Two Scientists Walk Into a Bar

Breakthroughs in the last decade have transformed how we understand and treat multiple sclerosis (MS), but what will it take to stop the disease in its tracks? Pull up a stool with co-host Maria Wilson and our guest Sherman Jia, Group Medical Director, gRED Translational Medicine, for a discussion on the breakthrough research into B cells that has made a "night and day" difference for people living with the disease. In this episode, they tackle the next frontiers in MS research: from the surprising link between the Epstein-Barr virus and MS, to the ambitious goal of repairing the brain’s myelin, and the potential of “immune reset” therapies, including work in cell therapies, that could offer lasting remission.

Read the full text transcript at www.gene.com/stories/breakthroughs-in-ms

We’re kicking off season seven with an in-depth look at the wild world of ophthalmology, where scientists are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for vision treatments. In this episode, co-host Danielle Mandikian is joined by guests Deepak Lamba, Director and Distinguished Scientist, Ophthalmology, and Susie Crowell, Senior Director, Project Team Leader, to explore the latest in the field of ophthalmology since our season five episode on eye diseases. Together, they dive into the bizarre biology of how our eyes actually work, unpack how and why eye diseases develop, and discuss how transformative new therapies could one day restore sight.

Read the full text transcript at www.gene.com/stories/the-wild-world-of-eyeballs

Your favorite science podcast is back! To kick off season seven of Two Scientists Walk Into a Bar, hosts Maria Wilson and Danielle Mandikian sit down to celebrate a decade of the podcast and look back at our previous season on unmet medical needs. But what’s next? Get ready for a season that’s going bigger than ever before. To mark the 50th anniversary of Genentech, Maria and Danielle will draw a thread from the seminal breakthroughs of the last 50 years in biotechnology to the incredible innovations that will shape the next decade and beyond.

Read the full text transcript at www.gene.com/stories/season-seven-teaser

In our season six finale, we dive deeper into how artificial intelligence (AI) is shaping the future of drug discovery and scientific research. With remarkable scale and speed, AI models parse through complex datasets and confirm or generate hypotheses, which can help scientists accelerate R&D. In this episode, co-host Danielle Mandikian welcomes Aviv Regev, Head of gRED, and Jure Leskovec, Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University, to talk about foundation models and autonomous agents. Together, they explore the opportunities and challenges of applying AI in drug discovery, including balancing innovation with scientific rigor and the evolving role of scientists. They also discuss how AI is reshaping the future of research — from building more biologically meaningful models to advancing agent-based systems and lab automation.

Read the full text transcript at www.gene.com/stories/foundation-models-and-agents

From our first breath, the air we breathe and our genes shape how our lungs function. It’s a complex interplay we began exploring in our season four episode “Take A Deep Breath: Treating Asthma.” Today, we’re branching out to discuss lung biology and the diseases that make it difficult to breathe. In this episode, co-host Maria Wilson speaks with Dorothy Cheung, Executive Group Medical Director, and Daniel Lafkas, Senior Principal Scientist, Translational Discovery Research, Roche, to understand how conditions with unmet need like chronic bronchitis and emphysema disrupt lung function. They discuss the challenges to treating lung diseases and explore promising approaches, from cutting-edge imaging technologies that help researchers uncover early drivers of disease, to treatments aimed at stopping the loss of lung function and restoring it.

Read the full text transcript at www.gene.com/stories/decoding-lung-disease