Podcast Summary: "AI Health Companions: The Next Step in Personalized Patient Care"

Risk Never Sleeps Podcast, Episode #178
Host: Ed Gaudet
Guest: Dr. Jennie Luna, Founder and CEO of NuVee
Date: December 29, 2025

Overview

In this engaging episode, Ed Gaudet sits down with Dr. Jennie Luna, founder and CEO of NuVee, to discuss the transformative impact of AI-powered health companions in personalized patient care. The conversation covers Dr. Luna's background in obesity medicine, the development of NuVee's empathetic AI companion "Koa," and the broader movement towards patient-centered, tech-enabled healthcare. Throughout, there's a lively, humorous rapport, frequent baseball and pizza tangents, and plenty of memorable insights into the future of digital health.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Dr. Jennie Luna's Background & Motivation

• Practice and specialty:

  • Dr. Luna has been practicing for 15 years, specializing in endocrinology and obesity medicine.
  • (02:32)

    "Obesity medicine. I'm an endocrinologist by training and now subspecialized in that area." — Dr. Jennie Luna

• Motivation for NuVee:

  • Witnessed challenges her patients faced between visits, motivating her to provide more support:
  • (06:45)

    "It's hard. I mean, you're seeing these patients with diabetes and weight struggles...I felt like I needed to do more. So then that's why I specialized further in obesity." — Dr. Jennie Luna

The Birth and Purpose of NuVee & Koa

• What is NuVee and Koa?

  • NuVee's first product is Koa, an AI-powered health companion designed to provide empathetic support for patients between clinical visits.
  • (02:07)

    "We're basically building an AI health companion, powered by empathy to help patients struggling in between visits." — Dr. Jennie Luna

• Distinguishing Features:

  • Unlike existing transactional health bots, Koa is trained for empathy and compassion, aiming to mimic the human touch and engagement patients crave outside the clinic.

  • (04:12)

    "Right now what's available is very transactional...For us, creating something patient-facing, that empathy, compassion layer has to be there. So we're training Koa, our AI persona, to be kind of a Koa."

  • (04:46) On the name:

    "Koa in Hawaii means, like, warrior. No, I'm not [Hawaiian], but I really like the name." — Dr. Jennie Luna

Empathy and Humanization in AI

• Why Empathy Matters:

  • Dr. Luna emphasizes the necessity of emotional intelligence in patient-facing AI, suggesting this is essential for adherence and patient trust.
  • (07:06)

    "You're so empathetic. I feel like... This is what happens when you come to the last podcast. You never know what you're going to get."

• Personalization As a Core Value:

  "Every patient's a world of their own and no one should be treated like a guideline. That's what we're working at with NuVee." — Dr. Jennie Luna (18:47)

Obesity Medicine and GLP Drugs

• Discussion of GLP Options:

  • Dr. Luna briefly educates the hosts on the difference between GLP-1 medications (like Ozempic, Wegovy) and combinations (like Zepbound, Mounjaro), as well as the importance of matching therapy to patient history.
  • (02:54–03:05)

    "There's GLP-1, that's semaglutide...then there's GIP and GLP-1, that's like Zepbound and Mounjaro. They're all great, it's just really figuring out the best match based on a patient’s history."

• Lifestyle Guidance:

  • Dr. Luna humorously reinforces the role of active lifestyle choices, even in the era of powerful medications.
  • (03:55)

    "If I'm your doctor, I'm gonna...go for a walk." — Dr. Jennie Luna

AI Innovation in Healthcare

• AI's Expanding Role:

  • Dr. Luna sees AI as central to the next phase of healthcare, especially with solutions emerging for translation and cultural nuance.
  • (12:08)

    "AI is the future of healthcare."

• Experience at Shark Tank:

  • She recounts being a finalist at a healthcare innovation Shark Tank competition, highlighting a memorable translation-focused AI startup.
  • (11:54)

    "There's some great things...presented in the Shark Tank. I didn't win, but it was an honor to be a finalist."

Startup Journey and Collaborations

• Incubator Support:
  • NuVee is the first startup from a Scripps Research/San Diego State University collaboration and has received significant technical support from AWS.
  • (18:02–18:29)

    "We're the first startup to come out of the collaboration of Scripps Research, San Diego State University...AWS as well; they covered like 67% of our technical costs."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Empathy in AI:

  "If you use an AI health companion, you're just basically getting data...So for us, when it comes to creating something that's patient-facing, that empathy, that compassion layer has to be there."
  — Dr. Jennie Luna (04:12)

• On Personalized Medicine:

  "Every patient's a world of their own and no one should be treated like a guideline."
  — Dr. Jennie Luna (18:47)

• Humorous moment, on obesity and investment:

  "You see this stomach? This is investment."
  — Dr. Jennie Luna, sharing her cousin's phrase (16:06)

• On the Warrior Metaphor for Koa:

  "Koa in Hawaii means warrior...I need the warrior spirit when I'm going to lose weight." — Ed Gaudet & Dr. Jennie Luna (04:46–04:57)

• Podcast banter:

  "I'm like a Milky way. See, I got the universe, world and food in the same..."
  — Ed Gaudet (19:03)

Important Timestamps

• 02:32: Dr. Luna shares her medical background and focus on obesity medicine
• 02:54–03:13: Explanation of GLP and combination drugs in obesity treatment
• 04:12–04:46: Development and ethos behind Koa, the empathetic AI companion
• 06:45–07:01: Why Dr. Luna became more specialized and the gap her solution is filling
• 11:54–12:08: Dr. Luna discusses innovations seen at a healthcare Shark Tank
• 18:02–18:29: Details on NuVee's partnership with academia and AWS support
• 18:47: Dr. Luna’s closing thoughts on personalizing medicine

Final Thoughts

The episode underscores the vital importance of empathy, compassion, and personalization in the digital transformation of healthcare. Dr. Luna’s vision for AI companions like Koa moves beyond simple data transactions, aiming to provide support, encouragement, and understanding during the often-overlooked time between doctor visits. The conversation weaves professional insights with humor and warmth, making a compelling case for the humanization of healthcare technology.

Find out more about NuVee and Dr. Jennie Luna at nuvai.com.