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Raising Health

Bioorthogonal Chemistry with Carolyn Bertozzi

Nov 26, 2024
Nobel laureate Carolyn Bertozzi, renowned for her pioneering work in bioorthogonal chemistry, chats with Jorge Conde about her groundbreaking research. They discuss how manipulating chemical reactions in the body can enhance cancer treatment and drug delivery. Carolyn shares her journey through carbohydrate chemistry during the AIDS crisis, highlighting sugars' dual role in immune responses. The conversation also covers the challenges of translating discoveries into market-ready solutions and insights on bridging academia with biotech innovations.
31:02

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Bioorthogonal chemistry enables targeted research on sugar molecules in cancer cells, enhancing diagnostic and therapeutic strategies against these diseases.
  • The journey from scientific discovery to market-ready solutions requires strategic planning, funding, and collaboration among researchers and entrepreneurs to improve patient outcomes.

Deep dives

Bioorthogonal Chemistry and Its Impact

Bioorthogonal chemistry plays a crucial role in understanding and targeting cancer cells and immune responses. This innovative approach allows chemical reactions to occur within living organisms without disrupting their biological functions, which Carolyn Bertozzi highlights as instrumental in cancer research. Cancer cells often modify sugar molecules on their surfaces to evade detection by the immune system, thus hiding from immune responses. By developing tools rooted in bioorthogonal chemistry, researchers can investigate these sugars and their functions more effectively, paving the way for targeted therapies and better diagnostics.

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