#240 Dr. David Fajgenbaum - Can AI Find Cures to Rare Diseases Using Existing Medicine?
The Shawn Ryan Show
Early Life and Motivation for Medicine
David recounts growing up, playing football, and how his mother's brain cancer inspired him to pursue medicine and patient support.
Dr. David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc, is a pioneering physician-scientist, tenured professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and national bestselling author who transformed his personal battle with the rare, deadly Castleman disease into a global mission to accelerate cures for humanity's 12,000 known diseases.
Diagnosed after losing his mother to cancer, Fajgenbaum endured five near-death experiences before using his medical training to identify sirolimus—a repurposed drug—as a life-saving treatment, achieving remission marking over a decade cancer-free as of 2025.
A Georgetown University graduate with advanced degrees from Oxford and Wharton, he co-founded the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN) and Every Cure, leveraging AI and drug repurposing to unlock hidden treatments, earning spots on TIME's 2025 TIME100 Health list and major media recognition for his "cure thyself" story. Through his book Chasing My Cure and speaking engagements, Fajgenbaum inspires hope, advocates for patient-driven research, and pushes for policy changes to speed up cures for rare diseases affecting millions worldwide.
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Dr. David Fajgenbaum Links:
Website - https://davidfajgenbaum.com
X - https://x.com/DavidFajgenbaum
IG - https://www.instagram.com/dfajgenbaum
LI - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidfajgenbaum
Every Cure - https://everycure.org
Castleman Disease Collaborative Network - https://cdcn.org
TED talk - go.ted.com/davidfajgenbaum
TED YT - https://youtu.be/sb34MfJjurc
Chasing My Cure (Amazon) - https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-My-Cure-Doctors-Action/dp/1524799637
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