5
Warm Intros
5
Twitter DMs
5
LinkedIn
15
Total Ready
Method: Alex Berman 3C Framework
Why this works (35%+ response rates):
- C1 - Compliment: Specific observation about their work (not generic praise)
- C2 - Case Study: Why you're reaching out (credibility + relevance)
- C3 - Call to Action: Simple, low-friction ask
Key principles: Keep it short (under 100 words for DMs). Be specific. Make it easy to say yes. No attachments on first touch.
Phase 1: Warm Intros (Start This Week)
Suchi Saria, PhD
Johns Hopkins - ML Healthcare Lab
Internal
HIGHEST
+
Subject: JHU colleague - interview request for APJLM study on healthcare AI strategy
Dear Dr. Saria,
I'm Samandika Saparamadu, a fellow Johns Hopkins researcher at the Bloomberg School of Public Health (Department of International Health). I'm writing because your TREWS work on sepsis detection - particularly the 18% mortality reduction findings in Nature Medicine - represents exactly the kind of rigorous, outcome-focused AI research we're studying.
I'm conducting a qualitative study with Dr. Dominik Dotzauer for the Asia-Pacific Journal of Lifestyle Medicine on how healthcare AI leaders conceptualize risk, opportunity, and value creation. We're interviewing ~20 leaders across startups, academia, and health systems.
Given your unique position bridging academic research and clinical deployment at Bayesian Health, your perspective would be invaluable.
Would you be open to a 30-minute interview? Happy to meet at Hopkins or do it remotely.
Best regards,
Samandika Saparamadu
Department of International Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Why highest priority: Same institution = warmest intro possible. Her personal motivation (lost nephew to sepsis) makes this deeply meaningful work. TIME Best Inventions 2023 & 2024.
Avi Roy
Longevity Alliance
WhatsApp
HIGH
+
WhatsApp Message (via Olivier's group)
Hey Avi,
Quick question - I'm working on an academic study with my colleague Sam (Johns Hopkins) about healthcare AI strategy. We're interviewing ~20 industry leaders for a peer-reviewed paper.
Given your work at Longevity Alliance, your perspective on what's working (and what's overhyped) would be really valuable.
Would you be up for a 20-30 min call or text-based interview? Totally flexible on format.
Dominik
Context: Already active in Olivier's chat. Keep it casual since it's WhatsApp. Dom sends this one.
Olivier Zolman, MD
Bryan Johnson's Physician
WhatsApp
MEDIUM
+
WhatsApp Message
Hey Olivier,
Working on a healthcare AI study with a colleague from Johns Hopkins. We're interviewing industry leaders for a peer-reviewed paper.
Two asks:
1. Would you be up for a quick interview yourself? Your perspective from the longevity/precision medicine angle would be interesting.
2. Any healthcare AI folks in your network you could intro us to?
Thanks!
Dominik
Double ask: Interview + referrals. Olivier knows everyone in longevity space.
Phase 2: Twitter/X DMs (High Response Expected)
Eric Topol, MD
Scripps Research - 675k followers
Twitter DM
HIGH
+
Twitter DM (keep under 280 chars for first message)
Dr. Topol - Your Ground Truths posts on AI hype vs reality are essential reading.
I'm conducting a peer-reviewed study on healthcare AI strategy for APJLM (Johns Hopkins researcher). Would you consider a brief interview? Your perspective on what's actually working would be invaluable.
Happy to share details.
Why he'll respond: Very active on Twitter. Responds to research requests. His "Deep Medicine" thesis aligns with studying strategic perspectives. Follow his account first before DMing.
Vinod Khosla
Khosla Ventures
Twitter DM
MEDIUM
+
Twitter DM
Your "80% of doctors" thesis sparked years of debate. Now you're talking about AI "interns" for physicians - the evolution is fascinating.
I'm doing a peer-reviewed study on healthcare AI strategy. Want to understand how investors think about risk/opportunity differently than builders.
15-20 min interview? Text-based if easier.
Psychology: He's controversial and knows it. Reference his specific thesis evolution. He likes attention and defending his ideas.
Shiv Rao, MD
Abridge - $5.3B valuation
Twitter DM
HIGH
+
Twitter DM
The fact that you still take hospital shifts while running a $5B company says everything about your approach to building healthcare AI.
I'm a researcher at Johns Hopkins studying how healthcare AI leaders balance clinical reality with scaling. Your clinician-founder perspective is exactly what's missing from most analyses.
Would you be open to a 20-min interview for a peer-reviewed paper?
Hook: His unique position as practicing cardiologist + CEO. TIME 100 AI 2024. Very podcast-active, so used to interviews.
Karan Singhal
OpenAI - Head of Health AI
Twitter DM
HIGH
+
Twitter DM
Your Med-PaLM work set the benchmark for medical LLMs. Now at OpenAI building what could become healthcare's foundation model.
I'm doing a peer-reviewed study (Johns Hopkins) on how healthcare AI leaders think about risk vs opportunity. Your academic background + industry transition makes your perspective especially valuable.
Would you be open to a brief interview? Happy to share the study design.
Angle: Ex-academia (Stanford AI ethics), so paper-friendly. Created Med-PaLM, now building HealthBench. Reference his Nature paper if he asks for credibility.
Alex LeBrun
Nabla - 85k+ physicians
Twitter DM
MEDIUM
+
Twitter DM
Nabla's growth to 85k+ physicians is impressive. Curious about your European perspective on healthcare AI vs the US market.
Working on a peer-reviewed study comparing how AI leaders in different markets think about risk and opportunity. Would love your perspective on the regulatory and deployment differences.
20 min interview?
European angle: French founder, different regulatory environment. Partnerships with Yann LeCun's lab add academic credibility.
Phase 3: LinkedIn Cold Outreach
Nigam Shah, PhD
Stanford Health - Chief Data Scientist
LinkedIn
HIGH
+
LinkedIn Connection Request + Message
Dr. Shah,
Your work establishing CHAI and advocating for responsible AI governance directly informs my research. I'm particularly interested in your perspective on bridging academic rigor with health system deployment.
I'm Samandika Saparamadu, a researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. I'm conducting a qualitative study for the Asia-Pacific Journal of Lifestyle Medicine on how healthcare AI leaders conceptualize risk, opportunity, and value creation.
Your unique position as Chief Data Scientist at Stanford Health Care, combined with your academic publications (350+ papers, h-index 88), makes your perspective invaluable.
Would you be open to a 30-minute interview? I'd be happy to share our study design and interview guide in advance.
Best regards,
Samandika Saparamadu
Academic framing: Co-founded CHAI (Coalition for Health AI). Very publication-active. Cite his EHR foundation models work if following up.
Munjal Shah
Hippocratic AI - CEO
LinkedIn
MEDIUM
+
LinkedIn Message
Mr. Shah,
Hippocratic AI's safety-first approach to patient-facing AI is refreshing in a space often dominated by "move fast" thinking. The fact that your LLM outperformed GPT-4 on 105 of 114 healthcare exams while prioritizing safety shows it's not a trade-off.
I'm conducting a peer-reviewed study (Johns Hopkins/APJLM) on how healthcare AI leaders balance innovation speed with patient safety. Your perspective - serial entrepreneur who sold to Google and Alibaba, now building arguably the most safety-conscious AI in healthcare - would be invaluable.
Would you be open to a 20-30 minute interview?
Best,
Samandika Saparamadu
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Safety angle: His whole thesis is safety-first. Frame the study around that tension. $126M Series C at $3.5B valuation = credibility.
Micky Tripathi, PhD
Mayo Clinic - Chief AI Officer
LinkedIn
MEDIUM
+
LinkedIn Message
Dr. Tripathi,
Your trajectory from US National Coordinator for Health IT to HHS Chief AI Officer to Mayo Clinic gives you perhaps the most comprehensive view of healthcare AI from policy, regulation, and implementation perspectives.
I'm conducting a qualitative study (Johns Hopkins/APJLM) on how healthcare AI leaders conceptualize risk, opportunity, and value creation. We're particularly interested in how policy experience shapes enterprise AI governance.
Your perspective on what actually works when deploying AI at scale in health systems would be invaluable.
Would you be open to a 30-minute interview?
Best regards,
Samandika Saparamadu
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Policy + implementation: Former government, now enterprise. Unique perspective on regulatory reality vs startup hype.
Chris Mansi, MD
Viz.ai - CEO
LinkedIn
MEDIUM
+
LinkedIn Message
Dr. Mansi,
13 FDA-approved algorithms. 1,700 hospitals. The fact that Viz.ai saves measurable brain cells per stroke case makes it one of the few healthcare AI companies with clear outcome data.
I'm conducting a peer-reviewed study (Johns Hopkins/APJLM) on how healthcare AI leaders navigate the path from clinical insight to scaled deployment. As a neurosurgeon who built one of the most FDA-approved AI platforms, your perspective on that journey would be invaluable.
Would you be open to a 20-30 minute interview?
Best,
Samandika Saparamadu
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
FDA angle: Most FDA approvals = knows regulatory game. Eric Schmidt was his professor/investor = Stanford connection.
Daphne Koller, PhD
insitro - CEO
LinkedIn
MEDIUM
+
LinkedIn Message
Dr. Koller,
From Stanford's first ML hire to Coursera co-founder to insitro - your career arc represents how foundational ML research translates to real-world healthcare impact.
I'm conducting a peer-reviewed study (Johns Hopkins/APJLM) on how healthcare AI leaders conceptualize the relationship between basic research and clinical application. Your perspective on ML-driven drug discovery - particularly the Bristol Myers Squibb partnership for ALS - would be invaluable.
Would you be open to a 30-minute interview? Happy to share our study design in advance.
Best regards,
Samandika Saparamadu
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Long shot but worth it: MacArthur Fellow, National Academy of Science. TIME 100 2012. Frame around research-to-impact translation.
Follow-Up Templates (If No Response)
Follow-Up #1 (Send after 5-7 days)
Hi [Name],
Following up on my interview request. I know you're busy - happy to do this async via email/text if that's easier.
The study focuses on [their specific area]. Your perspective would add valuable depth.
Let me know what works best.
[Name]
The "Magic Email" - Last Resort (Send after 14 days)
Hi [Name],
I've reached out a couple times about our healthcare AI study. I'm going to assume you're too busy or this isn't a good fit.
If I'm wrong, let me know - I'd still love your perspective.
Either way, thanks for your work on [specific project].
[Name]
Why "Magic Email" works: Gives them an easy out while creating mild guilt. 30%+ of responses come from this final email.
Outreach Tracking Checklist
Phase 1 - Warm Intros:
Phase 2 - Twitter DMs:
Phase 3 - LinkedIn: