Beyond the Lab

Dedra Preece has worked at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple for nearly 30 years, starting as a desk clerk and eventually working her way up to her current role of research director. In this episode, we sit down with Dedra to get a glimpse at a day in the life of a researcher and learn more about her unique journey into the research field.

In this episode, we talk to Lizbeth Cahuayme-Zuniga, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple, to learn about her work as a principal investigator of a COVID-19 study aimed at studying how this virus is impacting the mental health of healthcare workers.

While most people may see virtual reality (VR) as a form of modern-day entertainment, it's application extends far beyond that space with stronger ties to science and medicine. In this episode, we sit down with two researchers, Mark Powers, PhD, and Ganesh Sankaranarayanan, PhD, of the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute who will walk us through some of these scientific applications and give us an inside look into what VR is helping drive forward in terms of healthcare innovation.

Over the last 20 years, the number of reported pulmonary hypertension (PH) cases has continued to increase. For a condition with a historically high mortality rate, the patient survival rate for these cases has also demonstrated a surprisingly sharp rise. Sahil Bakshi, DO, a researcher and cardiologist at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Plano, walks listeners through the world of PH — what it is, why it's been so hard to treat, and why he doesn't believe in the term “incurable”.

Out of nowhere, you get the news — your heart isn't working as it should, and your health is declining. You can have surgery, but that comes with challenges. Then, your doctor suggests a clinical trial and a million questions burst into your head. How do I know if this is safe? How “normal” is a trial like this? Thousands of people live out scenarios like this one every day. Kay Harris is one of them. In this episode, Kay and Margarite Grable, a research supervisor with Baylor Scott & White Research Institute offer in insider's look at their journey together as part of a medical device study that some say changed the course of open heart surgery: TAVR.