In this episode of AI Trailblazers, we sit down with ⁠Marilyn McDonald⁠—product leader, Moderna alum, and co-founder of ⁠Yokai Labs⁠—to unpack how the best AI strategies in healthcare are often born from tight regulatory constraints.

Key takeaways:

✅ How Moderna scaled its COVID response

✅ Why compliance isn’t a blocker—it’s a design opportunity

✅ How to build AI that solves “the stuff that sucks”

✅ The magic wand test: why every AI project should start with a real human problem

Marilyn brings a rare blend of product discipline, AI insight, and real-world healthcare experience. If you work at the intersection of innovation and regulation, this episode is for you.

🔗 Learn more about Marilyn’s work:🎧 Podcast: ⁠Practical Product Management⁠💼 LinkedIn: ⁠Marilyn McDonald⁠🌐 Company: ⁠Yokai Labs⁠

Episode Chapters:

00:00 – Intro: AI, Product Thinking & Regulated Innovation

02:05 – Scaling Moderna’s COVID Response

06:50 – Starting with the Problem (The Magic Wand Test)

10:30 – Don’t Fear the Regulator: Turning Constraints into Strategy

14:45 – AI and Product Design: Solving the Stuff That Sucks

19:10 – Building with Unstructured Data vs. Data Warehouses

22:00 – Final Takeaways: Design, Trust & Human-Centered AI

24:40 – Outro: Where to Find Marilyn McDonald