be focusing your time moving forward? 27:53
• If someone could only listen to the last few minutes of this episode, what would you want listeners to take away? 29:16
• How to contact Avalos 30:15
• Thanks for listening 30:44

Belinda R. Avalos, MD, is the American Society of Hematology 2025 president, and is a professor of medicine and a senior advisor to the president of Atrium Health Levine Cancer.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Jain at oncologyoverdrive@healio.com. Follow Healio on X and LinkedIn: @HemOncToday and https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemonctoday/. Follow Dr. Jain on X: @ShikhaJainMD. Avalos can be reached by contacting ASH at www.hematology.org.

Disclosures: Jain and Avalos report no relevant financial disclosures.

In this episode, host Shikha Jain, MD, speaks with Opyl co-founder Damon Rasheed about using machine learning to better predict clinical trial outcomes, handling ethical concerns surrounding AI in health care and more.

• Welcome to another exciting episode of Oncology Overdrive 0:14
• About Rasheed 0:20
• The interview 0:58
• How did you end up in the AI-powered medicine and clinical trials? 1:48
• What is Opyl, and what is TrialKey? 3:54
• Is TrialKey predominantly based in Australia or is it available outside of Australia as well? 5:34
• Can you explain how machine learning works in order to create these outcomes? 6:11
• How do you see people utilizing this tool in the future based on what you have already seen? 8:30
• How have others received this? What is the feedback you have gotten surrounding what people are excited and concerned about with this technology? 10:50
• Does this type of product take into account the issue of diversity in clinical trials? 13:41
• What’s next for expanding Opyl and TrialKey? 14:27
• What keeps you excited and motivated to continue working in this space? 15:28
• If someone could only listen to the last few minutes of this episode, what would you want listeners to take away? 19:35
• How to contact Rasheed 20:16
• Thanks for listening 20:54

Damon Rasheed is a serial entrepreneur recognized for his groundbreaking ventures and deep expertise in machine learning and big data.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Jain at oncologyoverdrive@healio.com. Follow Healio on X and LinkedIn: @HemOncToday and https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemonctoday/. Follow Dr. Jain on X: @ShikhaJainMD. Rasheed can be reached at opyl.ai or trialkey.ai.

Disclosures: Jain reports no relevant financial disclosures. Rasheed reports TrialKey is powered by Opyl Limited, which is a publicly listed company operating on the ASX.

In this special crossover episode of Oncology Overdrive, we bring you Healio coverage from the ASH Annual Meeting and Exhibition, as well as Healio’s top headlines from the meeting.

Gwen L. Nichols, MD, reviews a panel discussion on how hematologists and oncologists can best address patients’ concerns as AI’s role in medicine invariably expands. :24

Thomas G. Knight, MD, addresses financial toxicity for people with blood cancer. 6:29

Charles S. Abrams, MD, discusses results of the HIBISCUS trial and its implications for vaso-occlusive events. 16:30

Read the full coverage here:

AI in hematology: ‘The good, the bad and the ugly’

Mitigating financial toxicity ’better than any drug’ for people with cancer

Etavopivat could offer ‘great benefit’ in sickle cell disease

ASH recognizes Judith Kleinerman, MD, with Exemplary Service Award

GLP-1s reduce thrombosis risk among people with diabetes, regardless of obesity

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Jain at oncologyoverdrive@healio.com. Follow Healio on X and LinkedIn: @HemOncToday and https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemonctoday/. Follow Dr. Jain on X: @ShikhaJainMD.

Disclosures: Jain reports no financial disclosures. Abrams reports he is chair of the ASH Research Collaborative's Sickle Cell Disease Clinical Trials Network Oversight Committee. Knight reports no relevant financial disclosures. Nichols reports no relevant financial disclosures.

In this episode, host Shikha Jain, MD, speaks with David Gandara, MD, about how ctDNA and CAR-T cell therapies are transforming precision medicine, the importance of patient reported outcomes and more.

• Welcome to another exciting episode of Oncology Overdrive 0:14
• About Gandara 0:19
• The interview 1:02
• Can you tell me a little more about what you are working on now? 1:25
• How did you get engaged with the community in Hawaii? 6:30
• What do you think is going to happen with ctDNA moving forward? 8:29
• Can you utilize ctDNA and minimal residual disease information to determine how long patients need to be on adjuvant therapy? 11:42
• How did you get into the ctDNA space? 15:06
• How do you see AI transforming health care beyond providing patients with more information and taking more ownership of their health? 18:28
• Can you tell us more about how a second opinion clinic works? How did this type of clinic develop and become part of what you do? 23:17
• What are some of your predictions as to what will happen in oncology care over the next ten to twenty years? 29:00
• If someone could only listen to the last few minutes of this episode, what would you want listeners to take away? 37:30
• How to contact Gandara 38:47
• Thanks for listening 39:10

David Gandara, MD, is a clinician-scientist and lung cancer specialist internationally recognized for his expertise in thoracic cancers, cancer drug development and biomarker development.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Jain at oncologyoverdrive@healio.com. Follow Healio on X and LinkedIn: @HemOncToday and https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemonctoday/. Follow Dr. Jain on X: @ShikhaJainMD. Dr. Gandara can be reached via email drgandara@ucdavis.edu.

Disclosures: Jain reports no relevant financial disclosures. Gandara reports institutional research grants from Astex, Amgen and Genentech; institutional consulting for AstraZenica, Exact Sciences, Genentech, Guardant Health, IO Biotech and Oncohost; consulting for Adagene, Henlius USA, Foundation Medicine and Sanofi; serves on the advisory board of Abbvie, Janssen, Merck, Mirati, Regeneron and Revolution Medicine.