DeepSummary
In this episode, Steve Levitt interviews Monica Bertagnolli, the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about her background, the challenges facing medical research, and her efforts to improve clinical trials and the use of patient data. She discusses growing up on a cattle ranch in Wyoming, becoming a surgeon, and her experience with breast cancer.
Bertagnolli explains that the NIH faces a 'logjam' in conducting clinical trials due to funding constraints and regulatory hurdles. She advocates for a 'learning health system' that would enable better utilization of patient data and feedback loops to improve healthcare. However, she acknowledges concerns about privacy and the need for safeguards.
The conversation covers a range of topics, including the potential impact of new technologies like nanobodies, the role of the NIH in funding research that may not be commercially viable, and the challenges of leading a large government agency while avoiding political controversies.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) faces challenges in conducting clinical trials due to funding constraints and regulatory hurdles.
- Bertagnolli advocates for a 'learning health system' that would enable better utilization of patient data and feedback loops to improve healthcare.
- The NIH's mission is to improve public health, rather than driven by profit motives.
- New technologies like nanobodies hold promise for advancing medical research and treatments.
- Bertagnolli emphasizes the importance of engaging with diverse perspectives and meeting people where they are, rather than dictating beliefs.
- Bertagnolli's personal journey, from growing up on a ranch to becoming a surgeon and cancer survivor, shaped her approach to medical research.
- The NIH plays a crucial role in funding research that may not be commercially viable for private companies.
- Balancing scientific priorities with political constraints is a challenge for leaders of government agencies like the NIH.
Top Episodes Quotes
- βWe're spending a lot of money on things that are not really driving health. The aim of our research does not need to make money. The aim of our research is to improve health.β by Monica Bertagnolli
- βI'm not here to try to dictate to someone what they should believe or how they should think. What I'm here to do is to meet them where they are, tell them what our science tells us is the best approach to say, okay, what do you need? What are your concerns? What do you think we should do to help address your health needs and so meet them where they are?β by Monica Bertagnolli
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Episode Information
People I (Mostly) Admire
Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
4/13/24