Michael Diamond

Richard Heinzl: If You Have the Will, There’s Always a Way

At the age of 22, first-year medical student, Richard Heinzl, was looking for an adventure while selecting his elective at McMaster University. While hitchhiking in Uganda, a country in the throes of civil war, a jeep pulled up in front of the canteen where he was grabbing a bite to eat. The jeep had a flag emblazoned with the letters M-S-F, and out of it jumped a bunch of doctors, but not like any doctors Richard had ever seen before. They were young, rough-looking, wearing shorts and t-shirts. They were in Uganda on a mission with Médecins Sans Frontières.

Steffanie Strathdee: Slaying Superbugs and Saving Lives

You are going to love this story of love, determination, resourcefulness and triumph. Steffanie cured her husbands illness with the help of three universities, the US Navy and researchers from across the world. What she discovered in the process is a super weapon against multidrug antimicrobial resistant diseases, which are expected to kill more than ten million people per year by 2050.

Antibiotic Resistance Survivor, Scientist and Activist: David Ricci – Part 2

In Part 1, we heard David Ricci’s harrowing tale of volunteering at an HIV clinic in Kolkata, India where he was hit by a train. His life-threating injuries lead to the amputation of his leg at a clinic in the slums. Despite that traumatic experience, he endured even greater trauma when he returned home to Seattle and spent over a year combatting an antibiotic-resistant infection. This podcast is a great primer on the challenges and potential solutions to the dangers of antimicrobial resistance and some of the reasons that it has not received the attention it deserves. Listen to Part 2 of David’s story and be inspired by this survivor, scientist and activist.

Antibiotic Resistance Survivor, Scientist and Activist: David Ricci – Part 1

In 2011, David was working at an HIV orphanage in Kolkata, India when he was hit by a train. He suffered profound injuries to his leg and was rushed to a clinic in the slums by rickshaw where his leg was amputated just below the knee. When he returned home to Seattle about a month later, he learned that he had been infected by several antibiotic-resistant bacteria. His doctors did not have clear treatment path for him, as they had never seen as case like David’s. He did not think he would survive this trauma.

Introducing the TIPS Deep Dive Interview Series

The TIPS Deep Dive interview series is all about the inventors, scientist, leaders and great minds behind the promising innovations, ideas, and processes that our team helps advance through evidence-based science