129. How to Fix Medical Research

Monica Bertagnolli went from a childhood on a cattle ranch to a career as a surgeon to a top post in the Biden administration. As director of the National Institutes of Health, she’s working to improve the way we find new treatments — despite regulatory constraints and tight budgets.

SOURCE • : Monica Bertagnolli • , director of the National Institutes of Health.

RESOURCES: • " Steven Levitt and John Donohue Defend a Finding Made Famous by 'Freakonomics' • ," by Steven Levitt and John Donohue ( The Economist, • 2024). • " Why 'Freakonomics' Failed to Transform Economics • ," ( The Economist, • 2024). • " Steven D. Levitt (Freakonomics Co-Author and U Chicago Econ Prof) on His Career and Decision to Retire From Academic Economics • ," by Jon Hartley ( The Capitalism and Freedom in the Twenty-First Century Podcast, • 2024). • " Why Autoimmune Disease Is More Common in Women: X Chromosome Holds Clues • ," by Elie Dolgin ( Nature, • 2024). • " Casgevy and Lyfgenia: Two Gene Therapies Approved for Sickle Cell Disease • ," by Carrie MacMillan ( Yale Medicine News, • 2023). • " Fact Sheet: President Biden Reignites Cancer Moonshot to End Cancer as We Know It • ," (2022). • " Mini-Antibodies Discovered in Sharks and Camels Could Lead to Drugs for Cancer and Other Diseases • ," by Mitch Leslie ( Science, • 2018).

EXTRAS: • " Who Pays for Multimillion-Dollar Miracle Cures? • " by Freakonomics, M.D. • (2023). • " What’s Stopping Us From Curing Rare Diseases? • " by Freakonomics, M.D. • (2023). • " Abortion and Crime, Revisited (Update) • ," by Freakonomics Radio • (2022). • " John Donohue: 'I’m Frequently Called a Treasonous Enemy of the Constitution • ,'" by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2021).