Behind the Genes

"I was driven by a personal desire to see this problem solved." On today's episode, Parker Moss, our Chief Ecosystems and Partnership Officer, is joined with Reed Jobs, the Managing Director of Health at Emerson Collective, a for-profit organisation focused on education, immigration reform, the environment, media and journalism, and health. Reed Jobs leads Emerson's team in the health care space. With a sole focus on oncology, his team accelerates the discovery and translation of cancer research to best improve and empower the lives of patients. They discuss venture capitol, venture philanthropy and philanthropy funding in cancer. They also discuss the origin story of Reed's career, how his father's (Steve Jobs) diagnosis launched him into his research and why.

"I know the power of a word, I know the power of a story, I know the power of a phrase, and language really is so meaningful and so valuable. […] Every data point has a face, there is a person there, it's not just a number, it's not just a code. Principle number two, treat people as you would like to be treated." On today's episode, Chris Wigley is joined by Rebecca Middleton, Vice Chair of the Participant Panel and founder of Hereditary Brain Aneurysm Support (HBA Support). They discuss Rebecca's clinical and genetic journey, her participation in the 100,000 genome project and what that meant for her. They also discuss the difficulty of having a rare disease, how the lack of information can cause great loneliness and uncertainty and why Rebecca opened HBA Support in response. Having lost family to brain aneurysms, and having undergone surgery for an aneurysm herself, Rebecca recently founded HBA Support and is establishing a patient-centred organisation to support patients and families living with familial brain aneurysm syndrome. For more information click here: https://hbasupport.org/