Few issues have tested public trust in medicine as deeply as vaccines, and few individuals have influenced that dialogue more than Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a longtime member of the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee. In this timely and candid interview with Raise the Line host Lindsey Smith, Dr. Offit points to this year’s severe flu season and a resurgence of measles as alarming proof points of how a changing federal perspective on vaccine policy is having a real impact on public health. “You’d like to think you can educate about the importance of vaccines, but I fear at this point the viruses themselves are doing the educating.” 

In this wide ranging discussion, Dr. Offit also addresses: 

• The rigorous and painstaking process of developing vaccines, based on his experience co-inventing the rotavirus vaccine. 
• Shifting levels of public trust in scientific organizations. 
• Promising innovations in vaccine development. 

Don’t miss this deeply-informed perspective on the interplay of science, policy, and public education, and his encouraging message to young clinicians about managing the current challenges in public health.  

Mentioned in this episode: 
Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Perelman School of Medicine

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

“I do not believe we should be testing to test. We have to know, is this test going to change management and is it going to make a difference,” says pediatric allergist-immunologist Dr. Zachary Rubin. His knack for providing that sort of straightforward guidance explains why Dr. Rubin has become a trusted voice on allergies, asthma, and vaccines for his millions of followers on social media platforms. It’s also why we couldn’t ask for a better guide for our discussion on the rise in allergies, asthma, and immune-related conditions in children, and how families can navigate the quickly evolving science and rampant misinformation in the space. On this episode of Raise the Line, we also preview Dr. Rubin’s new book, All About Allergies, in which he breaks down dozens of conditions and diseases, offering clear explanations and practical treatment options for families. 

Join host Lindsey Smith for this super informative conversation in which Dr. Rubin shares his thoughts on a wide range of topics including: 

• What’s behind the rise in allergic and immune-related conditions.
• Tips for managing misinformation, myths and misunderstandings. 
• How digital platforms can be leveraged to strengthen public health.
• How to build back public trust in medicine.

Mentioned in this episode:

All About Allergies book

Bench to Bedside Podcast

Instagram

TikTok
YouTube Channel

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

“Climate change is the biggest health threat of our century, so we need to train clinicians for a future where it will alter disease patterns, the demand on health systems, and how care is delivered,” says Dr. Sandro Demaio, director of the WHO Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health, underscoring the stakes behind the organization’s first regionally-focused climate and health strategy. The five-year plan Dr. Demaio is leading aims to help governments in 38 countries with 2.2 billion people manage rising heat, extreme weather, sea-level change, air pollution and food insecurity by adapting health systems, protecting vulnerable populations, and reducing emissions from the healthcare sector itself. In this timely interview with Raise the Line host Michael Carrese, Dr. Demaio draws on his experiences in emergency medicine, global public health, pandemic response and climate policy to argue for an interconnected approach to strengthening systems and preparing a healthcare workforce to meet the heath impacts of growing environmental challenges. This is a great opportunity to learn how climate change is reshaping medicine, public health and the future of care delivery. 

Mentioned in this episode: WHO Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

We have a special episode of Raise the Line on tap today featuring the debut of host Dr. Parsa Mohri, who will now be leading our NextGen Journeys series that highlights the fresh perspectives of learners and early career healthcare professionals around the world on education, medicine, and the future of care. Parsa was himself a NextGen guest in 2024 as a medical student at Acibadem University in Turkey. He’s now a general physician working in the Adult Palliative Care Department at Şişli Etfal Research and Training Hospital in Istanbul.  Luckily for us, he’s also continuing in his role as a Regional Lead for the Osmosis Health Leadership Initiative (OHLI). For his first guest, Parsa reached out to a former colleague in the Osmosis family, Negeen Farsio, who worked with him as a member of OHLI’s predecessor organization, the Osmosis Medical Education Fellowship. Negeen is now a graduate student in medical anthropology at Brunel University of London, a degree which she hopes will inform her future work as a clinician. “Medical anthropology is a field that looks at healthcare systems and how human culture shapes the way we view different illnesses, diseases, and treatments and helps you to see the full picture of each patient.” You are sure to enjoy this heartfelt conversation on how Negeen’s lived experience as a patient and caregiver have shaped her commitment to mental health and patient advocacy, and how she hopes to marry humanity with medicine in a world that yearns to heal.

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

New research is transforming the outlook for cervical and uterine cancers -- two of the most serious gynecologic malignancies worldwide – and we’ll be hearing from one of the people shaping that progress, Dr. Mary McCormack, on this episode of Raise the Line. From her perch as the senior clinical oncologist for gynecological cancer at University College London Hospitals, Dr. McCormack has been a driving force in clinical research in the field, most notably as leader of the influential INTERLACE study, which changed global practice in the treatment of locally advanced cervical cancer, a key reason she was named to Time Magazine’s 2025 list of the 100 most influential people in health. “In general, the protocol has been well received and it was adopted into the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines which is a really big deal because lots of centers, particularly in South and Central America and Southeast Asia, follow the NCCN’s lead.”In this conversation with host Michael Carrese, you’ll learn about how Dr. McCormack overcame recruitment and funding challenges, the need for greater access to and affordability of treatments, and what lies ahead for women’s cancer treatment worldwide. 

Mentioned in this episode:

INTERLACE Cervical Cancer Trial

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

“The world is a very volatile place, with currently 110 conflicts globally, and yet healthcare staff in the hospitals, even here in London, are not prepared to be the only clinician who can help in a crisis or hostile setting,” says Dr. James Gough, CEO of the David Nott Foundation, which equips providers with the skills and confidence needed to function in war and other extraordinary situations. A former British Army doctor injured in Afghanistan, Gough brings lived experience as well as a background in tech to his current role at the Foundation, which itself is anchored in decades of field work amassed by its namesake, a renowned war surgeon. As Dr. Gough points out to host Lindsey Smith, the cause could be helped by augmenting medical school curricula, but in the meantime, the Foundation is filling the knowledge gap by using prosthetics, virtual reality simulations and cadavers to train a broad swath of health workers including surgeons, anesthetists, and obstetricians. Tune in to this important Raise the Line conversation as Dr. Gough reflects on the strengths and weaknesses of NGOs in doing this work, his plans to expand the Foundation’s footprint in the US, and the gratifying feedback he’s received from trainees now operating on the frontlines in Ukraine and elsewhere. 

Mentioned in this episode:
David Nott Foundation

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

“People are not looking for a perfect, polished answer. They're looking for a human to speak to them like a human,” says Jessica Malaty Rivera, an infectious disease epidemiologist and one of the most trusted science communicators in the U.S. to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. That philosophy explains her relatable, judgement-free approach to communications which aims to make science more human, more accessible and less institutional. In this wide-ranging Raise the Line discussion, host Lindsey Smith taps Rivera’s expertise on how to elevate science understanding, build public trust, and equip people to recognize disinformation. She is also keen to help people understand the nuances of misinformation -- which she is careful to define – and the emotional drivers behind it in order to contain the “infodemics” that complicate battling epidemics and other public health threats. It’s a thoughtful call to educate the general public about the science of information as well as the science behind medicine. Tune in for Rivera’s take on the promise and peril of AI-generated content, why clinicians should see communication as part of their professional responsibility, and how to prepare children to navigate an increasingly complex information ecosystem.

Mentioned in this episode:
de Beaumont Foundation

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

“Delivering a baby one day and holding a patient’s hand at the end of life literally the next day...that continuity is very powerful,” says Dr. Jen Brull, board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). And as she points out, that continuity also builds trust with patients, an increasingly valuable commodity when faith in medicine and science is declining. As you might expect given her role, Dr. Brull believes strengthening family medicine is the key to improving health and healthcare. Exactly how to do that is at the heart of her conversation with host Lindsey Smith on this episode of Raise the Line, which covers ideas for payment reform, reducing administrative burdens, and stronger support for physician well-being. And with a projected shortage of nearly forty thousand primary care physicians, Dr. Brull also shares details on AAFP’s “Be There First” initiative which is designed to attract service-minded medical students – whom she describes as family physicians at heart -- early in their educational journey. “I have great hope that increasing the number of these service-first medical students will fill part of this gap.”

Tune-in for an informative look at a cornerstone of the healthcare system and what it means to communities of all sizes throughout the nation.  

Mentioned in this episode:

AAFP

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

“This is a time to reimagine public health and public health/healthcare system integration,” says Dr. Deb Houry, the former chief medical officer for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In this thoughtful Raise the Line conversation, Dr. Houry reflects on unprecedented federal action in vaccine guidance and other issues since her noteworthy resignation from the CDC in August, and sees a more decentralized landscape emerging where states and localities play a larger role in providing public health recommendations. And while she acknowledges upsides to this shift, she’s also concerned what the absence of a national consensus on health standards could mean. “Diseases don't recognize borders, and it’s also important that people have equitable access to preventative services, vaccines, and other things,” she tells host Lindsey Smith. Tune in for Dr. Houry’s seasoned perspective on this consequential moment in public health, and her encouraging message for learners and early career providers considering a career in the sector.

Mentioned in this episode:

DH Leadership & Strategy Solutions

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast