Breaking the Wall of Diseases

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Description

Are cheap and fast sequencing and processing of our genomes about to give way to highly tailored treatments? The challenge is balancing affordable practices with the genetic variability of the patient. So far, traditional reactive approaches in individual care have been based on the study of family history, social circumstances, environment, and behaviors. In this 2011 Falling Walls Conference lecture, hear Aaron Ciechanover, winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the 2011 Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, discuss a study that might allow the identification and characterization of new disease-specific molecular markers and drug targets, which are necessary to the design of novel, mechanism-based drugs to modulate the activities of those targets. Ciechanover tells us how far we are from leaving "one size fits all" medicine for "personalized" care, and what steps toward interdisciplinarity are required in our approach to research, development, and education.