Two Scientists Walk Into a Bar

In Season 1, we talked about using biomarkers and big data to match patients with the best treatment for their disease. In this episode, Jane sits down with David Shames, Senior Director of Cancer Immunotherapy Biomarkers and Staff Scientist in Oncology Biomarker Development, and Mark Lee, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Personalized Healthcare in Product Development, to discuss how a variety of big data approaches can be used to advance knowledge in real-time and aid in delivering more personalized care to patients. Tune in to find out why every scientist in the future just might need to be a data scientist too.

Our eyes are our windows to the world, but what happens when those windows start to fade or disappear? To understand how the eye works, scientists are combining developments in imaging and genetics to see into the eye and better understand why a disease occurs or whether a treatment is working. Hear from our host Jane Grogan and Menno van Lookeren Campagne, Principal Scientist, Immunology, and get a glimpse into how researchers are combining genetics, imaging and natural history data to better predict eye diseases like age-related macular degeneration and potentially treat them earlier. While Menno van Lookeren Campagne was an employee at the time this episode was recorded, he has since left Genentech.

It’s easy to think of cancer as an invader to the body. But in reality, it’s simply the result of a few proofreading errors in DNA replication that occur over time when cells divide. In Episode 3, Jane Grogan chats with Fred de Sauvage, Vice President and Staff Scientist, Molecular Oncology, about how just a handful of mutations can make normal cells go rogue, and how the field is finding new ways to stop the growth of cancer in its tracks.

Last episode, Jane and colleagues unraveled the intricacies of the human microbiome. This week, Jane chats with Mary Keir, Senior Scientist, Biomarker Discovery OMNI, to learn what happens during inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), what causes it, and how targeting dysfunction in our immune system, the gut epithelial barrier and our microbiome could reduce inflammation in the gut.

Our bodies are full of bacteria - pounds of them actually. We’re kicking off Season 3 with a closer look at the human microbiome and what happens when the synergistic relationship between our cells and our bacteria goes awry. Jane Grogan talks about the latest discoveries in microbiome research with Allyson Byrd, Associate Scientist, Cancer Immunology, Bioinformatics.

Two Scientists Walk Into a Bar is back for a third season with host Jane Grogan chatting with scientists who are leading the charge to understand complex diseases. This season will tackle a range of new topics, including a deep dive into the human microbiome, the latest in multiple sclerosis, asthma and aging, and how Big Data is redefining personalized healthcare. Subscribe today so you don’t miss an episode!

The podcast explores the immune system and its components, including innate and adaptive immunity and their role in autoimmune diseases. It also discusses the relationship between gender and autoimmune diseases like lupus. The episode delves into the intersection of medicine and science, highlighting the speaker's journey from medical school to laboratory research. The chapter concludes with discussions on the complexity of immune diseases, challenges in treating chronic diseases, and the future of immunology and advancements in technology.

Pharmacology is the study of how a medicine works in the body, which is a critical step in understanding what medicines people should be given, and at what dose and schedule. As we learn more about the complex genomics that make each person unique, the role of pharmacologists is becoming increasingly important for personalizing safe and effective treatments. Jane speaks to Sara Kenkare-Mitra, Senior Vice President, Development Sciences, to get a glimpse into the future of this field.

Neurons, the cells that make up our brain, are some of the most unique cells in our bodies. The complex nature of how they communicate leads to everything we say, think, or do. That complexity makes it hard to correct neural communication when something goes wrong, as in neurodegenerative diseases. What can we do to fix that? Jane talks to Casper Hoogenraad, Senior Director and Staff Scientist in Neuroscience, to find out more.

The lifecycle of a cell mirrors our own lives – cells live and die as we do. It would be easy to think of cell death, or apoptosis, as a negative action, but the death of a cell is actually critical to many of the important biological functions that keep our bodies running. Learn more about the mysteries behind cell death from Vishva Dixit, M.D., Vice President, Physiological Chemistry.