World of Promise

Dr. Ala Stanford has a long list of accomplishments. She is the first black female pediatric surgeon trained entirely in the United States. She is the founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium. She opened the Ala Stanford Center for Health Equity in 2021 to offer primary care and behavioral health services in North Philadelphia. In 2022, USA Today named her to their list of Women of the Year, and she was appointed as Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In November 2020, CSL announced a collaboration with the Urban League of Philadelphia focusing on leadership and career development as well as public health, with specific funding to support the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium. As we celebrate Women’s History Month in March, it was the perfect time to speak with Dr. Stanford as part of our podcast series, World of Promise, to talk about her work in protecting human health, the challenges she has faced, her thoughts on health equity and how she is working to improve access to quality healthcare for all. 

On Feb. 28, Rare Disease Day recognizes and celebrates the more than 300 million people around the world living with one of more than 7,000 rare diseases. In honor of Rare Disease Day, the World of Promise podcast hosts a special guest this month.

Jodi Taub is a therapist based in New York City with more than 24 years of field-based experience treating an array of mental health and emotional issues. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with experience working with children and families, and she lives with Primary Immunodeficiency.

Among the topics that Taub discusses with World of Promise host Anthony Farina on this episode is the importance of mental health for both patients and caregivers and the challenges that those living with rare diseases face in a post COVID-19 world. The episode also addresses the importance of sleep as well as why Rare Disease Day is such an important day of awareness for those living with rare diseases.

Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to use the sport of fly-fishing and associated activities as a means of physical and emotional recovery for disabled veterans and wounded, injured and ill military service members. In 2020, some employees at CSL Behring formed a partnership with this organization. On this episode, Project Healing Waters Chief Operations Officer and U.S. Army veteran David Folkerts talks about the program’s mission, how it supports veterans and current military service members, and how you could get involved if this sounds like a program you’d like to be part of.

Megan Adediran, President of the Hemophilia Foundation of Nigeria and Durhane Wong-Rieger, President and CEO of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders, join the podcast to talk about the importance of finding new and innovative ways to expand access to life-saving therapies for people living with bleeding disorders. 

When it comes to dating and starting a new romantic relationship, people who live with rare and serious diseases face some unique questions. When is the right time to tell that special person about my condition? And how do you bring the topic up to a potential romantic partner? 

On a new episode of the World of Promise podcast, host Anthony Farina sat down with two experts to talk about this topic. Joining Anthony was Dr. Nancy Irwin, a Los Angeles-based clinical psychologist and author who has appeared on television shows such as “The Doctors” and “Anderson Live” with Anderson Cooper. Also participating in the conversation was Dr. Craig K. Svensson, dean emeritus of the Purdue University College of Pharmacy and author of “When There Is No Cure: How to Thrive While Living with the Pain and Suffering of Chronic Illness.”

On a new episode of World of Promise, host Anthony Farina is joined by Stefan Merlo, Vice President of Commercial Development at Seqirus, and Roberta Duncan, the vaccine company's Vice President, mRNA Program Lead, to discuss what’s next in terms of flu vaccine technology. They discuss the potential of aQIVc flu vaccine technology as well as sa-mRNA and how it differs from other mRNA vaccines.

COVID-19 has offered the biotech industry many lessons. Among the lessons that stands out to Lorna Meldrum is the importance of being prepared for both seasonal flu and the potential for a pandemic outbreak.

Meldrum is Vice President of Commercial Operations, International Markets and Pandemic at Seqirus, one of the world’s leading influenza vaccine producers, and she’s the latest guest on the World of Promise podcast.

During her conversation with host Anthony Farina, Meldrum discusses the challenges businesses have faced during the pandemic and how Seqirus is continuing to expand its seasonal and pandemic preparedness efforts in influenza.

Amidst the development and rollout of COVID-19 vaccines around the globe, conversations around vaccine safety are at an all-time high.

On a new episode of the World of Promise podcast, Gregg Sylvester, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Medical Affairs for leading vaccine producer Seqirus, sits down with host Anthony Farina to discuss how Seqirus ensures that its vaccines are safe – the processes that are implemented and why this topic is so important to an organization on the front lines to protect public health.

Innovation was key to creating effective vaccines in the fight against COVID-19. Now, those innovations are being studied for the creation of leading edge influenza vaccines, explains Ethan Settembre, VP, R&D for Seqirus. He talks about how Seqirus is leveraging existing cell and adjuvant technology to deliver effective vaccines and exploring the combination of the two in aQIVc, the company’s next pipeline vaccine. Ethan also speaks to self-amplifying mRNA, the next-generation mRNA platform Seqirus is evaluating for influenza.

The theme for this year’s World Hemophilia Day on April 17 is “Adapting to Change.” The day raises awareness for hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. This episode features Dr. Glenn Pierce, Vice President, Medical, for the World Federation of Hemophilia and Dr. Roshni Kulkarni, professor and former Director of Michigan State University’s Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders. They talk about changes in hemophilia and bleeding disorder treatments and how this past year has changed everything.