Chasing My Cure: Dr. David Fajgenbaum Lessons from his Rare Disease and On Finding Cures for Others

David Fajgenbaum, MD, nearly died five times. Then, using his own records and blood samples, he found an existing drug that offered hope. In the process, he devised a bold new way to study rare conditions.

David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc, is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN) and one of the youngest individuals to be appointed to the faculty at Penn Medicine, where he is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in Translational Medicine & Human Genetics, Founding Director of the Center for Study & Treatment of Castleman & inflammatory Lymphadenopathies (CSTL). An NIH-funded physician-scientist, he has dedicated his life to discovering new treatments and cures for deadly disorders like idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD), which he was diagnosed with during medical school. As common as ALS and more deadly than lymphoma, iMCD involves the immune system attacking and shutting down the body's vital organs such as the liver, kidneys, bone marrow, and heart. After spending months hospitalized in critical condition, having his last rites read, and having four deadly relapses, he is now in his longest remission ever thanks to a treatment that he identified in the lab.

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[lorenmark]

This man is my hero. I aim to emulate his courage, empathy, and commitment to human kind.

[iago]

This guy is a total inspiration...

Side note: LMAO at the audience lounging in those bean bag chairs 😂

[jpholuta]

Awesome talk, life research and mission in this life👍🏼

[wildlifeview]

Hope your doing better what a battle.You're the best researcher supporting this disease. I wonder if food researcher can help.

[michelebaker]

I had started get ting the red moles at 21 ( I was treated for them and they were biopsy and they could never tell me why) nothing else was affected until 2017 and I was diagnosis until late 2019.

[gaston.]

This was an excellent talk. I am impressed by his clearness and flow in speaking. His dedication and intelligence. But those bean bags got to go! ;)

[smiley]

hope he does but will not be hard to find a cure for lots of the conditions.