In the opening episode of Season 3, host Sharon Kedar speaks with Dr. Mike Rubin about following scientific curiosity across disciplines. Mike reflects on his early training in medicine, his decision to leave clinical practice, and how that transition led him into science-driven venture capital.

Rather than framing career change as failure, this conversation examines coherence, preparation, and self-trust as essential components of innovation. Listeners gain practical context for how scientific thinking, uncertainty, and long-term discipline shape entrepreneurship and investment in human health.

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

1. Why non-linear career paths are common in science and innovation — and how coherence matters more than linear progression
2. How scientific training informs risk assessment, preparation, and decision-making in venture capital
3. Why acknowledging uncertainty and saying “I don’t know” is often the starting point for meaningful discovery

The content shared in this episode is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, financial, or investment advice. Please seek guidance from your own qualified professionals before making decisions.

1. Science-driven venture capital and long-term thinking
2. Transitioning from clinical medicine to investing
3. Non-linear careers in science and entrepreneurship
4. Preparation, discipline, and showing up without a playbook
5. Risk reframed as discovery rather than failure
6. Innovation grounded in scientific uncertainty
7. Building ecosystems that support human health research

Connect with Sharon:

1. Connect with Sharon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonkedar/
2. Learn more about Innovate and Elevate: https:// innovateandelevatepodcast.com
3. Subscribe to Innovate and Elevate on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuWi1O9RBaPMYuCkKszPYVA
4. Join the newsletter to receive the latest episodes in your inbox: https://innovateandelevatepodcast.com/email

Connect with Dr. Mike Rubin:

1. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mprubin/
2. Learn more about Northpond Ventures:
3. Website:

On this episode of Innovate & Elevate, Sharon speaks with Dr. Erin Duralde, Medical Director for Women’s Health and Menopause Care at One Medical, about a question that keeps coming up in midlife healthcare: now that we know more, where do people actually go for menopause care?

Recorded shortly after the FDA removed the long-standing black box warning on estrogen therapies, this conversation explores how menopause and perimenopause care can be integrated into primary care, what a modern menopause visit should look like, and how clinicians can better listen to symptoms, history, and lived experience to guide care.

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

1. How Dr. Duralde’s early work as a patient advocate at the UCSF Breast Care Center shaped her approach to menopause care and clinical decision-making
2. Why menopause education was largely missing from medical training following misinterpretations of the Women’s Health Initiative, and how that legacy still affects care today
3. What patients can expect from a dedicated menopause or perimenopause visit at One Medical
4. How intake surveys and symptom tracking help clinicians better understand what matters most to each patient
5. The wide range of symptoms that can appear during perimenopause, beyond hot flashes and night sweats
6. How clinicians think through treatment options in perimenopause, including hormonal and non-hormonal approaches
7. The difference between menopausal hormone therapy and combined hormonal contraception, and why timing and symptoms matter
8. How testosterone is used in post-menopause, why dosing matters, and how safety is monitored
9. How primary care providers are being trained at scale to deliver evidence-based menopause care

As always, nothing in this episode is personal medical advice. Please talk with your own clinician about your individual history, risks, and options.

Connect with Sharon:

1. On LinkedIn
2. On Instagram
3. Learn more about the Innovate and Elevate podcast
4. Subscribe to Innovate and Elevate on YouTube
5. Join the newsletter to receive the latest episodes in your inbox

Connect with Dr. Erin Duralde MD MPH MSCP

1. On

On this episode of Innovate & Elevate, Sharon sits down with Dr. Corinne Menn, an OB-GYN, menopause specialist, and breast cancer survivor, to unpack one of the most misunderstood topics in women’s health: the relationship between breast cancer risk and hormone therapy. Recorded eight days after the FDA announced it will remove the long-standing black box language on hormone therapy, this conversation traces the legacy of the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative press conference, what the data actually showed, and how modern evidence can better guide women and their clinicians today.

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

• What really happened in July 2002, and why the WHI press conference (held eight days before doctors saw the full study) reshaped hormone therapy for a generation.
• The difference between estrogen alone and combined estrogen–progestin therapy, and why age, timing, and formulation matter.
• Why every major professional society (ASCO, ACOG, American Urological Association, The Menopause Society) agrees that local, low-dose vaginal hormones do not increase breast cancer risk, recurrence, or mortality.
• The role of tools like the Tyrer–Cuzick breast cancer risk model in understanding your baseline risk - and how Dr. Menn interprets those results in the context of HRT.
• Dr. Menn’s own story: being diagnosed with ER/PR-positive breast cancer at 28 during OB-GYN residency, going through abrupt menopause, and later discovering a BRCA2 mutation after updated genetic testing
• How she now counsels breast cancer survivors about menopause, quality of life, and when hormone therapy may or may not be appropriate
• Practical ways women can prepare for a time-limited doctor’s visit to have more informed, individualized conversations about breast cancer risk and hormone therapy

As always, nothing in this episode is personal medical advice. Please talk with your own clinician about your individual history, risks, and options.

Connect with Sharon:

• On LinkedIn
• On Instagram
• Learn more about the Innovate and Elevate podcast
• Subscribe to Innovate and Elevate on YouTube
• Join the newsletter to receive the latest episodes in your inbox

Connect with Dr. Corinne Menn:

• On LinkedIn
• On Instagram
• Learn more on her website

Breast Cancer Risk Models & Screening Tools:

Tyrer–Cuzick (IBIS) Breast Cancer Risk Model - https://ems-trials.org/riskevaluator/

Gail Model (Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool) - https://bcrisktool.cancer.gov

POSITIVE Trial – New England Journal of Medicine - https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2215851

Hormone Therapy, Menopause Guidelines & Professional...