Pioneers of AI How AI can unlock life-saving cures, with Siddhartha Mukherjee
22 snips
Nov 12, 2025 Siddhartha Mukherjee, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cancer researcher and co-founder of Manas AI, discusses revolutionary changes in drug discovery. He explains how AI can streamline this lengthy process, making life-saving cures more affordable and accessible. Mukherjee highlights the unique aspects of generative chemistry that differentiate it from traditional AI methods. He also explores the essential role of human oversight in AI-driven discovery, emphasizing that technology should enhance human compassion and creativity.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Stanford Door Knock That Shaped A Career
- Siddhartha Mukherjee started cancer research as an undergraduate at Stanford after knocking on Nobel laureate Paul Berg's door and joining his lab.
- That mentorship shaped his view that science must connect with humanistic questions and society.
Cancer As Genetic And Environmental System
- Cancer is fundamentally a genetic disease driven by mutations from diverse sources: chance, inheritance, viruses, and carcinogens.
- Tumors also exploit their microenvironment, borrowing nutrients and signals to sustain growth.
Diagnosis Rates Don’t Equal Mortality
- Increases in diagnoses can reflect better detection rather than true rises in mortality, as seen with thyroid cancer in South Korea.
- Overall US cancer mortality has fallen substantially from ~200 to ~140 per 100,000 people.
