Cobb & Company Podcast

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Featured Episodes

17. From Brooklyn to the Bench: Nina Uzoigwe on MD/PhD Pathways and Encouraging Tomorrow’s Physician-Scientists. In this episode of Cobb & Co, the institutes President Dr. Randall Morgan speaks with Nina Uzoigwe, an MD/PhD candidate at NYU and SNMA leader, about her journey from Brooklyn to cardiac research and clinical care. They discuss the MD/PhD pathway, Nina’s RISE UP summer program that exposes high school students to physician-scientist careers, and the importance of representation, mentorship, and documenting impact. Nina encourages listeners from diverse backgrounds to pursue MD/PhD opportunities, to ignore naysayers, and to use their unique experiences and leadership to advocate for their communities --- uplifting the next generation of physician-scientists. Dr. Morgan and Nina also explore future collaboration possibilities. and the Cobb Institute's Scholars Program.

16.Plain Language, Precision Matching: AI’s Role in Expanding Clinical Trial Access. Featuring Dr. Brenda Jamerson. Dr. Jamerson shares how AI-powered tools like ResearchLinQ are transforming the way clinical trial information is translated into plain language and how people can be connected to studies that align with their location and personal health goals. Fresh from speaking at the Cobb Institute’s Symposium on AI in Healthcare, Dr. Jamerson explains how artificial intelligence can help dismantle barriers to accessing healthcare—and, in particular, the clinical trial barriers that drive disparities in participation. She describes how AI speeds up and scales plain-language conversion, reduces literacy obstacles, enables conversational chat features, and supports more representative and precise trial matching.The discussion also explores the promise—and the challenges—of ensuring that AI remains ethical and unbiased, while expanding both health literacy and research literacy. Together, these innovations point toward a future where more people have equitable access to cutting-edge medical research and the potential benefits it brings.The Cobb Institute Clinical Trial finder (https://www.thecobbinstitute.org/trial-finder) is designed to assist patients and their healthcare teams identify clinical trial participation opportunities, and is powered by ResearchLinQ.

15. AI at the Crossroads: A Surgeon’s National Security View of AI Innovation in Healthcare, featuring Dr. Hassan Tetteh. In this episode, Rolf Taylor (Cobb Institute) interviews renowned cardiac surgeon and AI expert Dr. Hassan Tetteh about ways that artificial intelligence is reshaping healthcare, research, and the workforce, and it's origins in military applications. Drawing on his 25-year naval career, surgical background, and work with the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, Dr. Tetteh discusses AI’s potential to expand access, improve productivity, and address health inequities—as well as the need for strategic governance to manage risks and bias. The conversation highlights practical examples—like wearable devices, large language models (LLMs), and plain language translation for underserved communities—and urges thoughtful integration of AI so it can safely empower patients, clinicians, and health systems. Over the next few weeks, we are featuring interviews with speakers from our AI symposium, which the Cobb Institute recently convened at the NMA Annual Convention. Titled Code, Context, & Care - Artificial Intelligence at the Crossroads of Healthcare, Research, & Workforce Development - the symposium explores the role of AI in shaping scientific direction and operational decision-making. The discussions highlight AI’s great potential to share information, support research continuity, streamline processes, and uncover new insights, as well as its risks—such as reinforcing existing patterns of bias when built on limited data, or restricting the scope of inquiry through automated content filtering. Dr. Hassan Tetteh is a retired US Navy Captain and Associate Professor of Surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and adjunct faculty at Howard University College of Medicine. He a much published author, including most recently the book “Smarter Healthcare with AI”. The symposium also examines how evolving guidelines around language and terminology are shaping health-related research, influencing how studies are designed, interpreted, and communicated. Speakers considered the ethical, methodological, and policy-related challenges of conducting research in a landscape shaped by shifting language norms and increasing use of data-driven technologies. Transparency, thoughtful integration, and institutional readiness remain critical to ensuring AI serves the broad needs of the research and healthcare communities. You can review the full symposium program - and a video recording  - on the Cobb Institute website using this link: https://www.thecobbinstitute.org/the-cobb-institute-annual-lecture-symposium-2025 

The Cobb Institute thanks our partners and sponsors for supporting this event, including Amgen, BlackDoctor.org, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, and the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. Copyright: W.Montague Cobb Institute 2025.

Highlighted Episodes 

2. Dr. Yolanda Lawson Calls for a Pivot to Mentorship & Highlights the Need for More Mentors, Networks & Collaborations. The supreme court opinion on affirmative action over a year ago brought challenges to pipelines and pathways programs. During that time additional legislation has also closed offices of DEI. Outgoing NMA President Dr. Yolanda Lawson discusses the implications of a changed environment during a discussion at the NMA 2024 Convention and Scientific Assembly with Dr. Randall Morgan, President and CEO of the Montague Cobb Institute. 

3. Mentors and Milestones: The Journey to Diversifying Healthcare. With Dr Lynne Holden & Dr. Dexter Frederick. In this insightful episode of Cobb & Company, Dr. Randall Morgan, President and CEO of the W. Montague Cobb Institute, hosts an engaging discussion on the transformative power of mentorship in the medical field. Recorded live at the 2024 NMA Convention and Scientific Assembly in New York, Dr. Morgan is joined by Dr. Lynne Holden and Dr. Dexter Frederick, two distinguished leaders who share their personal journeys and the critical role of mentoring in fostering diversity in healthcare.