Dr. Eric Topol
Executive Vice President, Scripps Research
This episode will air on Thursday, February 5 at 7:00 p.m. ET
When you challenge dogma, you’re considered irreverent. But that’s an important trait we need – to not just accept things and be complacent in medicine, but always ask: are these sacred cows worthy?
Summary
In this episode of Leadership Matters, Alan Fleischmann sits down with Dr. Eric Topol — cardiologist, scientist, best-selling author, and founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute — for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership, medicine, and the future of human-centered innovation.
Eric reflects on the mentors who shaped his values, his willingness to challenge the medical status quo, and the next era of medicine. From pioneering digital medicine to advising the UK’s National Health Service on artificial intelligence, he shares lessons on courage, humility, and long-term thinking. Eric also explores how AI can transform healthcare by shifting from treatment to prevention, predicting disease decades in advance, and empowering patients.
Mentions & Resources
Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity by Eric Topol
The Creative Destruction of Medicine by Eric Topol
The Patient Will See You Now by Eric Topol
Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again by Eric Topol
Guest Bio
Eric Topol is the Executive Vice-President of Scripps Research, the largest non-profit biomedical research in the United States, where he is founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in 2007. Clinically active as a cardiologist, he previously led Cleveland Clinic cardiology to become the leading heart center in the US. He was the founder of a new medical school at Cleveland Clinic (Lerner College of Medicine), was commissioned by the UK government to lead a review of their National Health Service. Topol is a principal investigator of two large NIH grants for innovations to promote human health. He has published over 1,300 peer-reviewed articles, with more than 380,000 citations, elected to the National Academy of Medicine, and is one of the top 10 most cited researchers in medicine. In 2024, Topol was featured in the inaugural TIME100 Health list of most influential people in health in the world. In 2025, he was voted as one of the 25 Best Leaders in the United States (US News).
He has authored four best-selling books on the future of medicine: The Creative Destruction of Medicine, The Patient Will See You Now, and Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again. and his new book, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity. At Substack, he publishes Ground Truths, a weekly newsletter and podcast on cutting-edge biomedical advances.
Episode Transcript
Transcript will be uploaded following the episode’s premiere.