EP 33: Designing Cures | David Fajgenbaum

Dr. David Fajgenbaum is a groundbreaking physician-scientist,
disease hunter, speaker, and author. He went from being a
beast-like college Quarterback to receiving his last rites while in
medical school and nearly dying four more times battling Castleman
disease. To try to save his own life, David spearheaded an
innovative approach to research through the Castleman Disease
Collaborative Network (CDCN) and discovered a treatment that is
saving his life and others. He described his journey and lessons
learned in Chasing My Cure, which has been translated into five
languages, named one of the “Best Non-Fiction Books of 2019,” and
profiled by Good Morning America, CNN, and BBC News, among others.
Now, he is leading the effort to find treatments for Castleman
disease, COVID-19, and other diseases. One of the youngest
individuals ever appointed to the faculty at Penn Medicine and the
top 1 percent youngest grant awardees of a leading NIH grant (R01),
David Fajgenbaum has been profiled in a cover story by The New York
Times, recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and has received
numerous awards. Bon and David talk about redesigning the current
approach to pharmaceutical treatment of diseases, crowdsourcing in
healthcare and why patients can’t wait for miracles.