Dr. Shalabh Gupta is the founder of Unicycive, a biotech company working to simplify treatment for dialysis patients. He’s also a physician, former Genentech executive, and someone who thinks deeply about careers, leadership, and the role of AI in healthcare.

In this episode, we cover the problem of pill burden, how to reverse engineer your career, and what most people misunderstand about medical education.

Inside This Episode with Dr. Shalabh Gupta:

• The hidden disconnect in medical education—and how to fix it
• How reverse engineering your goals can reshape your career
• What Dr. Shalabh Gupta learned from Genentech leaders before taking the leap
• The true cost of pill burden—and how Unicycive aims to change that
• How AI is already improving medicine
• What it takes to bring a drug to market
• Why mentorship sharpens your own path

Chapters:

• 00:49 – Medical background and training path
• 02:20 – Education system gaps in career planning
• 05:12 – Asking students where they want to be next year
• 08:20 – Faculty saying they wouldn’t do it again
• 12:23 – Talking to physicians before choosing medicine
• 16:26 – Internal compass and leaving Genentech
• 21:46 – Building resilience and taking calculated risks
• 25:57 – Learning through mentoring others
• 30:46 – AI as augmentation in healthcare
• 37:39 – What physicians actually want to do for patients
• 42:24 – Healthcare system disconnect and access problems
• 45:47 – Staying focused on controllable factors
• 48:40 – Pill burden problem for dialysis patients
• 52:58 – FDA approval and commercialization plans
• 57:45 – Multiple career paths and staying curious
• 59:00 – Final advice on asking questions and seeking knowledge

Dr. Shalabh Gupta & Unicycive