Celebrating Science: Making Science Cool

This is the third in a series of blogs highlighting key themes and outcomes from FasterCures’ Celebration of Science, which brought together over 1,000 scientists, educators, industry executives, policymakers, and patient advocates to celebrate the scientific achievements of the last 20 years and jumpstart a new wave of discovery.

At the recent Celebration of Science, Earvin “Magic” Johnson said one of the keys to inspiring the next generation of scientists is “to keep making it cool for the kids.” Throughout the weekend celebration, leaders in science, policy, and business touted the importance of encouraging young people to go into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and making sure there are positions available for them after their education.

Panelist after panelist shared remarkable advances that are making this such an exciting era of scientific discovery (just check out DARPA’s cheetah robot). However, when young scientists complete their studies, they seem to have a hard time breaking into academic careers – only 14 percent of those who graduate with a doctoral degree in biology or life sciences attain an academic position within five years. As Steven Chu, Nobel laureate and United States Secretary of Energy, put it, “You can’t just educate people; you have to make sure they have jobs.” 

The average age for a scientist to receive his or her first NIH grant is 42, which is more evidence that young people are facing barriers. It takes a lot of motivation for a young scientist to stay inspired that long before they see their job turn into a career.

Budding scientists who are being inspired by their high school chemistry teachers today need to be confident that this field will have opportunities for them tomorrow. “The most important thing we can do is capture the imaginations of the next generation,” said Eric Lander, president, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and co-chair, President's Council of Advisors on Science & Technology.

Encouraging the next generation of researchers was a theme throughout the Celebration of Science, and it was the focus of the panel “STEM Education and Job Prospects for Young Investigators.” The panelists discussed the importance of internships, networking, diversifying the field of science, and the need for adequate funding. No one wants to hop on a sinking ship, much less aspire to be its captain.

That is why the Celebration took every opportunity to honor young scientists (a future Nobel laureate could be pictured at the left). As FasterCures Chairman Michael Milken said, “This is the century of bioscience. Problems that don’t appear to be solvable will be solved by bioscience. To do all of this you need talented people.” By renewing our commitment to science, we can ensure that those talented young people have opportunities in the laboratories and at patients’ bedsides.

Kids idolize sports heroes, who are invited to the White House when they win championships. The Celebration of Science honored scientists and patients who are the heroes to millions by discovering effective treatments for debilitating diseases and inspiring others with their stories of survival. Although they may not be household names, they showed how cool science can be.

And what could be cooler than the Rock Docs?

Celebrating Science: Uncovering the Mysteries of the Brain

This is the second in a series of blogs highlighting key themes and outcomes from FasterCures’ Celebration of Science, which brought together over 1,000 scientists, educators, industry executives, policymakers, and patient advocates to celebrate the scientific achievements of the last 20 years and jumpstart a new wave of discovery.

The brain dictates when to breathe, when to blink, the way our voice sounds, how we remember our loved ones, and all of the other everyday functions we easily complete without consideration. But what happens when your brain begins to let you down? When disease takes over and starts to break down your body’s ability to communicate with itself?

One of the themes at FasterCures’ Celebration of Science (COS) was the need for progress in how we understand, treat and cure brain disorders. Among the participants at this unique event – which aimed to raise the profile of science and research on the national agenda – were neurodegenerative disease researchers, patients and caregivers dealing with a range of disorders from Alzheimer’s to Schizophrenia to depression, and drug developers working on bringing new therapies to market.

“It’s easy to miss the true impact that these illnesses have on individuals, families, and society at large,” Kafui Dzirasa of Duke University School of Medicine admitted during his session at the National Institutes of Health (NIH.) “If we know that all of those experiences are locked within this organ called the brain, and that disease happens when there are changes with this organ, the question comes, how come we haven’t figured out how to cure these disorders yet?”

Dzirasa explained that the challenge early neurologists faced with the dissection of the brain was that it gave them an understanding of the anatomy of the organ, but “like taking apart a laptop, one cannot truly understand its function unless studied while it is on and processing.” This is where the beauty of brain imaging comes in.

The Power of Imaging

Director of the NIH and Celebration of Science co-host Dr. Francis Collins sat down with Daniel Reich in the NIH MRI center to view images of a brain and the vast detailing available with today’s three-dimensional scans.

“How would this look different on somebody with Alzheimer’s disease?” he asked. The audience watched on the screen as ~30% of the brain image deflated, almost like a sponge losing water. Understanding the functionality and physicality of a healthy versus unhealthy brain through imaging has taught us that there’s an opportunity to detect Alzheimer’s disease early and try to do something about it.

The Human Toll

Judy Bachrach of Vanity Fair shared her mother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease and the complications it has created for her family. She painted a picture – through words and photographs – of a vibrant, loving woman full of energy and life. She then shared another picture of the same impeccably dressed lady smiling at the camera. “This” she said, “is not my mother. There is a vacancy there that was never there before.”

Judy went on to talk about how she has had to become her mother’s mother.  From dealing with embezzlement schemes to constantly battling with banks and insurance companies for control of her mother’s accounts, the emotional toll and demands on her time have compounded.

Each year, Judy’s mother must take an Alzheimer’s test for insurance purposes.  As part of this test, she is asked to write a sentence – just one sentence – on any topic she likes.  Judy shared that the last time her mother was able to perform this task, over a year ago, the sentence read: “I am so sorry that my daughter has to take care of me.”

Towards a Cure

One of the final sessions at Celebration of Science was “Alzheimer’s and Other Issues of Aging” led by Pfizer’s Freda Lewis-Hall.  It focused on the steps needed to find meaningful treatments and cures for diseases that plague millions of seniors.

According to the panelists, major pieces of the puzzle that is a cure include:
  - Prevention
  - Funding
  - Learning from failures
  - Patient and clinical trial networking

Dzirasa encapsulated the promise of brain science when he said “I hope you’re one of those sitting in the audience celebrating the progress that we’ve made in the brain, and blown away with this idea that one day these advances may open the doorway to new approaches and new technologies that allow us to see brain illness and treat symptoms before these disorders ever really arise and manifest.”

Celebrating Science: Continuing the Fight Against HIV

This is the first in a series of upcoming blogs highlighting key themes and outcomes from FasterCures’ Celebration of Science, which brought together over 1,000 scientists, educators, industry executives, policymakers, and patient advocates to celebrate the scientific achievements of the last 20 years and jumpstart a new wave of discovery.

It has been over thirty years since the emergence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and thanks to incredible advancements in science, a diagnosis once tantamount to a death sentence is today managed in much the same way as a chronic disease. Great strides have been made in reducing the burden of HIV/AIDS, but this is a war still in progress.

Anthony Fauci , NIAID

The hard-fought battles already won against this deadly virus, and the importance of the fight that still lies ahead, were a focus of exploration at the Celebration of Science.  In a talk given by Anthony Fauci (Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), he shared that the initial years of the HIV epidemic were the darkest of his medical career.

Knowing that there was no cure for this terrible disease and that he could only hope to make patients more comfortable was a heavy weight to bear as a medical professional. The rapid spread of HIV/AIDS along with witnessing the consequent suffering of patients  inspired Fauci and other infectious disease specialists to wage war against the disease and discover therapies that could effectively treat the virus, not just the resulting infections.



Tracking our Progress

• Understanding the HIV replication cycle.  After the disease was discovered, researchers set out to develop an understanding of the HIV replication cycle – the process by which HIV makes copies of its genome, bundles the genetic material with viral proteins, which then go on to infect various cells. By identifying key steps in the cycle, they were able to design drugs that could block these steps, thereby suppressing viral replication. The result was development of the first HIV antiretroviral, AZT, approved in 1987.

• Targeting treatments to each stage of the cycle.  It was evident that AZT could safely slow down HIV replication in patients; however the virus learned to adapt and began to replicate mutant strains that were resistant to AZT and other first generation antiretrovirals. Patients that once found hope in the new antiretroviral therapy were again faced with despair and ailing health as the drugs became less effective. Thus researchers and physicians took up a new charge to slow down replication even further, attacking the virus at different stages of the replication cycle through multiple antiretrovirals. With this discovery came the development of six classes of HIV drugs, one for each stage of the cycle.

• The birth of combination therapies. The increased pill burden of multiple antiretrovirals lead to significant decline in treatment adherence. Not only was this damaging the health and quality of life of patients, it also created the propagation of mutant strains that were resistant to the antiretroviral regimen. To combat this challenge, developers began to think of ways to combine drugs into one pill, leading to the birth of market leading HIV drugs such as Truvada, Atripla, Complera, and Stribild – all one pill, once a day regimens that contain two or more drugs. The availability of these convenient dosing regimens has led to significant increases in adherence rates among many patients.

Engaging the Community

Anthony Fauci, Earvin "Magic" Johnson , Greg Simon 

“We now have the wherewithal through behavioral and preventative modalities to turn around the trajectory of the HIV pandemic,” said Fauci.  With today’s course of combination therapies and efforts towards prevention, the worldwide incidence continues to decline, moving from 2.7 million new cases in 2010 to 2.5 million in 2011. The challenge now is to get everyone involved – communities, cities, nations – in screening, testing, and implementing the science.

“We need the black church to get involved; that’s the only way we’re going to break it down in our community” said prominent HIV spokesperson Earvin "Magic" Johnson.  With African Americans representing nearly 50% of all new infections in the U.S., getting the churches and pastors on board to help educate their congregants to get tested and get their results is critical.  There is a lot to be learned from what the gay community did at the start of this epidemic he pointed out, in terms of mobilizing to get information out and provide support.

Winning the War

Thanks to the scientific advancements of the past 30 years, more than eight million people around the world are receiving effective antiretroviral treatment and the life expectancy of an AIDS patient now approaches the life expectancy of people not infected by the virus. The progress is evident, but the fight isn't over. History has shown that when we try to control infectious diseases with non-vaccine intervention, we eventually lose control because of drug resistance. With HIV/AIDS we should expect the same result – if we try to continue to control virus with only antiretrovirals, we risk losing control.

In order to win the war, we must develop a vaccine.

At the end of Fauci’s final session, moderated by HCM Strategists' Michael Manganiello, a member of the audience posed the question, “With the incredible progress that we have made in developing effective antiretrovirals, do we really need a HIV/AIDS vaccine?” Fauci’s answer: "Yes absolutely." It is the heavy artillery we need to eradicate HIV/AIDS altogether.

Heard at Celebration of Science

	“I’m functionally healthy, but I still, like many others, need to have a cure. . . . Only then will the promise of life be real.  And it will be because science made it happen.” -          Moises Agosto, Director of Treatment Education, Adherence, and Mobilization, National Minority AIDS Council
	“14 years and one day after the door to motherhood had been seemingly shut I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy, HIV-free baby girl. This was something that was never possible in 1988 [the year I was diagnosed].” -          Dawn Averitt Bridge, Founder and Chair, The Well Project; Founder, National HIV Awareness Month
	“My story represents the very best of cutting edge science. The cure for HIV is my blue rose. When I received my HIV diagnosis in 1995 I fell to my knees, and in 2007 when I was diagnosed as being cured I fell to my knees again.  But this time I prayed that one day the millions of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide would receive their own blue rose. I will continue to dedicate my life, my blood, my body, my mind and my soul to this expedition.” -          Timothy Ray Brown, "The Berlin Patient"; Founder, The Timothy Ray Brown Foundation of the World AIDS Institute

Relevant Resources

• VIDEO: HIV/AIDS: Yesterday's Progress, Tomorrow's Promise
• VIDEO: Towards an HIV Vaccine: A Conversation with Francis Collins and Peter Kwong
• VIDEO: Anthony Fauci and Earvin "Magic" Johnson discuss progress against HIV/AIDS at Celebration of Science
• REPORT: Back to Basics: HIV/AIDS Advocacy as a Model for Catalyzing Change