How to Save a Billion Lives A Discovery Dialogues Talk Lecture by Prof. Ani Deshpande
Venue: Classroom 222
About the Presenter: Ani Deshpande is a Professor in the Cancer Genome and Epigenetics Program at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Institute, where he leads research focused on developing novel targeted therapies for cancer. His work centers on understanding how the molecular mechanisms that maintain normal stem cell identity are co-opted during malignant transformation, particularly in hard-to-treat cancers such as acute myeloid leukemia. The Deshpande lab employs a broad array of state-of-the-art functional genomic and small-molecule screening approaches to systematically identify and characterize novel therapeutic vulnerabilities. His work has received recognition through multiple awards, including the American Society of Hematology Scholar Award, the Children’s Cancer Research Foundation Emerging Scientist Award, the V Foundation Scholar Award and several other research and teaching awards. In addition to these academic achievements, Prof. Ani has a Diploma in Science Communication from the University of California, San Diego and is passionate about disseminating the importance of scientific literacy to the general public. He co-hosts the Discovery Dialogues Podcast. https://sbpdiscovery.org/scientists/ani-deshpande-phd/
About the talk: Designed to inspire a sense of wonder and excitement about research, this engaging, story-driven presentation reflects on one of the most profound transformations in human history. Just over a century ago – contrary to how we often imagine the past – most people lived in a world where injury, infection, and insufficiency routinely turned minor events into fatal ones. In less than a century, the forces that once made illness and scarcity so lethal were reshaped by human ingenuity and persistence, altering everyday life in ways that are now largely taken for granted. This talk revisits the world that existed before that shift, traces the ideas and interventions that made it possible, and brings into focus the often-overlooked individuals whose work collectively saved more lives than any other human achievement, without ever becoming household names. This is the first of a two-part Discovery Dialogues Series.