Cogensus is a healthcare startup using AI to extend social connectedness in the elderly. Social connectedness is an important social determinant of health that when tackled could improve the mental and physical health of patients. Cogensus brings a product that serves the patient, the provider, and the patient’s family - helping in all fronts.

Matthew Edgerton is the Founder and CEO of Cogensus. As a serial entrepreneur with a formal education in human and interpersonal communications, Matthew has created Cogensus to combat loneliness and social isolation in the elderly. He has also worked for Accenture as a global industry lead and is a published United Nations author.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Cogensus

(01:20) Loneliness in the elderly and cognitive decline

(07:45) Patient, Provider, and Family - what Cogensus brings to each

(22:44) Using Cogensus for patients already with Dementia

(25:12) Why the name ‘Cogensus’ and the company story

(33:16) Company timeline, fundraising, business model, and team

(49:08) Data storage and AI development

(52:42) ‘Competitors’

(53:35) Closing

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Linktree: linktr.ee/gustavofrancopod

Dr. Sarah Palmer is a virologist specializing in HIV research and pathogenesis. As Co-Director of the Centre for Virus Research at The Westmead Institute for Medical Research and Professor at The University of Sydney School of Medicine, Sarah leads innovative studies on HIV reservoirs and eradication strategies.

In this episode, I learn about the intricacies of HIV. We dive deeper into topics that Sharon and Tony discussed in our previous episodes and break down Sarah’s research in HIV sequencing and protein modeling. Sarah is not only a marvelous scientist but also masterful with words, breaking down complex ideas into easy to understand ones.

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Episode Introduction

(00:01:36) Why cure and why it hasn’t yet been cured

(00:13:09) Sarah’s research (DNA sequencing and protein modeling)

(00:22:42) How the immune system learns and different types of vaccines

(00:26:32) Current latency reversal agents and vaccine development

(00:31:56) Patients completely cured of HIV

(00:34:15) Global responses and status of HIV (China, South Africa, Botswana, South Korea)

(00:41:20) Preventative measures and screening

(00:46:42) HIV, Covid, and Hepatitis B

(00:49:30) HIV research funding (governments and pharmaceutical companies)

(00:54:13) AI in HIV research

(00:58:17) Priority in the next 5 years

(01:01:30) Outro

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Linktree: linktr.ee/gustavofrancopod

Dr. Tony Cunningham is an infectious diseases physician, clinical virologist, and scientist renowned for his groundbreaking research on HIV and herpesviruses (HSV). He is also the Director of the Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Virology Research (ACH2). Tony has a special interest in vaccines and his work spans vaccine and microbicide development, with a focus on preventing HIV transmission and advancing treatments for herpesviruses.

In this episode, I learn about the herpesvirus and its interaction with HIV. We have an amazing conversation on COVID and vaccination given Tony’s interest in vaccines and his role in combating COVID in Australia. He tells me all about reasons for vaccine hesitancy, and we even talk about long covid and the role of AI in future vaccine development. It's hard to pick a favorite section, but I loved our discussion on different reasons for vaccine hesitancy.

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Episode Introduction

(00:01:35) Herpes simplex virus (type 1 and type 2)

(00:11:51) HIV and HSV

(00:14:54) Shingles and the SHINGRIX vaccine

(00:20:58) Covid Vaccine: roll-out, Johnson&Johnson and AstraZeneca

(00:26:27) Hesitancy: m-RNA vaccines

(00:29:01) Hesitancy: developed too quickly?

(00:33:52) Hesitancy: side effects

(00:38:30) Hesitancy: lack of trust in the government

(00:41:56) Covid booster

(00:44:03) Combating misinformation

(00:48:26) Long covid

(00:53:53) Vaccine price in the USA

(00:58:42) Melanoma (skin cancer) vaccine

(01:03:45) AI in vaccine development

(01:08:04) Outro

Contact us here.

Linktree: linktr.ee/gustavofrancopod