S2 E39 - Health Revolution: AI, Drug-Discovery & the Ageless Generation

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we’re talking health and startups with Dr. Ashish Atreja, Dr. Luke Blauch, Ph.D., and Nick Larson — Founder of Silicon Zombies Live Show & Podcast and Co-Founder of the Ageless Evolution Longevity Summit.   Dr. Ashish Atreja, known as “The App Doctor,” is a nationally recognized physician executive, entrepreneur, and founder of GVX Venture Accelerator and GenServe.AI. A pioneer in evidence-based digital medicine (EBDM), he has led digital transformation at leading institutions including UC Davis Health, where he served as Chief Information and Digital Health Officer, and Mount Sinai Health System, where he founded the AppLab innovation hub and earned patents for prescribing digital apps and AI tools. He has founded multiple ventures from academia, including Rx.Health, acquired after impacting over 30 million patient lives, and VALIDAI.Health, a national initiative advancing responsible generative AI in healthcare. A fellow of the ACP and AGA, Dr. Atreja continues to drive the future of AI-enabled healthcare through innovation, entrepreneurship, and impact-driven leadership.   Dr. Luke Blauch, Ph.D., is an expert in building high-throughput technologies for biological applications and the Founder and CEO of DropXcell. After experiencing the inefficiencies of drug development firsthand, Luke set out to create technology that makes drug discovery faster, cheaper, and more effective. During his Ph.D. at Stanford University, he worked to solve complex engineering problems for top scientists, including a Nobel Prize winner, and published research in top journals such as Science and PNAS. In industry, he previously led the development of high-throughput screening platforms as an early scientist at VC-funded biotech startups. At DropXcell, Luke’s goal is to test thousands of times more drug molecules for function—derisking drug discovery and ensuring only the best molecules reach patients. He invented the Xcell Drop screening technology, is an author on multiple patents, and is enabling AI-driven drug discovery to reach its full potential.   Nick Larson is a Bay Area native with a passion for people, technology, and surfing. A serial founder, Nick has started and scaled mission-driven companies such as Willow—an AI social media platform backed by investors including Google and Green Park Ventures (now valued at over $200M)—and OnePiece Work, a co-working and accelerator space that expanded to 12 locations with investment from UpHonest Capital. Nick was named one of PRWeek’s “25 Most Influential People in Communications Technology” (2021) and is the host of Silicon Zombies, a live show and ecosystem that demystifies emerging technology and highlights the brightest minds in the industry. He was also recognized as one of LinkedIn’s “Top Voices”, an honor awarded to just 300 people worldwide each year.   This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact! Follow us on and listen to all our episodes on: 🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68L4RPfMizjxnKBsmcFb1J 🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silicon-valley-impact/id1776876823 📺 Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@siliconvalleyimpact   Silicon Valley Venture, LLC, the parent company of Silicon Valley Impact, is a proud global venture partner to great companies, like TheAgentic, and STAK Ventures, and 1900 Broadway Tower - Oakland. Check out https://www.theagentic.ai/ and https://stakspace.com/ to gain access to the worlds largest full stack venture ecosystem. It's over 1.2 million square feet of Live, Work, Play, Go; everything innovators, investors, ecosystem influencers, institutional partners, and global talent needs to gain a global advantage, access, alignment, and accelerate your venture.   Event Partnerships: Join us in Napa, October 22nd-24th for the Opal Group Family Office & Private Wealth Management Forum. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gjeSSHTP.   Join us in San Francisco October 27th-29th, for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. Get your tickets here (use promo code: siliconvalley25 to get 25% off your ticket purchase): https://tcrn.ch/41JLNgv   Join us October 27th, following Day 1 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, for the "Venture Partner 'Unofficial TechCrunch Disrupt 2025' Afterparty: Silicon Valley's Best!" Get you tickets here while they last: https://luma.com/3w4qt0r2   Join us in Long Beach, April 22-25th for the IIT 2026 Conference. Get your tickets register here: https://www.iit2026.org/register   Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the host and guests on Silicon Valley Impact are for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial advice or a solicitation. Listeners are encouraged to consult with a professional before making any financial or business decisions.