Dr. Sangkon Oh is an Investigator and Adjunct Professor at the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research in Dallas. Dr. Oh studies dendritic cells, which are critical cells of the immune system that are typically the first cells to recognize invading microbes and alert the rest of the immune system to develop a protective response to eradicate the threat.  In this regard, they act as a “burglar alarm”, and by manipulating and shaping the dendritic cell response during vaccination, the immune system can be coaxed into providing protection against not just invading microorganisms, but also autoimmune diseases and cancer.    Dr. Oh discusses some of the exciting possibilities of targeting dendritic cells to vaccinate against cancer and autoimmune disease, and philosophizes whether humans can keep curing diseases until they live forever. He talks about his passion for science that led him to sleep in the lab so he could do more experiments.  The MicroCase for listeners to solve is about Sally, who got very sick after eating a can of beans.

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