Pfeffer on Power
The Power of Networking combined with Medical AI with Rene Caissie
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Episode notes
In this episode of the 'Pfeffer on Power' podcast, host Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, is joined by Rene Caissie, CEO and co-founder of Medeloop.ai, a company dedicated to revolutionizing clinical research and trials through innovative AI technology. Rene is also an Adjunct Professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Rene, a former maxillofacial surgeon, shares how his personal experiences, including those of his children’s illnesses, motivated him to innovate in the field of electronic medical records and co-found the start-up Medeloop.ai, a revolutionary clinical research platform utilizing AI for accelerated drug discovery, playing a crucial role in addressing his own son's complex medical condition, underscoring the platform's real-world need and impact.
Rene and Jeffrey also discuss the importance of networking and how it can catapult your career to new heights. Rene sheares the story of his transformative encounter with Amir Rubin, former CEO of One Medical and Stanford Healthcare, illustrating how meaningful connections can open doors to unimaginable opportunities. Listen to learn practical tips that can also help you network and advance your own career.
Pfeffer on Power is produced by University FM.
00:00 Introduction to Pfeffer on Power
00:26 Renee Caissie: From Surgeon to Startup Founder
02:29 The Birth of Medeloop
04:56 Using AI to Diagnose Rene’s Son
08:00 Leveraging Networks for Success
11:07 Practical Advice for Networking
18:17 Building a Personal Brand
20:39 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Episode Quotes:
How AI transformed Rene's life
05:49: We spent a couple thousand dollars and came to the office, and we built a bot that would take all of this data, all of his symptoms, and it actually found that Tom had what's called EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency) that caused malabsorption of certain nutrients that, in certain rare cases, could cause motor tics. So he was missing this enzyme called lipase that wasn't being excreted by his pancreas. He ordered lipase on the internet, gave it to him, and three days later, Tom had no more tics. It disappeared. So we went from having a prognostic that could have, a couple of years to a lifetime to a pill that costs 50 cents a day and being fully cured using today's technology, using AI.
How do you stand out and make meaningful connections?
12:08: I think it's important when you do approach somebody to not just come in with an ask. You need to provide value, and there's a whole bunch of ways you can provide value. One of the easiest ways is to make a connection. So, if you meet someone, there's a fair chance there's somebody else that they might want to meet or that you could propose, making an introduction is an easy way to provide value, but not just coming in with an ask of, Amir doing something for me, but me being able to provide something to Amir really makes a big difference because powerful people get asked for things relentlessly. So it's important to shine, to make sure that you differentiate yourself from others that might approach them, but also come in with some sort of value that you can provide to these people.
The power of getting out of your way
08:32: I was never one to go ask for help before, and that's the first thing that I learned in your class: to get out of my own way and meet people in class. So the first thing that I did was actually, in your class, make sure to be the first guy up front. When class concluded, you always had a guest speaker that came in, and I always knew what I wanted to say to them. I was very well-versed in what they've done in the past, and I made sure to make an impact during those five minutes. I think I did that quite well. I was able to connect with people who have had a drastic impact on my company.