Conference Presentation, Panel
Bioscience Discoveries That Will Blow Your Mind
Milken InstituteJack Andraka, David Baltimore, Francis Collins, Tejal Desai, Aydogan Ozcan, Margaret Anderson
- Jack Andraka developed a novel cancer detection sensor utilizing single-walled carbon nanotubes and antibodies to detect mesothelin, a biomarker for pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancers.
- The sensor reportedly costs three cents per test, takes five minutes to run, and claims 100% accuracy in detecting cancer at the earliest stage, when survival rates approach 100%.
- Clinical trial data cited by Andraka indicates the sensor is 168 times faster, over 26,000 times less expensive, and 400 times more sensitive than current diagnostic standards.
- Andraka's development process involved identifying over 8,000 proteins in bloodstreams via online databases, ultimately isolating mesothelin after 4,000 iterations.
- The inventor faced significant rejection, receiving 199 denial emails from 200 professors at Johns Hopkins and the NIH before securing one lab opportunity that involved a rigorous interrogation by 20 PhDs.
- Andraka emphasizes that the internet and open-access knowledge (Google, Wikipedia) allow individuals without formal degrees or resources to contribute to major scientific breakthroughs.
- Tejal Desai (UCSF) applies nanotechnology to create drug delivery films thinner than a contact lens that release medication at the retina for 6 to 12 months, replacing monthly injections for macular degeneration.
- Desai's research targets the oral delivery of large proteins by transiently opening tight junctions between cells to allow protein passage, potentially eliminating needle-based insulin administration.
- Desai highlights a gap in STEM education for girls, noting that while interest is equal at early ages, women often feel forced to make tradeoffs between science careers and other life goals at higher levels.
- David Baltimore (Caltech) asserts that gene therapy has matured, moving beyond replacing defective genes to using genetic modifications to enhance the immune system's ability to fight cancer and HIV.
- Baltimore details four gene therapy programs: delivering genes for HIV antibodies, knocking out HIV entry proteins using siRNA, presenting antigens for vaccination, and programming T-cells to target cancer.
- Current HIV statistics indicate 35 million people are living with the infection globally, which Baltimore notes remains a scourge because the virus mutates faster than the immune system can adapt.
- Francis Collins (NIH) reports that the cost of human genome sequencing has dropped from approximately $400 million to under $7,000, with new pocket-sized devices capable of sequencing a genome in three days.
- The NIH's Cancer Genome Atlas is currently sequencing approximately 20,000 tumors (40,000 genomes including blood) to identify specific mutations driving cancer and guide targeted therapeutics.
- Collins cites a specific case where a patient with stage-four lung cancer achieved remission for three years using the drug crizotinib, which targets the ALK kinase rearrangement specific to her tumor.
- The NIH has launched the BRAIN Initiative, a 10- to 15-year project aimed at mapping the brain's connectome and developing brain-computer interfaces to treat conditions like epilepsy, Alzheimer's, and paralysis.
- Ehsan Pis (UCLA) predicts that mobile phone cameras, following Moore's Law, will reach over 40 megapixels, enabling the transformation of smartphones into portable microscopes without traditional lenses.
- Pis proposes a "micro-internet" where billions of cell phones equipped with diagnostic attachments will generate massive datasets to detect disease patterns and monitor chronic conditions remotely.
- The panel collectively identifies a critical decline in U.S. biomedical research funding, citing a 20% reduction in purchasing power over the last decade and further cuts due to sequestration.
- Experts note that young scientists are increasingly hesitant to pursue research careers due to constrained funding environments and a perceived lack of national support compared to the Sputnik era.
- Recommendations include establishing special funding categories, such as the NIH Director's New Innovator Award, to protect high-risk, high-reward ideas from young investigators who lack senior credibility.
- Multiple panelists emphasized that early exposure to curiosity-driven, hands-on science (e.g., opening black boxes, building models) is the primary driver for sustaining long-term scientific passion.