Joel Hirschhorn: How Genes Add Up
Health & Veritas
Personal Path: Math and Quantitative Genetics
Joel recounts his mathematical background, mentors, and how quantitative thinking led him into genetics research.
Howie and Harlan are joined by geneticist and endocrinologist Joel Hirschhorn to discuss how thousands of genetic variants collectively shape disease and traits like height and obesity. Harlan reviews new research on diet soda and dementia; Howie surveys recent market swings, including the rise of Solace Health and the decline of Hims & Hers.
Show notes:
Diet Soda and Dementia
"Soda consumption and risk of dementia: The Northern Manhattan study"
"Why One Cardiologist Has Drunk His Last Diet Soda"
Joel Hirschhorn
National Human Genome Research Institute: Mendelian Inheritance
Cleveland Clinic: Achondroplasia
National Human Genome Research: Polygenic Trait
"A saturated map of common genetic variants associated with human height"
"What are single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)?"
ScienceDirect: Genetic Variant
"Obesity Prediction Could Be Guided by Genetic Risk Scores"
Society for Science: Noam Elkies
Ups and Downs
"Understanding Creative Destruction: Driving Innovation and Economic Change"
"Solace Health raises $130M series C for advocacy platform"
"Molina Healthcare's stocks fall as company plans exit from Medicare Advantage"
"Centene swings to loss but predicts stabilization in 2026"
"UnitedHealth limps into 2026 with a smaller business and fresh challenges"
"Hims & Hers Falls 14% After Pulling Copycat Wegovy Pill—Novo Nordisk Up 8%"
"Compounding and the FDA: Questions and Answers"
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