Interview, Fireside Chat, Podcast
Robert Langer: Edison of Medicine | Lex Fridman Podcast #105
- Research and companies associated with Bob Langer aim to lead in developing COVID-19 treatments, including a promising vaccine candidate.
- Tissue engineering is projected to improve quality of life and potentially extend longevity moderately over the next 10 to 20 years, without foreseeing radical increases in lifespan.
- Nanotechnology and miniaturized systems are expected to eventually enable robotic drug delivery within the body, though such applications are not imminent.
- Cancer is viewed as a solvable challenge requiring a combination of biological understanding of genetic and immunological mechanisms and engineering for molecular production and delivery systems, with an uncertain timeline for a cure.
- Artificial intelligence is anticipated to influence nearly all sectors, including drug discovery for predicting substance efficacy, engineering CAR T-cells, and developing the "perfect cookie" via chemistry and data analysis.
- Smart drug delivery systems responsive to physiological signals, such as glucose-triggered insulin release, are expected to be developed eventually.
- Opportunities to extend pharmaceutical benefits to the developing world and reduce the cost of new drug manufacturing are expected.
- Clinical trials are currently ongoing for generating tissue to restore hearing, with future expectations to address paralysis, eye problems, liver and kidney failure, and neural tissue or brain engineering.
- Methods to improve body acceptance of engineered tissue include cell encapsulation, rendering cells non-immunogenic through gene editing, using patient-specific cells, and administering immunosuppressive drugs.
- Organ-on-a-chip technology is expected to advance drug testing and reduce the need for animal or human trials.
- Basic research funding in academia faces potential challenges due to a lack of super-directed funding, creating concerns regarding the balance of soft versus hard money.