Podcasts

podcasts page features a feed of medical news and interview podcast series, including DocTalk, Lungcast, Derm Discussions, Rare Disease Report, and Heart Trials.

 Introducing Edward G. Brooks, MD, and Charlene McEvoy, MD


 The underlying pathophysiology of pollutants


An unforeseen consequence of isolation and quarantine in response to reduce COVID-19 exposure risk has been the increased exposure to indoor 

In fact, as allergists have explained to HCPLive, many patients have commonly misinterpreted emerging allergy exposure symptoms as COVID-19 symptoms. It’s an entirely different risk for clinicians to identify and help provide care for.

In the latest episode of Lungcast, a pair of experts join American Lung Association (ALA) chief medical officer Albert Rizzo, MD, to discuss how these risks manifest and how they can be mitigated by patients and clinicians alike.

Edward G. Brooks, a professor in Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics at the University of Texas San Antonio and Charlene McEvoy, MD, a pulmonologist and assistant professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota, headline the comprehensive discussion into indoor air quality health.

Rizzo, Brooks, and McEvo also review the recent recall of benzene exposure-risk products in the dry shampoo industry, as well as navigating issues without other carcinogens including radon exposure.

Lungcast is a monthly respiratory health podcast series from the ALA produced by 

Subscribe or listen to Lungcast on your favorite platforms:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1F3u1hKrwxi9snSQ0q3nti

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lungcast/id1524712350

The pair of pulmonology and microbiology experts join the podcast to discuss what clinicians should look out for in indoor pollutant exposure risks, and how to manage their impact.

Poor Indoor Air Quality Exposure and Clinical Risks with Edward Brooks, MD, and Charlene McEvoy, MD

Artificial intelligence (AI) and deep machine learning, previously theoretical proposals of the future of industries, are making a real-time impact in pockets of medicine. In the case of advancing care and diagnostics for a collection of rare, chronic lung diseases, these rapidly evolving tools may make a world of difference today.

, American Lung Association (ALA) chief medical officer Albert Rizzo, MD, discusses the advancement of AI and data learning in the 200-plus 

 including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). 

He’s joined by Simon Walsh, MD, a consultant thoracic radiologist and clinician scientist with the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College in London, and Elizabeth Estes, executive director of the Open Source Imaging Consortium (OSIC).

Walsh and Estes walk Rizzo through the founding of OSIC, and the role itself and fellow data networks are providing to the various clinicians and researchers looking for an upperhand on the burdensome and elusive effects of ILDs on patients.

Prior to their conversation, Rizzo also reviews the centuries-long history of applied AI, beginning with the illustrious career of mathematician Alan Turing.

Articles

Simon Walsh, MD, and Elizabeth Estes join Lungcast to discuss advancements in biomarker and treatment option deliberation for the rare disease through data.

How AI, Machine Learning Are Providing an Edge on Interstitial Lung Disease

 Pros and cons of home sleep studies and polysomnography


 The interplay of cardiovascular disease


 is simultaneously a greatly under-acknowledged and significantly impactful condition in the US. As rates of obesity, chronic pulmonary and cardiovascular disease still climb among US adults, the common sleep disorder has become more prominent and burdensome—despite there being clear lines of diagnosis and care.

This month’s episode of Lungcast delves into the characteristics, pathophysiology and comorbid impacts of OSA, before reviewing the resources available to detect and lessen its effects—or even eradicate it.

American Lung Association (ALA) chief medical officer Albert Rizzo, MD, interviews Reena Mehra, MD, MS, professor of medicine and director of Sleep Disorders Research at the Cleveland Clinic, on the intricate state of OSA in the US.

Along with learning from Mehra about her colleagues’ work in advancing the field of sleep apnea treatment and diagnoses, Rizzo reviews the very origin of the disease, and reflects on his own experiences in managing uniquely-presenting patients.

 is a monthly respiratory health podcast series from the ALA produced by 

The Cleveland Clinic Director of Sleep Disorders Research navigates the complexities of OSA presentation, progression, management and eradication with the Lungcast team.

Deconstructing Obstructive Sleep Apnea with Reena Mehra, MD, MS

 The history of the interventional pulmonology subspecialty


 Technological advances to low-dose CT scan accuracy


 Utility of bronchial stents in lung cancer care


 Bronchial thermoplasty in asthmatic patients


 Assessing a COPD patient for volume reduction


 Rheoplasty and targeted lung denervation


 The future of interventional pulmonology


It is the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the American Association of Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (AABIP), one of the first medical organizations to provide specific resources to care providers treating and diagnosing leading causes of pulmonary death including lung cancer and 

In just 3 decades, the subspecialty field of interventional pulmonology has grown to receive its own certification and an exponentionally increasing relevance in treatment strategies and research into these chronic lung disease. Much has been accomplished in short time—but there’s even more promising work on the horizon.

The June 2022 episode of Lungcast features an interview between American Lung Association (ALA) chief medical officer Albert Rizzo, MD, and Carla Lamb, MD, director of interventional pulmonary medicine and the relevant pulmonary fellowship program at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center.

Lamb, an innovator in interventional pulmonology, discusses the young history of the subspecialty, the evolution of low-dose CT scanning capability for lung cancer, COPD evaluations, biopsy strategies, and the future of her field with Rizzo.

Field leader Carla Lamb, MD, discusses advances to evaluating and treating chronic diseases including lung cancer and COPD in this latest episode.

The Evolution of Interventional Pulmonology Field Over 30 Years

in late April showed Black and Latinx adults with 

 benefitted from the addition of a patient-directed, quick-reliever provisional inhaled glucocorticoid therapy along with their usual care.

 Introducing Elliot Israel, MD, and Juan Carlos Cardet, MD, MPH


 The strategy and findings of the PREPARE trial


 How to initiate patient-activated reliever-triggered inhaled corticosteroid


 The effect of COVID-19 on real-world asthma trials


 How to lessen the disparities of asthma


The findings contribute to the prospect of implementing simpler care strategies for patients with difficult-to-control asthma, as well as feasible steps toward reducing asthma outcome disparities among people of color.

This May, during Asthma Awareness Month, the concept of PREPARE trial and its leading investigators headline a comprehensive discussion around mitigating key challenges in the chronic respiratory disease.

The newest episode of Lungcast features PREPARE investigators Elliot Israel, MD, of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Juan Carlos Cardet, MD, MPH, of the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine.

Along with host Albert Rizzo, MD, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association (ALA), the research team discussed guideline-supported SMART strategy, the role of COVID in current asthma risks, and their own research into the disparate medical and financial impacts of asthma on the US patient population.

Elliot Israel, MD, and Juan Carlos Cardet, MD, MPH, join Lungcast to discuss their latest research into addressing Black and Latinx asthma outcome disparities.

How PREPARE Data, SMART Recommendations Alter Modern Asthma Strategy

 Understanding inflammatory process in sarcoidosis


 How advanced sarcoidosis presents in clinics


Despite being a rare disease with still little-understood pathophysiology, 

 is a generally tenable disease among afflicted patients. However, there is risk of pulmonary manifestations putting patients at increased likelihood of severe respiratory disease or even death.

Modern research into sarcoidosis spans from interpreting inflammatory pathways that result in severe disease, to reviewing the viability of targeting agents and invasive care alike. And with April being Sarcoidosis Awareness Month, there’s no better time to learn more about the details into these endeavors and more.

Mehdi Mirsaeidi, MD, MPH, Director of the ILD and Sarcoidosis Program at the Jacksonville College of Medicine, joins the April 2022 episode of Lungcast to discuss the state of pulmonary sarcoidosis clinical discussion and ambitions of research.

Throughout the discussion, he and American Lung Association (ALA) Chief Medical Officer Albert Rizzo, MD, discuss the intricacies of care surrounding the rare disease—from lung transplant recommendations, to advanced sarcoidosis manifestations, to the impact of COVID-19 on infected patients.

Mehdi Mirsaeidi, MD, MPH, Director of the ILD and Sarcoidosis Program at the Jacksonville College of Medicine, joins Lungcast to review the rare disease for Sarcoid Awareness Month.

How Treating, Diagnosing Sarcoidosis Is Still Evolving

Gene editing and CRISPR technology for curative disease treatment has been a long hoped-for advancement in medicine—but nonetheless is limited in clinician and patient understanding. If it were the future of medicine, just how far away is it still?

As of the March 2022 episode of Lungcast, it’s nearer than many think.

This newest episode of the American Lung Association (ALA) and 

monthly podcast features a prospective and comprehensive review of gene therapy for pulmonary disease with a pair of leading scientists in the field.

Eric Kmiec, PhD, and Natalia Rivera-Torres, PhD, of the Christiana Care Gene Editing Institute, join host Albert Rizzo, MD, chief medical officer of the ALA, discuss their years-long work into targeted gene editing, and their breakthroughs in treatment capability for a variety of chronic diseases and cancers.

They also review how specific CRISPR technologies may address specific respiratory diseases burdening patients in the future.

ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute experts join the podcast to discuss the latest developments in gene editing.

How Close Are CRISPR, Gene Therapies to Lung Disease Breakthroughs?

 Systemic improvements for health equity


Non-Hispanic Black adults face an approximate three-fold increased risk of mortality from their asthma than their respective non-Hispanic White peers, according to the 

But the difference in severity is even more great for pediatric patients: eight-fold among non-Hispanic Black children with asthma versus non-Hispanic white children. As is common in many issues of health outcome inequity, ATS attributes the extreme difference in risk to multiple factors at both the individual and community levels.

To conclude a two-part series this Black History Month, Lungcast sat down with a retired pulmonologist who spent his career addressing racial/ethnic asthma disparity at both individual and community levels.

Pediatric pulmonologist LeRoy Graham, MD, former Medical Director for the Not One More Life Asthma Program, joins American Lung Association (ALA) Chief Medical Officer Albert Rizzo, MD, for a discussion on the historic challenges and recent attempts to improve asthma disparity.

During their discussion, Graham also highlighted the impact of COVID-19 on Black communities and their dynamic of trust and collaboration with both health professional and non-medical community leaders—akin to his own work with Not One More Life.

The first episode from Black History Month, published in early February, featured Ifeyinwa “Ify” Osunkwo, MD, director of Sickle Cell Disease Enterprise at the Levine Cancer Institute and Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Atrium Health, and a discussion on sickle cell disease burdens in Black communities. 

The esteemed pediatric pulmonologist of Bridge Atlanta Medical Center drops by Lungcast to discuss the disparities that continue to exist in childhood asthma.

Fighting Disparities in Pediatric Asthma Care with Dr. LeRoy Graham

About 1 in every 13 Black infants in the US are born with the trait for 

, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

 Defining sickle cell hemoglobinopathies


 Treatment access and cultural stigma issues


Despite its congenital nature and the well-understood risk factors for sickle cell, diagnosis and screening is still lacking in lesser-resourced parts of Africa and the US alike, as previously covered on 

. What’s more, care teams singularly dedicated to treating patients with sickle cell disease are few and far between.

But as with many health care-related matters of inequity highlighted during Black History Month, there are thought leaders and advocates for action that could lead change in the current and future care of patients, as long as we’re willing to listen. Today’s episode of Lungcast features such a figure in sickle cell.

Ifeyinwa “Ify” Osunkwo, MD, director of Sickle Cell Disease Enterprise at the Levine Cancer Institute and Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Atrium Health, joins Lungcast to provide a comprehensive breakdown on the clinical manifestations, pulmonary presentations, and societal stigmas of sickle cell disease.

Along the way, the nationally-renowned sickle cell disease expert also discusses advancements in the field—from chronic disease-managing therapies, to the promise of stem cell transplant and gene therapies.

Prior to speaking with Osunkwo, ALA’s Chief Medical Officer Albert Rizzo, MD, shares the history of sickle cell disease’s initial clinical discovery.

The renowned expert joins to discuss the clinical characteristics, societal burdens, and promising therapy research surrounding the hematologic disease.

The Sickle Cell Disease Cycle with Ify Osunkwo, MD

 PDE-4 inhibitors and antibiotics for COPD


 Best use of lung volume reduction surgery


 The ALA Airways Clinical Research Center


 Pulmonary vasculature and supplemental oxygen


chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

—among the leading causes of death in the US—continue to rise nationally and discriminately affect the midwest region, it’s vital to understand the landscape of research and clinical guidance set by leading institutions.

The first Lungcast episode of 2022 provides as good a resource on COPD as is currently available, from the mind of a leading COPD investigator.

Gerard Criner, MD, Chair and Professor of Thoracic Medicine and Surgery at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and Director of the Temple Lung Center, joins Lungcast host Al Rizzo, MD, Chief Medical Officer of the American Lung Association (ALA) for a comprehensive discussion on the state of COPD care and research.

Through the conversation, Rizzo and Criner touch on leading guidance from the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) and American Thoracic Society (ATS) institutions, the evolving priority and strategy of lung transplant, and the effect of COVID-19 on pulmonary care strategies—both acute and chronic.

The Temple-based investigator and expert joins Lungcast to review recent clinical trials, recommendations and non-surgical techniques for patients who have advanced COPD.

Current State of COPD with Dr. Gerard Criner

Join the American Lung Association and HCPLive every month as Dr. Al Rizzo interviews world-leading experts on the great challenges, accomplishments, and stories in respiratory medicine.

Lungcast