Inside U Miami Medicine University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

When the very treatment keeping a patient alive also exacts a heavy toll on lives, researchers are compelled to ask, “Is there another way?”

Glioblastoma is a brutal brain cancer. It is aggressive, common and nearly always fatal. Standard treatments of radiation and chemotherapy often leave patients with cognitive problems and a diminished quality of life.

But Dr. Macarena de la Fuente, chief of the Neuro oncology Division at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, envisions a future that empowers patients to manage tumors with fewer compromises. She investigates new drugs that prolong progression-free survival and delay the need for toxic treatments.

In some of the clinical trials she and her team are advancing, the tumors even shrank in size.

In the vast landscape of medical research, few areas are as
intricate and nuanced as traumatic brain injury. However, amidst these profound challenges lies the relentless pursuit of understanding and innovation spearheaded by pioneers like Dr. Dalton Dietrich.

Dr. Dietrich, scientific director of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, recently joined the Inside U Miami Medicine podcast to share the latest neuroscience discoveries and how novel therapies –
like targeted hypothermia – may protect and enhance recovery of neurological function. He also addresses the question on many people's minds: "Does TBI lead to dementia?"

Tune in.

When disaster occurs, Dr. Elizabeth Greig runs toward the chaos. She and her team follow in the wake of hurricanes, earthquakes and other hazardous events to help the world’s most vulnerable communities heal and rebuild. They provide medical care and essential resources, bolster infrastructure and strengthen the health sector. Sometimes, they construct buildings. As of April 2024, a hospital they helped erect in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is still functioning despite the current gang violence.

Tune in to hear her talk all things disaster response, crisis
management, resilience, climate change and so much more.

Raymond Schinazi, Ph.D., a world-renowned scientist, knows that research requires resilience. “I have file cabinets full of rejections,” he said.

In the second part of our episode with Dr. Schinazi, we explore how he developed a life-saving cure for Hepatitis C, despite being denied funding from the NIH. Instead of giving up and focusing on other antivirals, he founded his own biotech company and set his sights on revolutionizing the treatment landscape for Hepatitis C.

We’re talking to one of the most remarkable scientists of our time, Raymond Schinazi, Ph.D. Dr. Schinazi is a visionary researcher whose contributions have revolutionized the landscape of antiviral therapy. More than 94% of HIV-infected individuals in the U.S. on combination therapy take at least one of the drugs he created. He also invented the cure for Hepatitis C.

But his story begins far from the laboratories and lecture halls of prestigious universities. Growing up in Egypt during the Nasser regime, young Raymond witnessed firsthand the devastation of disease when his mother fell critically ill. Determined to make a difference, he embarked on a mission to find cures for the most challenging medical conditions.

In the first part of this captivating episode, we’re delving into Dr. Schinazi’s remarkable life story, exploring the triumphs and challenges that shaped his extraordinary career.

“People who have done so much and given to their community for so long, why are they lonely at the end of their lives?”

It’s a question that Harsh Moolani, currently a third-year
M.D./M.P.H. student, grappled with when volunteering at local hospices. The care industry didn't seem to have any long-term solutions for patients, so, as a junior in college, he developed one himself.

Harsh joins Inside U Miami Medicine to discuss
how he founded a nonprofit that tackles some of the biggest challenges for adult populations like loneliness, cognitive decay and lack of purpose — all while pursuing his medical degree.