Dr. Azra Raza is the Chan Soon-Shiong Professor of Medicine and Director of the Myelodysplastic Syndrome at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, a clinician, and a researcher specializing in Myelodisplastic Syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), two devastating blood cancers. She discusses what we know about why patients get MDS and AML; why we know so little about so many forms of cancer despite many decades of research; and how her new startup is part of her effort to find the so-called first cell, which would allow us to catch and potentially treat cancer at a much earlier stage. She also shares what led her to a career in medicine and what advice she would give to students interested in following a similar path.