Game Changers in Medicine

Game Changers in Medicine is a groundbreaking medical history podcast about the serendipitous events, chance encounters, and unlikely heroes and heroines behind some of the world’s most significant medical discoveries. Through oral histories, memoirs, and other first-person accounts, we get to know the scientists whose curiosity, innovation, and dogged determination contributed to game-changing medical discoveries that almost didn’t happen—and which continue to define patient care today.Created by Dramatic Health co-founder Sean Moloney, who serves as executive producer, with host Dr. Rubin Pillay, Professor of Medicine and Business, Assistant Dean for Global Health Innovation, School of Medicine, and Chief Innovation Officer at UAB Health System, University of Alabama at Birmingham. New episodes monthly.

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Episodes

The personal EKG and the dawn of life-saving medical devices in your pocket

Send us a text This episode marks the end of season one of Game Changers in Medicine, and we felt there was no better way to wrap up the show than interviewing a modern-day game changer. In this episode, you’ll hear directly from Dr. David Albert, inventor of AliveCor’s KardiaMobile , the personal EKG. Small enough to fit in a pocket, this game-changing medical device pairs with any smartphone to capture a medical-grade EKG in 30 seconds. Now, patients can monitor their heart health as often as ...

Jan 13, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 9

Insulin: The bonus episode

Send us a text Last month's episode focused on the incredible twists and turns that resulted in Dr. Frederick Banting’s discovery of insulin in the early 1920s. Today, we’ll hear more from our expert panelists. Dr. Jay Skyler of the Diabetes Research Institute shares anecdotes from the early days of his medical career running a summer camp for children with diabetes and updates us on the search for a cure for diabetes. Toby Smithson, a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified diabetes car...

Dec 09, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 8

Insulin: The lucky coin toss and improbable partnership that led to this life-saving elixir

Send us a text Currently, more than 460 million people have some form diabetes. However, what was once a life-threatening disease is now a manageable condition thanks to the discovery of insulin. In today’s episode you’ll meet the young Canadian surgeon, Dr. Frederick Banting, and learn how the three sentences he scribbled in the middle of the night changed the course of medical history: “Diabetes. Ligate pancreatic ducts of dog. Keep dogs alive till acini degenerate leaving islets. Try to isola...

Nov 14, 2020•46 min•Season 1Ep. 7

X-Rays: This invisible diagnostic light was born in the dark 125 years ago

Send us a text Photographs. Sometimes they capture a moment. Sometimes they tell a story. And sometimes, a photograph can change the world. This month, join us as we revisit the discovery of the x-ray and how it would change patient care forever. How do x-rays work? And how did the world react when we could finally see inside our bodies? Listen to find out. Shownotes: Thank you to Kathy Joseph of the YouTube series, Kathy Loves Physics and History. Watch her show now. LINK For graphics associate...

Oct 14, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 6

Warfarin: How a rat poison became one of the world’s most widely prescribed drugs

Send us a text In the 1930s, an unknown disease was killing cattle across the Midwest. One Wisconsin farmer traveled 200 miles through a blizzard to the University of Wisconsin, desperate to find a solution. To emphasize the dire nature of the situation, that farmer brought the evidence with him, loading up his truck with bales of spoiled hay, a milk can of uncoagulated blood, and a dead cow. Quite by chance, he crossed paths with a sympathetic scientist and medical history was made. Learn how t...

Sep 02, 2020•33 min•Season 1Ep. 5

Smallpox Vaccine: The bonus episode

Send us a text In our recent episode on the discovery of the smallpox vaccine, we were fortunate to hear from several noted doctors and virologists. They shared their expertise on how vaccines work and offered predictions for when we might have a vaccine for COVID-19. They were very generous with their time. So generous, in fact, that we couldn’t contain all of their big ideas in that one episode. Thus is born this bonus episode. It is a privilege to share more of their expert commentary on the ...

Aug 21, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Smallpox Vaccine: Why the world's first vaccine matters now

Send us a text You may have heard the story of Edward Jenner, the milkmaids, and the discovery of the smallpox vaccine. But is that story really true? In today’s episode, Dr. Pillay pulls back the curtain to reveal some little-known serendipity behind the discovery of the world’s first vaccine. As scientists strive to find a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, does that long-ago medical breakthrough have lessons to teach us even today? Listen to find out. This week’s esteemed guests include Dr. Arthur Boyls...

Aug 05, 2020•53 min•Season 1Ep. 3

Vitamin K: This vitamin you've never heard of may have saved your life

Send us a text Babies were dying of a strange bleeding disorder and doctors couldn’t figure out why. In our premiere episode, “Vitamin K: This vitamin you’ve never heard of may have saved your life,” we learn how Henrik Dam, a biochemist studying cholesterol in baby chicks, unexpectedly stumbles upon the answer. It turns out that vitamin K is key to blood clotting, and lack of it can cause uncontrolled bleeding—in chicks and humans alike. This discovery occurs in Denmark, but it doesn’t take lon...

Jul 08, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 2

What is "Game Changers in Medicine?"

Send us a text Game Changers in Medicine is a groundbreaking medical history podcast about the serendipitous events, chance encounters, and unlikely heroes and heroines behind some of the world’s most significant medical discoveries. Through oral histories, memoirs, and other first-person accounts, we get to know the scientists whose curiosity, innovation, and dogged determination contributed to game-changing medical discoveries that almost didn’t happen—and which continue to define patient care...

Jun 23, 2020•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1

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