TGen Talks

In this episode of TGen Talks, we explore the overlooked yet vital world of skin cancer prevention and treatment. Our skin, the body's largest organ, often takes a back seat in discussions about cancer. Join us as we delve into this crucial topic with our guest, Dr. Aleksandar Sekulic.      Dr. Sekulic wears two hats: that of a clinician and a researcher. He shares how his interactions with patien...

Cancer continues to be the second most common cause of death in the United States, with a total of nearly 2 million diagnoses every year.   In this episode of TGen Talks, recorded in front of a live studio audience, we take a look at how genomic information is leading to better and earlier diagnoses and treatments for all kinds of cancer and how the collaboration between City of Hope Cancer Center...

Alzheimer’s disease affects an estimated six million Americans. Diagnosing and treating the disease is challenging, and for families taking care of a loved one with Alzheimer’s, it’s even more difficult. Detecting and addressing the disease early on is crucial due to its progressive nature. However, Alzheimer’s symptoms can resemble those of other non-progressive conditions.  In a recent Cells pub...

Paul J. Luna, president and CEO of Helios Education Foundation, sits down with TGen Talks to discuss the transformational power of education, in particular, how internships help prepare students for future success. Helios Education Foundation supports postsecondary attainment for all students, especially low-income and underrepresented communities, in Arizona and Florida. Earlier this month, Helio...

More than three years after the beginning of the pandemic, humans still spread COVID to one another every day, though with less severe symptoms in most cases. Scientists also know that we can spread COVID to our pets as well, because of the close relationships many of us have with our four-legged friends. While dogs CAN get COVID from humans, they don’t seem to get very SICK. So, what’s the big de...

Today, the world of biomedical science is changing how we think about disease and, certainly, how we treat it ... but did you ever wonder how discovery happens?    What does a lab look like? What type of equipment do they use? Who exactly is working inside? How many scientists and staff? And on what projects?   On this episode of TGen Talks, Kristen Kaus, Manager of TGen's Education and Outreach p...

For a patient diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, there are more treatment options than ever and traditional chemotherapies that cause debilitating side effects have been all but completely replaced by immunotherapies, treatments that help a patient's own immune system better fight the disease. But in many patients, a chosen immunotherapy drug can show great promise in early t...

The phrase "gut health" has become quite a buzzword in recent years, and researchers like this month's guest will tell you quite candidly that we have a lot to learn about the community of microorganisms that live INSIDE the human body. But one thing seems to be clear. The human being with a "healthy gut" is far better able to fight a cancer diagnosis than the human with poor gut health. Regardles...

Most of us had a summer job when we were in high school or college, and if we were lucky, we had one that helped us make meaningful decisions about college or a career. 
  At TGen, summer interns in the Helios Scholars at TGen program work alongside researchers on projects that are much more than “just” eight weeks of full-time hours inside a lab. Many Scholars choose a field of research they will...

What if you could take a simple test to find out just how susceptible you are to Covid19, the Flu, or any other virus? What if you could test your exposure and immunity to EVERY virus known to mankind using a single drop of blood? The technology is here, now. And at TGen, researchers are using it to understand the human immune response and predict and track the next global outbreak. What's more, t...

This month, our host Karie Dozer sits down for a personal conversation with Maria Fundora, who is neither a scientist nor a clinician. She's a businesswoman from Alpharetta, Georgia, a restauranteur and founder of Purple Pansies, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness and funds for pancreatic cancer research. And like most nonprofits that support research, there's a story about ho...

When treating cancer patients, physicians are often faced with tough choices.  Treatment options like radiation can often come with unpleasant, for some, unbearable side-effects. Doctors walk a fine line between stopping the growth of cancer cells and giving cancer cells the very thing they need to grow and spread.     City of Hope and TGen physician-scientist Yun Rose Li, M.D., Ph. D., has been c...

In part two of TGen Talks Live, we continue our conversation on precision aging with Drs. Matthew Huentelman and Nicholas Schork. Aging encompasses a variety aspects—both physical and mental—a fact made evident by the topics covered and the research presented. Where Huentelman’s work covers the brain and the more cognitive aspects of aging, Schork’s work focuses on the physical changes we undergo...

TGen offers listeners a deeper dive into a particular biomedical-related topic or program through its monthly podcast TGen Talks. Each free-flowing episode allows a TGen scientist to connect with a broader audience by explaining the finer details involved in their research at a listener-friendly level. December’s episode escapes the sound booth for a live event in front of a studio audience. The i...

Humans have been searching for the fountain of youth (a mythical endless supply of waters that purport to keep us young forever) for thousands of years—but there’s no such thing in the world of science. At TGen, scientists are working toward a virtual fountain of youth, and they call it precision aging. On this month’s TGen Talks, Matthew Huentelman, Ph. D., helps us understand precision aging a b...

Cancer is the number one worry of pet parents, and it's no wonder. More than half of all dogs older than 10 will be diagnosed with cancer. Cancer is hard to treat in many dogs, and is often diagnosed when it's too late to treat. Americans spent more than $120 billion on their pets just last year. One TGen subsidiary is putting its science to work for pet parents, so that cancer in dogs is diagnose...

With COVID infections and deaths on the decline worldwide, many researchers are turning their attention back to a familiar foe. Tuberculosis (TB) was the number one infectious disease killer before the emergence of COVID-19, and it is number one again today.   Although most Americans are not at risk of contracting TB, it continues to be a danger worldwide. TGen researchers are trying to find bette...

For Crystal Hepp, PhD, the newest member of the TGen North team, understanding how different pathogens move over time and space and through different populations is all in a day’s work. Recently, that work has centered heavily on RNA viruses, and given that the translational aspects of her work aligned seamlessly with the TGen North team and its mission, the decision to join the team came fairly e...

This episode of TGen Talks takes the listener along I-17 from Phoenix to Flagstaff, where our host, Karie Dozer, sits down with David Engelthaler, Ph. D., professor and director of TGen’s Pathogen and Microbiome Division, more commonly known as TGen North.   Whereas TGen uses genomics to solve complex problems such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease, the scientists at TGen North use these same tool...

Dr. Johanna DiStefano joins TGen Talks to discuss nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, a condition that causes excess amount of fat in one’s liver cells. As evidenced by its name (which could use an update, according to our guest) NAFLD covers a wide-range of liver conditions with the “alcohol” portion somewhat misleading, as it’s not always that cut and dry.   Different factors, such as ge...

This year marks the 20th anniversary of TGen's founding on what at the time was a relatively unknown idea outside the circles of academia and scientific research, precision medicine. The concept of using a person's own genome to diagnose and treat disease at an individual level, to move beyond the one-size-fits-all treatment plans that had dominated the medical landscape for decades, where drugs a...

Applied mathematics dramatically advanced the field of finance in the 1970’s, where its application allowed for the modeling of financial markets by mathematicians highly skilled in quantitative analytics. Today, these highly sought-after mathematicians are making a name for themselves in the field of applied science as their skills are increasingly providing solutions in many areas of biomedical...

TGen’s Scientific Technology Assessment Research Team (START) supports the research faculty by bringing new technology into the labs to help answer today’s most pressing research questions.    When the current tools for measuring DNA or proteins or cellular structure aren't sufficient, START scouts the technology landscape for companies that are developing new methods that can, often by partnering...

Episode 45 - Dr. Michael Berens by TGen

For our final episode of TGen Talks in 2021, our host, Karie Dozer, sat down with TGen North Director, Dr. David Engelthaler, who has led TGen’s research into COVID since day one.   Dr. Engelthaler shares his thoughts on Omicron … what we know, what’s left to learn, and why it’s spreading so fast.    While it may be a bit early to predict how Omicron will play out in the U.S., it appears to follow...