Episodes

  • On becoming a co-founder, an angel investor, and family planning with Anrok CEO Michelle Valentine
    May 9 2024

    Today our guest is Michelle Valentine. She is the Co-founder and CEO at Anrok. We cover lots of ground, discussing her experience founding Anrok and how it compares to her prior career as an investor (with a few investing tips discussed). She also shares her experience using Orchid and how it was a critical part of her eventual path to parenthood.

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    27 mins
  • How IVF works, and how Genetic Testing and Fertility Extension will impact family building with Dr. Amber Cooper
    May 2 2024

    Today our guest is Dr. Amber Cooper. Dr. Cooper is Chief Medical Officer-Genomics and Laboratory Sciences, and Medical and IVF Practice Director at Kindbody in St. Louis. She is also one of Orchid's Medical Advisors. First she gives us a crash course on IVF and debunks a popular misconception about it. Then we talk about how egg quality changes over time, what egg freezing is, how many eggs someone should freeze based on how many babies they’d like, and what excites her about the future of IVF.

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    33 mins
  • How one IVF doctor helps her patients overcome infertility struggles, and shares her own personal fertility journey
    Apr 25 2024

    Today our guest is Dr. Roohi Jeelani. She is board certified Reproductive Endocrinologist and Infertility Specialist at Kindbody, and one of Orchid’s Medical Advisory Board members. Dr. Jeelani shares her path to becoming a fertility doctor, and how, due in part to her own PCOS diagnosis, she became the patient herself as she sought fertility treatments to have her first and third child. Dr. Jeelani also debunks myths surrounding birth control, miscarriages, and breastfeeding, and shares her advice for others on their fertility journey.

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    38 mins
  • How one couple used IVF and genetic screening to protect their child from hemophilia
    Apr 18 2024

    Today our guests are Brandon Schram & Aimee Gupta, who opted to use IVF and genetic screening to reduce their future child’s risk of hemophilia, a blood clotting condition that runs in Aimee’s family. They share their IVF journey, as well as how beneficial genetic testing became for them when they later discovered their daughter had a rare genetic mutation that was causing her to have seizures as an infant. We also talk about the stigma that IVF can have and how to overcome the common feeling of guilt for passing on genetic mutations to your children.

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    38 mins
  • How knowing your genetic risk can help protect you and your children against breast cancer, Director of the Medical Breast Program at the Cleveland Clinic explains
    Mar 28 2024

    Today we speak with Dr. Holly Pederson, Staff Physician and Director of Medical Breast Program at the Cleveland Clinic and associate professor at Cleveland Clinic, Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Pederson explains the genetics of breast cancer, the differences amongst available testing, and who should seek out testing. We also talk about how results from genetic testing can help inform your family planning, and Dr. Pederson shares how critical it is for patients to advocate for themselves when seeking out testing.

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    36 mins
  • How a tech power couple built a public company and a family at the same time, with Julia and Kevin Hartz, co-founders of Eventbrite
    Mar 14 2024

    Today we are joined by Julia and Kevin Hartz, Co-Founders of Eventbrite. Julia is now Eventbrite’s CEO and Kevin is a Co-Founder and General Partner of A*. Julia and Kevin join us today to talk about how they built Eventbrite, how they built their family at the same time with the birth of their two daughters, and how they are planning to expand their family more than a decade later with the help of Orchid’s embryo screening. We also talk about their parenting philosophy, how that may change for their future children, and the advice they have for people who are thinking about having children.

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    40 mins
  • Using Genetics to Fight Cancer with Jerry Lanchbury, previous Chief Science Officer of Myriad Genetics
    Mar 7 2024

    Our guest today is Dr. Jerry Lanchbury, PhD. He's the previous chief scientific officer at Myriad Genetics. He led teams that were responsible for major molecular diagnostic innovations across oncology, urology, rheumatology, and neuroscience. He has had an incomparable track record in driving molecular genetic discovery from ideation all the way to translation into some high value clinical diagnostics. Dr. Lanchbury shares the historical context and evidence supporting polygenic risk scores (PRS), helping us understand how PRS made its way into clinical practice to fight against various cancers. He also shares why he is excited about polygenic screening of embryos and gives advice for patients seeking genetic testing.


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    32 mins
  • Dating, gendered timelines, and masculine versus feminine energy with Noah Smith and Steph Sher
    Feb 29 2024

    Today we have the pleasure of speaking with two incredible guests: Noah Smith, economic writer, and Stephanie Sher, Investor in AI and data infrastructure. Noor, Noah, and Steph tackle one of today's toughest issues, modern dating. They discuss why it is so difficult, the difference in women's and men's desired timeline to start a family (and the resulting complications of that misalignment), and things we can do to make modern dating and finding one's match easier. Tune in for a fun and insightful discussion.

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    33 mins