Facts from Radiolab — “The Medical Matchmaking Machine” (with David Fajgenbaum)
Episode 655, ~1h 2m, published August 22, 2025
Hosts: Lulu Miller, Latif Nasser
Episode Breakdown (Podwise AI Summary)
1. Introduction
- Latif Nasser introduces the story of Dr. David Fajgenbaum.
- Focus: his medical crisis, search for a cure, and the creation of a new system for drug discovery.
2. Personal Backstory
- Fajgenbaum aspired to be a college quarterback.
- His life shifted dramatically when his mother was diagnosed with brain cancer.
- Inspired by this, he pursued medicine.
3. Medical Crisis
- While in medical school, Fajgenbaum developed idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD).
- The disease caused multiple organ failure and placed him in intensive care.
- At one point, he was given only months to live.
4. Discovery of a Cure
- Fajgenbaum identified rapamycin, a drug originally used for organ transplant patients.
- Rapamycin proved effective against his disease and brought him into remission.
- This personal experience revealed the untapped potential of drug repurposing.
5. Using AI for Drug Discovery
- Motivated by his survival and later his uncle’s cancer diagnosis, Fajgenbaum expanded his focus.
- During the COVID‑19 pandemic, he launched the Corona Project to identify treatment options.
- He went on to develop MATRIX, an AI-driven platform for drug repurposing.
- MATRIX is now publicly available, offering researchers a new way to identify potential cures.
6. Opportunities and Risks
- Potential: uncovering hidden treatments for many diseases.
- Risks: patients or non-specialists may misinterpret AI outputs without medical guidance.
- Emphasis: AI tools should support, not replace, medical research and professional oversight.
References
- Everycure.org — nonprofit initiative connected to this work.
- Books cited:
- Chasing My Cure — David Fajgenbaum
- Death Interrupted — Blair Bigham
Production Notes
- Reported by: Latif Nasser
- Produced by: Maria Paz Gutiérrez
- Mixing: Jeremy S. Bloom
- Fact‑checking: Natalie A. Middleton