Making a Difference
His Stanford Genome Technology Center's main focus is to develop new and affordable technologies that can make a difference in the doctor's office. That's what the nano-needle - a potentially very cheap diagnostic device - is all about. From SGTC's web page
The Biotechnology (err ME/CFS) Talk
Davis, of course, has done innumerable talks but probably none more important to him than the ones he's doing now on ME/CFS. Because several of Davis's biotechnologies (nanoneedle, magnetic levitation device, HLA analytics) are being used in chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), Davis used the opportunity to spread the word on ME/CFS. He then went into the biological and bioengineering departments over two days doing the same thing.
Janet Dafoe reported that Ron came back from his two-day visit surprised and gratified at the response.
Talks at Universities usually end with a couple of people milling around for 5 or 10 minutes afterwards but Janet reported that hundreds of people remained for up to an hour after Ron's talk. They were interested in ME/CFS and shocked they'd never heard of a disease that was a) so prevalent and b) could be so disabling.
(One researcher told the group that a top official at one of major hospitals there told him he had never heard of the disease.)
Long Time Enroller
The response is actually not all that surprising. Ron is and apparently always has been very good at enrolling people in the subjects he finds fascinating. Check out how a talk of his 43 years ago (!) changed one grad students life:
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[/fright] Let's hope some others come away inspired to change their career path and work on ME/CFS. At the very least new "listening" around ME/CFS in the biology and biotechnology departments at the University of Texas.
We're lucky to have a couple of people like Ron Davis and Ian Lipkin who can pack a room and whom people will listen to. Every time someone shares authentically about ME/CFS they move the needle forward a bit. Somebody's share with a San Jose State biotechnologist launched potentially groundbreaking research into problems with capillary blood flows in ME/CFS. (Each of Davis's precious ME/CFS samples is now being assessed by the nano-needle, the magnetic levitation device and SJSU's capillary tests)
NIH Director Francis Collins moved the needle when he recently emphasized how serious ME/CFS is in a Medscape interview.
Unrest is moving the needle. Jen Brea's Ted Talk is doing the same. So is Valerie Free's Lighting Up a Hidden World. So are the interviews we're seeing in the media. Every time someone shares authentically about ME/CFS we make some progress.
My new wish for 2018: Ron Davis finds a way to do a talking tour of the major Universities in the U.S....
That talk (43 years ago) (of Ron's) like yesterday’s, was inspiring. It changed my life because that was the day that I decided that I would have a career in biotechnology. - A participant at Ron Davis's Univ of Texas talk
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[/fright]Ron Davis was invited to the University of Texas to talk to the biological and bioengineering departments over two days. His long talk was putatively on developing affordable technologies that can be used by doctors, but it ended up being more than that. On the technology side, though, Davis has always been focused on making a difference.
His Stanford Genome Technology Center's main focus is to develop new and affordable technologies that can make a difference in the doctor's office. That's what the nano-needle - a potentially very cheap diagnostic device - is all about. From SGTC's web page
Our successes can involve improvements to existing technologies or completely new inventions, both of which aim to increase speed and accuracy while decreasing cost.
The Biotechnology (err ME/CFS) Talk
Davis, of course, has done innumerable talks but probably none more important to him than the ones he's doing now on ME/CFS. Because several of Davis's biotechnologies (nanoneedle, magnetic levitation device, HLA analytics) are being used in chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), Davis used the opportunity to spread the word on ME/CFS. He then went into the biological and bioengineering departments over two days doing the same thing.
Janet Dafoe reported that Ron came back from his two-day visit surprised and gratified at the response.
Talks at Universities usually end with a couple of people milling around for 5 or 10 minutes afterwards but Janet reported that hundreds of people remained for up to an hour after Ron's talk. They were interested in ME/CFS and shocked they'd never heard of a disease that was a) so prevalent and b) could be so disabling.
(One researcher told the group that a top official at one of major hospitals there told him he had never heard of the disease.)
Long Time Enroller
The response is actually not all that surprising. Ron is and apparently always has been very good at enrolling people in the subjects he finds fascinating. Check out how a talk of his 43 years ago (!) changed one grad students life:
I thoroughly enjoyed Ron Davis’ talk yesterday, and I wanted to thank you and commend you for inviting him. I met him in 1975 when he gave a talk at UT Southwestern where I was a grad student. That talk, like yesterday’s, was inspiring. It changed my life because that was the day that I decided that I would have a career in biotechnology. Almost 43 years later, I am still fascinated and inspired by that first talk, and I hope some of the UTD students felt the same way.
[fright]
We're lucky to have a couple of people like Ron Davis and Ian Lipkin who can pack a room and whom people will listen to. Every time someone shares authentically about ME/CFS they move the needle forward a bit. Somebody's share with a San Jose State biotechnologist launched potentially groundbreaking research into problems with capillary blood flows in ME/CFS. (Each of Davis's precious ME/CFS samples is now being assessed by the nano-needle, the magnetic levitation device and SJSU's capillary tests)
NIH Director Francis Collins moved the needle when he recently emphasized how serious ME/CFS is in a Medscape interview.
Unrest is moving the needle. Jen Brea's Ted Talk is doing the same. So is Valerie Free's Lighting Up a Hidden World. So are the interviews we're seeing in the media. Every time someone shares authentically about ME/CFS we make some progress.
My new wish for 2018: Ron Davis finds a way to do a talking tour of the major Universities in the U.S....
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