Let’s face it: science can be hard. Our host, Brett Hellman, former soap opera producer and current AbbVie employee, lacks any sort of scientific background and has recurring nightmares of his high school biology class. Now, he is tasked with talking to biopharmaceutical researchers about their work and translating it for the rest of us. In each episode, Brett will explore some of the toughest and most relevant topics in medical science. This may be, at times, an exercise in frustration for the scientist being interviewed, but listeners will be rewarded with a new understanding not only of science, but about the scientific community at large – with all pretenses stripped down.
It happens to all of us – car keys go mysteriously missing or a name on the tip of your tongue can’t be recalled. One of these moments of forgetfulness gets Brett wondering about more serious forms of memory loss, like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. He realizes he’s not even exactly sure what Alzheimer’s is. Is the disease hereditary? How is it diagnosed? And can you do anything to prevent it? In our sixth episode, James Summers, Ph.D. vice president, neuroscience research global pharmaceutical discovery, AbbVie, helps Brett understand why neurodegenerative diseases are so difficult for researchers to triumph over. As he nears retirement, Summers reflects on a long career and leaves Brett not only with a better understanding of Alzheimer’s, but also hope for the future of this field of research.
Brett’s west coast road trip continues as he travels to Pharmacyclics, an AbbVie company, to speak with a pediatric oncologist turned researcher. While the topic is instantly sobering, Brett still has a multitude of questions: does cancer act differently in a growing body? Do children get cancer as often as adults? And, are the same treatments used no matter how old the patient? In our fifth episode, Lori Styles, senior medical director, clinical science, Pharmacyclics, helps Brett understand how cancer affects children and how researchers are trying to beat this terrible disease at its own game.
Brett heads out to California to meet with a specialist in immuno-oncology, but even her job title makes him wonder: what does the immune system have to do with cancer? Does this have something to do with these CAR-T cells he keeps hearing about? Why are some cancers considered “worse” than others? And if we can find a way to prevent smallpox and get a man on the moon, why aren’t we closer to finding a cure for cancer? Brett just doesn’t get it. In our fourth episode, Diane Hollenbaugh, senior director, immuno-oncology, discovery, AbbVie, helps Brett understand what cancer is, how it acts, and why our own immune systems may one day be cancer’s kryptonite.
One look at the back of a Borax box makes Brett wonder: how can one product do so many different things? Can medicines serve more than one purpose too? How could one medicine treat multiple diseases in totally different parts of the body? And how do researchers figure this stuff out? Brett just doesn’t get it. In our third episode, Susan E. Lacy, Ph.D., drug discovery scientist, helps Brett see how figuring out what’s behind a disease reveals new possibilities for treatment – and why discovering a new medication for one condition could offer hope for another.
It seems the term CRISPR is all over the news these days. But what exactly is CRISPR? Is it a game-changing technology in the field of gene editing? An entrée into a real-life Jurassic World? Or the description of what happens when you leave a bagel in the toaster too long? Brett just doesn’t get it. In our second episode, Christopher P. Miller, Ph.D., helps Brett understand the revolutionary technology of CRISPR.
We hear so much about how new drugs are discovered, but how exactly do they go from molecular form to drug delivery system? And who decides if a medicine comes in yummy gummy form, or in a pill? Brett just doesn’t get it. In our pilot episode, chemical engineers Nancy Sever and Brian Anderson help Brett understand the intricacies of medication formation.
© 2020-2025 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
