Two Scientists Walk Into a Bar

Taking a deep breath can seem like a simple process; however, for millions of people with asthma, inflammation of the airways could make it difficult to breathe. While current treatments help manage symptoms, scientists are working to develop new therapies that target the underlying causes of the condition. Co-host Maria Wilson speaks to Jane Kenny, Senior Director and Senior Principal Scientist, Drug Metabolism & Pharmacokinetics, and Mark Wilson, Principal Scientist, Immunology Discovery, to learn more about the biology of asthma, the complexities behind inhaled drug delivery and how current research is informing the future of asthma care.

Read the full text transcript at: www.gene.com/stories/take-a-deep-breath-treating-asthma

Our understanding of what causes multiple sclerosis (MS) has transformed over the last few decades. While discoveries of the cell types involved in MS progression — both immune and brain — have led to major advancements for patients, there is still much to learn. Co-host Danielle Mandikian speaks to Ann Herman, Senior Director and Senior Principal Scientist, OMNI-BD Inflammation and Infectious Disease, and Tracy Yuen, Senior Scientist and Biology Team Lead, Neuroscience, to learn more about ongoing research that may inform future therapies.

Read the full text transcript at: www.gene.com/stories/demystifying-ms-the-intersection-of-immunology-and-neuroscience

Two Scientists Walk Into A Bar is back for a fourth season with new hosts, Maria Wilson and Danielle Mandikian! Get to know the new hosts and preview this season. Subscribe today so you don’t miss an episode!

Read the full text transcript at https://www.gene.com/stories/meet-the-hosts-of-season-four?topic=two-scientists-walk-into-a-bar

Cells are the basic unit of life, with a remarkable ability to sense their environment, process information and adapt accordingly. With 37.2 trillion cells in the human body, there remains plenty for scientists to discover about how this symphony of cells is organized and works together. In this special episode, producer Wellington Bowler chats with Aviv Regev, Executive Vice President, Genentech Research and Early Development, to discuss her vision for the roles that single cell genomics and computational biology can play in not only forwarding our basic understanding of biology, but also in our ability to generate new insights about disease and ultimately develop new medicines for patients.

The biological mysteries of age-related diseases have intrigued scientists for decades. In recent years, our expansive knowledge of genetics, thanks to the humble fruit fly, has opened our eyes to the mechanisms underlying these conditions. Now scientists are hoping to apply this knowledge to use the body’s own biological systems to delay the onset of disease or engage repair mechanisms once a disease has arisen. Jane speaks to Heinrich Jasper, Staff Scientist, Immunology Discovery, to learn more about the field of regenerative medicine and extending health.

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.