A Dose of Optimism

Omkar Kulkarni
  • 4.9 (31)
  • Medicine

A Dose of Optimism is a podcast dedicated to exploring the world of healthcare innovation and the optimists driving meaningful change.  Hosted by Omkar Kulkarni, this show shines a light on bold ideas, transformative solutions, and the passionate individuals working every day to make healthcare better for children and their families. Each episode dives into the real-world challenges facing the healthcare industry and highlights the people and organizations pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. From tackling mental health and food allergies to reimagining hospital care and harnessing Artificial Intelligence for better outcomes. Listeners will discover game-changing solutions, hear stories of creativity and resilience, and gain inspiration from leaders who believe in building a healthier, more hopeful future.  From medical professionals and entrepreneurs to patients and community advocates, the podcast brings together diverse voices united by a shared commitment to improving healthcare delivery. Whether you’re working inside the industry or simply curious about the innovations shaping tomorrow’s care, A Dose of Optimism offers insight, connection, and inspiration. “The content, views, opinions, and information presented on this podcast do not reflect the views of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles or of the sponsors of the podcast. CHLA does not endorse the views, opinions and information presented on this podcast and CHLA specifically disclaims any legal liability or responsibility for the podcast’s content.” 

  1. 8h ago

    50 Episodes of Optimism

    For episode 50, the microphone gets turned around. Omkar Kulkarni, host, KidsX founder, and pediatric healthcare innovator, takes the guest seat as A Dose of Optimism celebrates its 50th episode milestone. Omkar reflects on why he built this show, what drew him to children's healthcare, and where he believes technology and AI are taking us next. He shares his views on mental health support for kids, the importance of humility in healthcare innovation, what startups get right (and wrong), and why confidence might be the most underrated superpower we could give a child. A milestone episode that's equal parts retrospective and forward-looking, and a reminder of why optimism still matters. Episode Resources: Akili Interactive Navigating The Uncharted Risks Of AI Scribes In Clinical Practice Connect with us: KidsX Website KidsX LinkedIn Children's Hospital L.A. Website Children's Hospital L.A. Instagram Children's Hospital L.A. LinkedIn

    50 Episodes of Optimism

  2. Sep 15

    Female Athletes: Health & Wellness

    Female athletes face risks that the science has historically been too slow to address, in part because much of what we know about sports injury and performance was derived from research on male athletes. In this second episode of the youth sports series, two experts share what they're doing about it. Maya Hayes, associate head coach of the University of Minnesota women's soccer program and former World Cup champion, shares what she has observed across a career as both an elite athlete and a coach of elite young women: the pressure to specialize too early, the role of adults in pushing kids out of sports, the mental health support structures that are working at the collegiate level, and her vision for what female athletes need most: balance and better science designed for them. Dr. Gregory Myer, Director of the Emory Sports Performance and Research Center (SPARC) at the Atlanta Falcons' headquarters, describes three decades of research into why female athletes sustain ACL injuries at two to ten times the rate of their male counterparts, and how technology, from 3D motion analysis to VR to computer vision on a smartphone, is making movement correction accessible at scale for the first time. Episode Resources: The Wu Sai Human Performance Alliance Georgia Initiative for Virtuality and Education in Sport (GIVES) Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation | Atlanta, Georgia Connect with Maya Hayes: Maya Hayes LinkedIn Maya Hayes University of Minnesota University of Minnesota Website University of Minnesota LinkedIn University of Minnesota Instagram University of Minnesota Athletics Website Golden Gopher soccer Instagram Connect with Dr. Gregory Myer: Dr. Gregory D. Myer SPARC Dr. Gregory D. Myer LinkedIn Sports Performance And Research Center (SPARC) Website Sports Performance And Research Center (SPARC) Instagram Sports Performance And Research Center (SPARC) LinkedIn Emory University Website Connect with us: KidsX Website KidsX LinkedIn Children's Hospital L.A. Website Children's Hospital L.A. Instagram Children's Hospital L.A. LinkedIn

    Female Athletes: Health & Wellness

  3. Sep 8

    Connecting the Dots in Autism

    Autism affects nearly 1 in 31 children in the United States, and yet in many ways, we are still in the early stages of understanding what it actually is, and what it takes to support the children and families living with it. In this episode, two innovators share how they are advancing the science and the care of autism from very different angles. Dr. Shafali Jeste, Professor and Mattel Executive Endowed Chair of Pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, describes the emerging science of autism's genetic causes, how approximately 20% of autism cases now have an identifiable genetic cause, how that number is growing, and what it means for the possibility of precision treatments. She also discusses early detection, the power of parental instinct, and how brain differences can be observed in research settings as early as three months of age. Pooja Shah, founder of Mindly, describes how she built a digital health platform to address fragmentation in autism care, connecting providers, educators, and parents on a single shared platform through AI-powered video analysis and automated documentation, so observations made in one setting don't stay trapped there. Episode Resources: Dr. Lorna Wing - the psychiatrist and autism researcher Baby Sibs Research Consortium Remote Infant Studies of Early Learning (RISE) Battery & Consortium Research Studies | Stanford Autism Center Simons Foundation Learn more from the previous episodes: Autism: Tools to help doctors and parents  Connect with Dr. Shafali Jeste: Dr. Shafali Jeste LinkedIn Dr. Shafali Jeste - UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Website David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA LinkedIn David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Instagram UCLA Children's Discovery and Innovation Institute (CDI) Connect with Pooja Shah: Pooja Shah LinkedIn Mindly Website Mindly LinkedIn Mindly Instagram Connect with us: KidsX Website KidsX LinkedIn Children's Hospital L.A. Website Children's Hospital L.A. Instagram Children's Hospital L.A. LinkedIn

    Connecting the Dots in Autism

  4. Sep 1

    Concussions, ACLs, and the Pressures of Youth Sports

    Youth sports are one of the most powerful forces for development in a child's life. They're also, when done wrong, one of the most reliable ways to injure a child, physically and mentally. In this first episode of a two-part series on youth sports, two experts share what they're seeing at the frontlines of pediatric sports medicine and concussion management. Dr. Bianca Edison, sports medicine and orthopedic physician at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, makes the case for movement, variety, and play, and describes what happens when kids specialize too early, train too hard, and sacrifice sleep, mental health, and other sources of joy in pursuit of a scholarship or a starting spot. She also shares her vision for a preventive sports medicine clinic where kids come to learn how they move, not just to fix what's broken. Harrison Brown, CEO and co-founder of HEADCHECK Health, explains why the concussion problem in youth sports isn't primarily a test problem, but a compliance problem. His platform serves 6,000 organizations and 150,000 athletes by digitizing concussion protocols end-to-end, making it possible for administrators, coaches, and medical staff to actually follow the policies they're legally required to have. Episode Resources: Positive Coaching Alliance Jackie and Gene Autry Orthopedic Center at CHLA Sport-Specific Injury Mechanisms and Situational Patterns of ACL Injuries: A Comprehensive Systematic Review Where Does Research Happen? Behind the Scenes of the Motion and Sports Analysis Lab What Are the Barriers to Access to Pediatric Gait Analysis? Connect with Dr. Bianca Edison: Dr. Bianca Edison CHLA Dr. Bianca Edison LinkedIn Connect with Harrison Brown: Harrison Brown LinkedIn HEADCHECK Health Website HEADCHECK Health LinkedIn HEADCHECK Health Instagram Connect with us: KidsX Website KidsX LinkedIn Children's Hospital L.A. Website Children's Hospital L.A. Instagram Children's Hospital L.A. LinkedIn

    Concussions, ACLs, and the Pressures of Youth Sports

  5. Aug 25

    Language, AI, and the Business of Care

    What does it cost when a patient can't understand their discharge instructions? What does it cost when a healthcare system hasn't adapted its business models to the tools now available? In this episode, two very different conversations shed light on where healthcare is losing people, and what's being done about it. Julie Wilner and Joe Corkery of Jaide Health, recently acquired by AMN Healthcare, share how their AI-driven medical interpretation and translation platform is closing one of the most consequential and underaddressed gaps in healthcare equity: the failure to communicate with patients in their own language. A discharge summary that used to take 90 minutes for a language services team member to produce at CHLA now takes five minutes to review and finalize. And as regulatory requirements under the ACA push hospitals toward translated written materials, AI is becoming not just valuable, but necessary. Nikhil Krishnan, founder of Out-Of-Pocket and one of healthcare's most distinctive voices for making the business of healthcare understandable, shares his perspective on pediatric healthcare as a business, the next wave of AI in clinical workflows, the emerging tension between patients who trust AI more than their providers, and why prevention remains the most underfunded opportunity in the entire system. Episode Resources: AMN Healthcare Affordable Care Act (ACA) Tribeca Pediatrics: We Care for Your Kids in NYC ACA Section 1557: Ensuring Meaningful Access for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency Connect with Julie Wilner & Joe Corkery: Julie Wilner LinkedIn Joe Corkery LinkedIn Jaide Health Website Jaide Health LinkedIn Jaide Health Instagram Connect with Nikhil Krishnan: Nikhil Krishnan LinkedIn Nikhil Krishnan X Out-Of-Pocket Website Out-Of-Pocket LinkedIn Out-Of-Pocket Instagram Connect with us: KidsX Website KidsX LinkedIn Children's Hospital L.A. Website Children's Hospital L.A. Instagram Children's Hospital L.A. LinkedIn

    Language, AI, and the Business of Care

  6. Aug 18

    Glasses and Good Nurses

    Before a child can learn, they need to be able to see. And before a nurse can care for a complex pediatric patient, they need to have experienced something close to it. In this episode, two leaders at the intersection of innovation and workforce development share how they are closing two very different but equally foundational gaps. Dr. James Dickhoner, Chief Medical Officer of Vision to Learn and Associate Director of Digital Health at CHLA, describes how a mobile clinic model is providing free eye exams and glasses to between two and four million children across the United States who need vision correction and can't get it, and the surprisingly apolitical case for why every school district should want this. Dr. Jennifer Baird, Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Professional Practice at CHLA, shares how the Pediatric Pathway Program is transforming how nursing students experience pediatric care, tripling and quadrupling clinical hours in pediatric settings, integrating simulation, and sending nurses into the workforce with a depth of preparation that the traditional generalist model simply doesn't provide. Episode Resources: Pediatric Pathway Program CHLA RN Residency in Pediatrics CHLA Las Madrinas Simulation Center CHLA Eyeglasses for School Kids Boost Academic Performance, Study Finds Dr. Megan Collins - Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Gifts You Can Give That Save Lives Effect of a Randomized Interventional School-Based Vision Program on Academic Performance of Students in Grades 3 to 7 - A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial Vision To Learn DONATE Connect with Dr. James Dickhoner: James Dickhoner LinkedIn James Dickhoner CHLA Vision To Learn Website Vision To Learn LinkedIn Vision To Learn Instagram Vision To Learn DONATE Connect with Dr. Jennifer Baird: Dr. Jennifer Baird LinkedIn Dr. Jennifer Baird CHLA Connect with us: KidsX Website KidsX LinkedIn Children's Hospital L.A. Website Children's Hospital L.A. Instagram Children's Hospital L.A. LinkedIn

    Glasses and Good Nurses

  7. Aug 11

    What We Carry

    Healthcare treats the diagnosis, but what about everything else a family carries alongside it? In this episode, two innovators share their work on the parts of the care experience that clinical medicine often misses. Dr. Megan Visser, hospital chaplain, sociologist, and postdoctoral research fellow at The Saban Research Institute at CHLA, describes what spiritual care looks like across the spectrum of pediatric illness, from the acute crisis of a terminal diagnosis to the long, quiet grief of learning to live with a chronic condition like diabetes. She shares what surprises her about families' resilience, what parental guilt looks like across conditions and cultures, and why naming grief is often the first step to processing it. Aashish Mehta, CEO of TacnIQ, describes Backy™, a wearable device that uses tactile sensors to detect high-risk postures and movement patterns in real time, delivering vibrational feedback to the wearer. Currently deployed in hospital settings to support nurses, Backy™ is also being piloted in pregnancy-related back pain support and post-surgical recovery programs. Episode Resources: Diabetes Care & Education SingHealth: Singapore Health Services Connect with Dr. Megan Visser: Dr. Megan Visser Design with Adolescents and Young Adults for Self-Management and Health (DASH) Lab Children's Hospital Los Angeles: The Saban Research Institute Connect with Aashish Mehta: Aashish Mehta LinkedIn TacnIQ.ai Website TacnIQ.ai LinkedIn Backy™ - a wearable developed by TacnIQ Connect with us: KidsX Website KidsX LinkedIn Children's Hospital L.A. Website Children's Hospital L.A. Instagram Children's Hospital L.A. LinkedIn

    What We Carry

  8. Aug 4

    Ultra Processed, Under Mentored

    Two things children need more of: someone who shows up for them, and food that doesn't harm them. In this episode, two innovators share their work on both sides of that equation. Amy Braun, President and CEO of HealthCorps, describes how her organization deploys college-age mentors into middle and high schools across 12 states to deliver health and wellness programming, and why the near-peer relationship is the most powerful driver of real health behavior change in teenagers. 84% of students in HealthCorps make at least one measurable health behavior change. Students are 50% less likely to experience poor mental health days than their national peers. And 73% are more likely to connect with an adult on campus, meaning they stay more connected to school and more likely to graduate. Dr. Michael Goran, Program Director for Nutrition and Obesity at CHLA and the Saban Research Institute at USC, shares findings from a recently published birth cohort study: children consuming higher amounts of ultra-processed foods from birth to age six show significantly smaller volumes in specific regions of the brain. He also shares striking research on infant formula, over half of which in the United States is now made with corn syrup rather than lactose, and what continuous glucose monitoring at six months of age reveals about how different formula compositions affect infant blood sugar stability. Episode Resources: Ultra-Processed Foods Linked to Brain Differences in Young Children The UN Decade of Nutrition, the NOVA food classification and the trouble with ultra-processing New US dietary guidelines call for more protein, less processed food Diabetes & Obesity Research Institute (DORI) USC & Children’s Hospital LA Team Up with Eat Real to Study How Real Food Fuels Student Success Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Connect with Amy Braun: Amy Braun LinkedIn HealthCorps Website HealthCorps LinkedIn HealthCorps Instagram Connect with Dr. Michael Goran: Dr. Michael Goran CHLA Dr. Michael Goran LinkedIn Connect with us: KidsX Website KidsX LinkedIn Children's Hospital L.A. Website Children's Hospital L.A. Instagram Children's Hospital L.A. LinkedIn

    Ultra Processed, Under Mentored
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Trailer

4.9
out of 5
31 Ratings

About

A Dose of Optimism is a podcast dedicated to exploring the world of healthcare innovation and the optimists driving meaningful change.  Hosted by Omkar Kulkarni, this show shines a light on bold ideas, transformative solutions, and the passionate individuals working every day to make healthcare better for children and their families. Each episode dives into the real-world challenges facing the healthcare industry and highlights the people and organizations pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. From tackling mental health and food allergies to reimagining hospital care and harnessing Artificial Intelligence for better outcomes. Listeners will discover game-changing solutions, hear stories of creativity and resilience, and gain inspiration from leaders who believe in building a healthier, more hopeful future.  From medical professionals and entrepreneurs to patients and community advocates, the podcast brings together diverse voices united by a shared commitment to improving healthcare delivery. Whether you’re working inside the industry or simply curious about the innovations shaping tomorrow’s care, A Dose of Optimism offers insight, connection, and inspiration. “The content, views, opinions, and information presented on this podcast do not reflect the views of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles or of the sponsors of the podcast. CHLA does not endorse the views, opinions and information presented on this podcast and CHLA specifically disclaims any legal liability or responsibility for the podcast’s content.” 

Information

  • Creator
    Omkar Kulkarni
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    51
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 A Dose of Optimism
  • Show Website
    A Dose of Optimism