Why do so many promising scientific discoveries never become real medicines?

In this episode of Biomedical Frontiers Dr. Mark Esser, Chief Scientific Officer of the Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology at the University of Virginia, describes one of the biggest challenges in healthcare innovation: the translational valley of death.

Dr. Esser explains how the Manning Institute is being built to bridge the gap between academic discovery and patient-ready therapies. Drawing on decades of experience in industry, he shares how infrastructure, cross-disciplinary teams, regulatory expertise, and new funding models are essential to turning science into medicine.

The conversation explores:

• Why promising biomedical research often stalls before reaching patients
• How the Manning Institute’s Accelerate, Create, Educate (ACE) model is designed to overcome these barriers
• A real-world case study of a novel sepsis therapy entering clinical trials
• What this effort means for the future of drug discovery and Virginia’s growing biotech ecosystem

Follow Dr. Mark Esser on Social Media

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-esser-0b152b2/

Email: mark.esser@virginia.edu

Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology (University of Virginia) https://manninginstitute.virginia.edu

UVA Licensing & Ventures https://lvg.virginia.edu/

Resources:

• Recommended Book: “A Practical Guide to Drug Development in Academia” https://catalog.nlm.nih.gov/permalink/01NLM_INST/vdtut1/alma9916234173406676
• SPARK Drug Discovery Model (Stanford) https://sparkmed.stanford.edu

Love this episode? Follow and write to us: 📸 Instagram: @biomedicalfrontiers 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uvacoulter 📧 Reach us: biomedicalfrontiers@virginia.edu

Director & Host: Dasha Tyshlek, StratCraft, Inc. www.strat-craft.com

Executive Producer: David Chen, Managing Director & Instructor of Engineering Design, UVA

Senior Producer: Hannah Moore, Associate Director, UVA Coulter

Design Director: Carolyn Wagner, Inc. & Link: carolynwagnerinc.com

Produced on behalf of Wallace H. Coulter Center for Translational Research at University of Virginia https://engineering.virginia.edu/centers-institutes/coulter-center-translational-research

When every minute counts, inefficiencies in communication and data flow can cost lives. In this episode of Biomedical Frontiers, trauma surgeon Dr. Jamie Wisser and entrepreneur Robert Holton share how they’re using AI and interoperability to accelerate time to critical care.

Dr. Wisser, founder of Actual Healthcare Solutions, describes how his experience performing 26-hour reconstructive surgeries exposed the limits of today’s electronic medical records. Together with Holton, he’s building a platform that connects hospital systems, specialists, and radiologists in real time—using AI to automate referrals, interpret imaging in seconds, and bridge the silos that slow patient care.

💡 What you’ll learn:

✅ Why healthcare still runs on disconnected “data islands”

✅ How AI-driven radiology can deliver results in under 30 seconds

✅ How interoperability can improve patient outcomes and physician efficiency

✅ Lessons from a trauma surgeon turned health tech founder

📚 Resources:

• Actual HealthCare Solutions: https://www.actualhealthcaresolutions.com
• HIT Lab: https://www.hitlab.org
• New York Innovation Week: https://www.nyinnovationweek.com

Follow Biomedical Frontiers for more:

📸 Instagram: @biomedicalfrontiers

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uvacoulter

📧 Reach us: biomedicalfrontiers@virginia.edu

Love this podcast? Write to us with feedback or guest recommendations!

Production Team:

Director & Host: Dasha Tyshlek, StratCraft, Inc. www.strat-craft.com

Executive Producer: David Chen, Managing Director & Instructor of Engineering Design

Senior Producer: Hannah Moore, Associate Director, UVA Coulter

Design Director: Carolyn Wagner, Inc. & Link: carolynwagnerinc.com

Produced on behalf of: Wallace H. Coulter Center for Translational Research at University of Virginia

Type 2 diabetes affects over 37 million Americans — but what if our standard treatment paradigm is all wrong?

In this episode, Dr. Meagan Grega shares the science and strategy behind lifestyle medicine, a fast-growing movement that uses food, sleep, movement, stress reduction, and social connection to treat and even reverse chronic disease.

Dr. Grega is the co-author of the first-ever Clinical Practice Guideline on Lifestyle Interventions for Type 2 Diabetes and a lead author of ACLM’s Expert Consensus Statement on lifestyle medicine in primary care. She co-founded the Kellyn Foundation, where she helps families across Pennsylvania access fresh food, grow gardens, change lifestyle and improve their health together.

You’ll learn:

• How fat in your muscles causes insulin resistance — and how to reverse it
• What makes behavior change stick
• Why doctors don’t prescribe lifestyle medicine — and how that’s changing
• How community-based programs and school gardens are transforming lives
• New Clinical Guidelines and Expert Consensus on treating diabetes with lifestyle interventions

📚 Resources:

• Free CME course: https://lifestylemedicine.org/education-certification/course-catalog/
• Kellyn Foundation: https://www.kellyn.org/
• Dr. Grega’s TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efGa8QD8pU4
• ACLM Clinical Practice Guideline: https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/ajla/19/2_suppl
• ACLM Expert Consensus Statement: Lifestyle Medicine for Optimal Outcomes in Primary Care: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/15598276231202970

Follow Biomedical Frontiers for more:

📸 Instagram: @biomedicalfrontiers

🔗LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uvacoulter

📧 Reach us: biomedicalfrontiers@virginia.edu

Love this podcast? Write to us with feedback or guest recommendations!

Production Team:

Director & Host: Dasha Tyshlek, StratCraft www.strat-craft.com

Executive Producer: David Chen, Managing Director & Instructor of Engineering Design

Senior Producer: Hannah Moore, Associate Director, UVA Coulter Design Director

Produced on behalf of: Wallace H. Coulter Center for Translational Research at University of Virginia