🕗 Exploring Medical Innovation: Moderna, mRNA Technology, and the Digital Landscape Ep 145

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Experience the thrill of being at the forefront of medical innovation with Dr. Michael Koren, lead researcher at ENCORE Research Group. From fascinating insights into Moderna's groundbreaking clinical trials on new treatments for heart disease and combined vaccines for flu and COVID-19 to an exploration of the revolutionary messenger RNA technology, this episode promises to give you a captivating journey through the world of medical research. 

Our conversation doesn't stop at medical breakthroughs. Dr. Koren also sheds light on the increasingly digital landscape of medical information and the role of platforms like MedEvidence in making sense of complex data. With a wealth of knowledge and a knack for making complex topics understandable, Dr. Koren delivers a remarkable conversation that bridges the gap between the medical world and the everyday listener. Tune in to stay informed and enlightened about the latest in medicine and healthcare.

Be a part of advancing science by participating in clinical research.

Have a question for Dr. Koren? Email him at [e-mail]

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Music: Storyblocks - Corporate Inspired

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Episode Transcript

Narrator (00:00):
Welcome to the MedEvidence Monday Minute Radio
Show hosted by Kevin Gettings ofWSOS St Augustine Radio and
powered by ENCORE Research Group.
Each Monday morning, Dr.
Michael Koren calls in to bringyou the latest medical updates
with insightful discussions.
MedEvidence is where we helpyou navigate the real truth
behind medical research, withboth a clinical and research

(00:20):
perspective.
So sit back, relax and getready to learn about the truth
behind the data in medicine andhealth care.
This is MedEvidence.

Kevin Geddings (00:30):
Dr.
Michael Koren joins me livehere on the studio line.
He's a big part of our familyhere at WSOS.
He's a medical doctor,researcher and, of course, heads
up the show at ENCORE ResearchGroup.
They do clinical testing,clinical trials, for
leading-edge medicines that willbe coming online here over the
next several years.
They have offices right here inSt John's County near UF

(00:52):
Flagler Hospital and you canlearn more about trials you can
participate in by going toENCOREdocs.
com.
That's ENCOREdocs.
com, and when Dr.
Koren finishes I'll give you aphone number too, so that'll
give you a little bit of time toget ready, to punch it into
your cell phone so you can calland learn how you can
participate.
Dr.
Koren, good morning.

Dr. Michael Koren (01:12):
Good morning, Kevin.
How are you doing fine?

Kevin Geddings (01:14):
Doing fine.
So you like whisking yourselfto a hospital to go save a life.
That's how we envision the lifeof a doctor.

Dr. Michael Koren (01:22):
I'm whisking, not to the hospital this
morning, oh OK.

Kevin Geddings (01:25):
No, that's fine.
So we want to talk about.
You know, we always hear aboutwhen you all get together and
there's all these medicalconferences and the like and we
learn about new things maybe anew Alzheimer's drug or
something like that but how doyou get all the information out
about the stuff that I wouldimagine?
Globally, there's alwaysadvances being made in medicine,
right?

Dr. Michael Koren (01:47):
Yeah, they are constant advances to your
point, and there is a lot ofcommunication that happens in
the scientific world, and that'sa really good question, because
we have different means bywhich we share information.
So, for example, in the last 10days I worked closely with
Moderna, which is really acutting-edge research company
that is responsible for theCOVID-19 vaccines, and they're

(02:10):
working now on a lot ofdifferent projects.
So, for example, I did anin-person meeting in Miami about
10 days ago where we looked ata new potential treatment for
congestive heart failure, and itwas really interesting because
one of the insights that thecompany came up with was that
there's a hormone calledserolaxin that pregnant women

(02:32):
make naturally.
That seems to protect theirheart and their blood vessels
from possible complicationsduring pregnancy, and scientists
started to wonder whether ornot that could help people with
the condition of congestiveheart failure.
So we're now starting studiesthat look at using this Moderna
product, which stimulates thebody's own serolaxin, to see if

(02:53):
it helps people with heartfailure.
So that's one interestingexample of how we look at
biology look at insights frombiology and then develop a new
product and then, more broadly,how the information about this
gets disseminated all around theworld, including here in
Northeast Florida, so that waskind of cool.

(03:13):
And then over this past weekendwe did a virtual meeting, which
was based in Chicago, which Iattended virtually.
That's looking at the latestand greatest with the new
flu-COVID vaccine combinations.
So, as we know, flu shots savelives, covid shots save lives,
but there is an inconveniencefactor when you have to take
multiple shots multiple timesduring the year.

(03:35):
So the goal now is to create ashot that combines these things.
That will perhaps be a onceyearly vaccine to protect
vulnerable people.
So that was also really, reallyexciting.
And the other part of that isjust the advances in this now
Nobel Prize winning technology.
As you and I talked about lastweek, Kevin of the messenger RNA

(03:56):
technology was awarded theNobel Prize this year, and it's
just getting better and better.
So now the newest vaccine willjust have a little snippet of
RNA that's so incrediblyspecific for the key spike
protein that you're not evenputting a full RNA in your body.
So I thought that wasfascinating.
And so how neat is that to bepart of this oldest cutting age

(04:18):
research?
I personally love it.

Kevin Geddings (04:21):
Yeah, and it seems to be happening at
breakneck speed, right.

Dr. Michael Koren (04:27):
Absolutely yeah.
The way informationdisseminates these days, it's
hard to keep up with.

Kevin Geddings (04:34):
Yeah, I would imagine back in the day, if you
will, if you go back 20, 25years physicians like yourself,
specialists in cardiology likeyourself you would wait for some
sort of journal from yourprofessional medical association
.
You might read and then learnabout what was being done.
Now, of course, it's alldigital and it's online,

(04:54):
probably pops up on your phone,right.

Dr. Michael Koren (04:57):
Yeah, exactly .
Yeah absolutely yeah, you'regoing back to the really old
days when, when Sir Isaac Newtonwas publishing his results, we
had scientists in the coloniesthat couldn't wait to get their
journals come by ship.
And you know, back in thosedays, people literally were

(05:17):
waiting at the docks for medicalinformation.
And now, just your point, weget it in seconds.

Kevin Geddings (05:21):
Yeah, no, it's.
It's amazing speaking of thiskind of information, they'll
vary latest in terms of theprogress that we're making in
medicine.
A good source for that kind ofinformation is the MedE vidence
website.
Talk to us briefly, Dr.
Koren, about that website.

Dr. Michael Koren (05:37):
Sure MedE vidence is our platform to
disseminate useful medicalinformation in a format that we
called the truth behind the data, and there's so many competing
claims out there that it makesyour head spin.
So how do you understand allthese competing claims?
And we help you do that on MedEvidence with a number of
different techniques.
One of them is just having twophysicians talk about a medical

(06:00):
issue so you can glean insightsfrom our conversation.
Others are sort of quick hits,where we go over the the risk
and the benefit of differentmedical, different medical
concepts or treatments or orinterventions.
And then the other point is whoyou are, because who you are
certainly influences whether ornot a particular medical

(06:21):
breakthrough is relevant for you.
So we try to help peopleunderstand this relatively
complex world as simplistic aspossible and in a conversational
style which is more appropriatefor people so they can decide
if it applies to them.

Kevin Geddings (06:36):
Yeah, absolutely it's worth checking out MedE
vidence.
com.
MedE vidence.
com.
We hear from our listeners allthe time about how confused and
how often it's hard to get goodinformation from Dr Google.
Just doing a Google or a Bingsearch, you know.
Try getting some informationfrom a source you can trust.
Go to MedE vidence.
com.
That's MedE vidence.
com.

(06:56):
If you'd like to participate insome of this leading edge
medical research that we talkabout here on Monday mornings,
call ENCORE Do cs right here inSt.
Augustine and St.
Johns County.
904- 730- 0166.
Dr.
Koren, enjoy the fall likeweather.

(07:16):
Huh, you like this?

Dr. Michael Koren (07:18):
I'm loving it , Kevin.

Kevin Geddings (07:19):
All right, we'll talk to you next week.
Thanks, doc.
Okay, be well.

Narrator (07:23):
Thanks for joining the MedE vidence podcast.
To learn more, head over to MedEvidence calm or subscribe to
our podcast on your favoritepodcast platform.