151 Dr. Matt Keener, Exploring Telemedicine, Starting a Health Network, and Improving Brain Health

Dr. Keener is a board-certified psychiatrist passionate about applying neuroscience in non-traditional settings to help families and adolescents. He set out to work with "kids and brains" 20 years ago and never looked back.   Matt completed his medical training and residency in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, where he served as Chief Resident of Research. He subsequently undertook a postdoctoral research fellowship in Pediatric Neuroimaging Research under an NIH grant fellowship, studying brain systems/circuits that form our sense of self in bipolar disorder, depression.   Fascinated by big waves, however–and believing that applying neuroscience outside traditional routes could have a broader impact for good–in 2012, he jumped into the wave of healthcare innovation. He co-founded Emodt, a company quantifying emotion through language. LIke 99% (yes, that's the actual number) of digital health startups, Emodt didn't make it as a stand-alone business, but the team did have a win in helping one of the world's largest pharmaceutical firms create their first non-drug digital health tool to be launched in 2016, presently in pilot testing.   In 2015, wishing to put all this experience into serving adolescents and their supporters, Dr. Keener began assembling Blackbird Health as a way of delivering a supportive health framework for those in greatest need.   Book Recommendation Ready Player One by Ernest Cline   Matt’s Challenge; Notice and pay attention to friends who are letting you know that they are struggling. Make an effort to reach out and affirm them.   http://www.goingdeepwithaaron.com/podcast   Connect with Matt Facebook Twitter Website   If you liked this interview, check out episode 140 with Richard Citrin where we discuss resilience and how to deal with stress.