The Scalpels & Spreadsheets Podcast

Hosted by Dr. Aman Desai

Business Entrepreneurship Careers Health FitnessInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

Latest episode

Jun 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

The Scalpels & Spreadsheets Podcast explores the future of healthcare through conversations with the builders, investors, operators, and clinicians shaping the industry. Scalpels & Spreadsheets brings together the global healthcare community through media, curated events, and meaningful connections. The podcast extends that mission beyond the room, amplifying the people and ideas driving healthcare forward when we’re not facilitating them in person.

Listen to episodes

24 recent

June 12, 2026Episode 2316 min

How AI Can Transform Healthcare Systems. Ricardo Baptista Leite. Vijesh Vijayan

CEO of HealthAI, Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite joins the S&S Podcast at Web Summit for a Special Edition to discuss the transformative role of AI in healthcare. Medical Doctor and former lawmaker, Dr. Ricardo Leite is the Founder and President of UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health and Chair of NOVA Center for Global Health. In this podcast with Vijesh Vijayan, Ricardo discusses drug discovery, governance, building trust and how policy should be directed towards the potential of AI to revolutionize health systems and address global health inequities.

May 21, 2026Episode 2239 min

#22 Going All In on Digital Health: A Founder-Investor Journey. Nadav Shimoni & Moran Snir.

Nadav Shimoni, a physician turned investor is the Managing Partner at A-Squared Ventures, an early-stage digital health fund spanning Tel Aviv & NYC. He joins Moran Snir, a serial genomics entrepreneur and currently the co-founder & CEO of Nest Genomics, on stage for a fireside where both share their perspectives of a journey between a founder and investor of a growing healthcare company. Nadav and Moran explore how healthcare startups are actually built and funded in practice, from early-stage conviction and investor–founder alignment, to how AI is reshaping team structure, product development, and operational bottlenecks. The discussion goes into real-world fundraising dynamics, and what signals investors use to decide when to lean in or step back.Recorded live at the Healthtech Social: Spring Cleaning event on April 13 in New York City.

May 6, 2026Episode 2152 min

#21 Democratizing Drug Prices using AI. Miriam Paramore. Vijesh Vijayan.

Miriam Paramore, Founder & CEO of RxUtility sits down with us to chat about why drug prices should be more affordable and why she is building in this space.In this conversation, Miriam covers the evolution of healthcare technology and its impact on prescription affordability, including what drives out-of-pocket drug costs. Miriam also discusses the launch of Mimi, the RxUtility AI companion, the role of partnerships and interoperability in scaling access, emerging healthcare investment trends, and how consumer expectations are reshaping affordability.

April 30, 2026Episode 2050 min

#20 Fundraising in Health Tech: Seed vs Series A vs Beyond. Katheleen Eva. Stephanie Mouchbahani-Constance

Kathleen Eva, Investor at StandUp Ventures, is joined by Stephanie Mouchbahani-Constance, Principal at KLI Capital, for a live conversation on what founders need to know about fundraising in 2026.Together, they unpack shifting investor expectations, AI-driven startup economics, changing growth benchmarks, defensibility, and the mistakes founders still make when raising capital. This episode offers a candid look inside the current venture market and how founders can better position themselves. They also discuss Canadian versus U.S. fundraising dynamics, healthtech go-to-market strategy, and what actually makes investors lean in or pass early.Tune in for practical advice on telling a stronger story, running a sharper process, and standing out in an increasingly competitive market.Recorded live at the Healthtech Social: Catalyst event on April 1 in Montreal.

April 20, 2026Episode 1922 min

#19 The Power of Partnerships for Drug Discovery. Anmol Nagpal.

Anmol Nagpal is the founder and CEO of Nospharma, a pre-clinical therapeutics company developing innovative treatments for rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorders. Prior to this, Anmol was a founder in residence at District 3 where he coached several early-stage founders and worked with them on their venture’s strategy plans. In this episode, Anmol shares how he spun out research from McGill university into a biotech company tackling rare genetic disorders including Fragile X syndrome. It’s a candid conversation covering licensing, fundraising, partnerships to accelerate growth and early stage hurdles. Tune in to hear what it takes to bring a therapy from research to patients. Recorded live at the 'Healthtech Social: Catalyst’ event on April 1 in Montreal.

April 8, 2026Episode 1825 min

#18 Breaking Through: Getting Products Into the Health System. Shafiq Vallani.

Shafiq Vallani (Head of Canada at Redesign Health) is a seasoned venture capital investor, now supporting the next generation of healthcare ventures in Canada. He has built a reputation for identifying high-potential startups and driving them towards operational excellence and market leadership with his work at Redesign Health, a venture studio.In this episode, Shafiq shares a candid look at what it takes to build in Canadian healthcare. He discusses the differences between venture studios and traditional VC, the challenges of accessing healthcare data, navigating long procurement cycles, and working within fragmented provincial systems. He also offers practical advice for founders on breaking into hospitals, finding internal champions, and avoiding common early-stage missteps. Shafiq highlights why Canada is a strong testing ground for healthcare innovation while exploring what it takes to scale successfully.Recorded live at the 'Healthtech Social: Breaking In' event on March 10 in Toronto

March 31, 2026Episode 1715 min

#17 How Innovators can navigate the private healthcare ecosystem. Tim Clarke.

Tim Clarke (CEO of tc Health Consulting) is a former Chief Innovation Officer at Aon Hewitt for Health & Benefits. He now draws from 20 years of experience to support local and international healthcare ventures looking to grow revenue streams in private healthcare. In this episode, Tim shares key lessons for early-stage healthtech founders on identifying the right customers, engaging payers, prescribers, and users effectively, and making strategic go/no-go decisions when scaling innovations.Recorded live at the 'Healthtech Social: Breaking In' event on March 10 in Toronto

March 4, 2026Episode 1615 min

#16 The API Revolution in Healthcare. Kristen Valdes. Vijesh Vijayan.

Kristen Valdes, Founder & CEO of b.well Connected Health shares her extensive journey in healthcare, highlighting her experiences from being a healthcare executive to founding b.well and more. She shares pivotal moments in healthcare innovation, particularly the impact of interoperability rules and the role of AI in transforming healthcare delivery. Hosted by Vijesh Vijayan.

January 26, 2026Episode 1535 min

#15 Embedding Intelligence: How AI is Redefining Home and Community Care. Naomi Goldapple. Stephanie Mouchbahani-Constance.

As part of the Montreal Healthtech Social held on November 27, we were joined by Naomi Goldapple, the Senior Vice President of Data and Intelligence at AlayaCare, where she leads AI and data strategy to transform home healthcare. With a non-linear career spanning IBM, multiple startups, and even a community cafe, she’s known for making bold moves that drive real impact in health tech. She talks about the challenges of navigating home healthcare, from workforce shortages to regulations, and how data and AI can improve care, optimize workflows, and make the industry more sustainable. Check out AlayaCare: www.alayacare.com

December 17, 2025Episode 1424 min

#14 How AI Cuts Trial Costs & Boosts Drug ROI. Vinodh Balaraman.

As part of the NYC Healthtech Social held on October 27, Vinodh Balaraman, a serial entrepreneur and Founder of Kolate AI, joined us for a fireside chat on how AI can improve clinical development and drug decision-making. Kolate AI is a precision medicine platform that predicts patient-level clinical events and therapy responses.The conversation explores why nearly 90% of clinical development fails, how limited visibility into patient responses and enrollment contributes to those outcomes, and how Kolate AI supports pharma and biotech through patient-level prediction, synthetic control arms, and clinical trial screening. Vinodh also shares how these approaches can improve both trials and real-world drug use, and where regulators are beginning to engage with AI-driven methods.Check out Kolate AI: www.kolate.ai