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Shot of Digital Health Therapy

Shot of Digital Health Therapy

By: Eugene Borukhovich and Jim Joyce
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 A Shot of Digital Health Therapy is a meticulously unproduced podcast hosted by health tech founders Eugene Borukhovich and Jim Joyce. Born in the pandemic, therapeutic by design—oh, and comedy is still included. We dive into unscripted conversations with the people shaping employer benefits, digital health moonshots, and the broader healthcare system. From real talk to ridiculous tangents, we spotlight the builders, thinkers, and occasional troublemakers moving the industry forward. We'd love to have you join us.2020-2025 Eugene Borukhovich and Jim Joyce Economics Hygiene & Healthy Living
Episodes
  • Brian Lin of Cellsor: The Future Smells Different - Building the First Living E-Nose

    Brian Lin of Cellsor: The Future Smells Different - Building the First Living E-Nose
    Nov 26 2025
    This week on #TheShot of #digitalHealth Therapy, Jim Joyce and I sat down with someone who might just change how we all understand… well, everything. Because when you think “future of health tech,” your brain probably doesn’t jump to noses in petri dishes. But maybe it should. We hosted Brian Lin, a Tufts researcher and a co-founder of Cellsor, who is literally growing living smell tissue to build the world’s first biological smell "camera". Yes - a "camera" for scent. Think RGB for odors… except instead of 3 channels, humans have 400, dogs have 700, elephants have 2,000, and Jim has… well, that’s still in peer review. 😅 Some highlights: 🧠 Humans have 400 smell receptors - meaning we “smell in 400 dimensions,” far beyond what we can verbally describe. 👃 Most people begin losing smell sensitivity in their 50s–70s without realizing it. 🛡️ The same tech could detect explosives, chemical threats, or hazardous compounds at checkpoint distance. 🔬 Brian’s company uses living tissue, not electronic sensors - truly an actual biological nose. 📡 The system aims to create the world’s first universal smell-recording “camera.” 💡 Future applications span diagnostics, food science, perfumery, defense, and everyday consumer tech. The science is wild, the implications are massive, and the conversation? Pure fun. 🎧 Give it a listen - and trust me, this one will stay with you in ways you can’t quite describe… because we don’t yet have the right vocabulary for smell. Fun mentions as always: Laura Hamilton Daniel Couchman Kendall #healthcare #digitalhealth #biotech #innovation #futureofwork #AI #sensorytech 00:00 – 02:10 Thanksgiving Banter & Show Opening Eugene and Jim share Thanksgiving plans, travel updates, and open the episode. 02:10 – 03:20 Scoop of Thanks Story A heartwarming story about cancer survivors bringing ice cream to oncology staff. 03:20 – 04:25 Introducing Brian Lin Jim recounts meeting Brian at Boston Startup Week over beer and ham sandwiches. 04:25 – 06:15 How Brian Meets People (The Whiskey Method) Brian explains his tradition of bringing whiskey to conferences to meet people. 06:15 – 07:45 Brian’s Background Growing up in Reading, Massachusetts; parents immigrating from China. 07:45 – 10:20 Childhood Pyro Stories Thermite experiments, accidental bed fires, and early science curiosity. 10:20 – 12:20 Education Path Undergrad at RPI, moving to Tufts for a PhD, meeting his wife. 12:20 – 15:00 From Cancer Lab to Smell Research Why cancer signaling wasn’t a fit and how he discovered the olfaction lab. 15:00 – 17:00 The Beer That Improves Dissections A lab story about shaky hands, a Corona with lime, and perfect dissections. 17:00 – 21:00 Understanding Smell Biology Why smell matters, how neurons regenerate, and why people lose smell with age. 21:00 – 24:00 COVID and Smell Loss How COVID reprograms smell neurons, parosmia, and Brian losing smell in Scotland. 24:00 – 28:00 Smell, Culture, Memory, and Diagnosis How smell connects to emotion, depression models, and historical healing. 28:00 – 32:00 Dogs Detect Cancer; Human Nose Complexity Why electronic noses fail and how humans actually smell in 400 dimensions. 32:00 – 35:00 Growing a Living Nose in a Dish Founding CellSaur and using real biological tissue instead of sensors. 35:00 – 38:20 Applications and the Smell Camera Concept Recording smells like RGB/hex codes and connecting to perception models. 38:20 – 41:10 Business Strategy for Smell Tech Three-step pathway: R&D tools, security/defense, and medical diagnostics. 41:10 – 45:00 Market Imagination Future possibilities like airport screening, drones, and household smell libraries. 45:00 – 47:00 Fundraising as a First-Time Founder Brian shares what it’s like shifting from academia into startup fundraising. 47:00 – 50:00 Final Question and Advice Jim gives a future scenario; Brian answers with “hold your conviction.”
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    51 mins
  • Tim Wentworth, Retired CEO of Walgreens : From Parking Lots to Boardrooms - Leadership Lessons running multi billion dollar companies

    Tim Wentworth, Retired CEO of Walgreens : From Parking Lots to Boardrooms - Leadership Lessons running multi billion dollar companies
    Nov 20 2025
    On this 3d long-form edition of #TheShot of #DigitalHealth Therapy, Jim Joyce and I had the privilege of sitting down for an unforgettable deep dive with Tim Wentworth, the candid, thoughtful, fiercely grounded and recently retired CEO of Walgreens (previously CEO of Evernorth Health Services). Tim’s story reads like a masterclass in leadership and life itself - from sweeping parking lots in Rochester to leading global healthcare giants like Cigna’s Evernorth and Walgreens. Across nearly two hours (and honestly, we could’ve gone four), Tim brought raw honesty, wisdom, and humor to every story - from his early scholarship thanks to a teacher who believed in him, to leading multi-billion dollar companies but always defining what it means to lead with heart. This is not just a leadership interview - it’s a living case study in resilience, humility, and purpose. 🧠 Key Takeaways 🔥 From parking lots to the C-suite 🏢 The birth, growth, and controversy of PBMs 💊 Merck - Medco, and the spin-off that changed healthcare 💼 Crisis leadership 101 💰 Cigna, Evernorth, and the end of rebates? 🏪 Walgreens, reinvention, and going private 💡 The power of asking for help 🎯 Leadership as legacy Fun mentions as always: Shaine Borukhovich Jay Parkinson, MD, MPH Dr Jack Kreindler Roberto Ascione Mark Cuban Robert Pellegrini Glen Stettin, MD David Snow Kenny Klepper David Benshoof Klein Richard Lungen Frank Sheehy David Cordani Neal Sample Per Lofberg 00:00 — Cold open: Parking-lot beginnings & the teacher who changed Tim’s life 06:20 — Early career: Music industry, Pepsi, Mary Kay, discovering healthcare 13:40 — Joining Medco: First exposure to healthcare operations 21:10 — PBM history: Why PBMs exist, why pharma once owned them, and why that broke 31:55 — Merck → Medco spinout: Fixing the original conflict of interest 41:12 — Express Scripts: Crisis moments, lawsuits, leadership under fire 50:28 — Cigna acquisition: Building Evernorth and changing the role of services 01:02:00 — The “no more rebates” move: What it means and why it matters 01:15:45 — Why Tim came out of retirement to lead Walgreens 01:20:50 — Was he brought in to take Walgreens private? 01:29:30 — Running a 300,000-person company vs. running a PBM 01:38:40 — The future of community pharmacy & neighborhood care 01:46:10 — Startups, AI, and what founders keep getting wrong 01:54:50 — Leadership legacy & advice to his younger self
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    2 hrs and 6 mins
  • Alette Hunt, Novartis - From Proteins to Practical AI

    Alette Hunt, Novartis - From Proteins to Practical AI
    Nov 5 2025
    On this episode of #TheShot of #DigitalHealth Therapy, Jim Joyce and I had the pleasure of chatting with the globally minded and endlessly curious Alette Ramos Hunt, PhD, Global Director, Digital Innovation & AI for Drug Discovery at Novartis. From being a third culture kid (Danish dad, Filipino mom, born in Japan, raised in Hong Kong) to becoming one of the sharpest voices connecting biotech, digital health, and AI, Alette brings perspective that’s as international as it is insightful. We explored her fascinating path from studying proteins in Glasgow to driving AI innovation in pharma, and how she’s bridging the gap between molecules, humans, and machines. She reminded us that practical AI and game-changing AI both have a place - one makes us efficient, the other makes us dream bigger. It’s an episode filled with humility, humor, and yes.. human intelligence - proving that even in a world of algorithms, empathy still leads the way. Fun mentions as always: Chandana Fitzgerald Jeff Weness Milind Kamkolkar [00:00-02:00] Bloopers, sunshine, and background banter. [00:03-05:00] Alette’s third-culture upbringing — Japan, Hong Kong, Denmark. [00:05-07:00] Boarding school, biochemistry, and falling in love with proteins. [00:10-12:00] From academia to Pfizer — bringing science to life. [00:13-15:00] Leap to HealthXL — discovering digital health beyond the lab. [00:18-21:00] Entering Novartis — pre-ChatGPT AI strategy and innovation cycles. [00:22-25:00] Practical AI vs. game-changing AI — redefining productivity. [00:24-28:00] AI and drug discovery — startups, partnerships, and collaboration. [00:29-34:00] Lessons on open-minded leadership and partnering with purpose. [00:36-39:00] Jim’s classic closing story and Alette’s advice: Value your strengths, cherish your partners.
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    41 mins
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