Name: Impact Initiative 2023: Leveraging Cutting-Edge Science To Cure, Prevent, Or Manage All Diseases
Uploaded: 2023-09-14
Duration: 13 min 8 s
Description: Dr. Priscilla Chan, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (joining virtually) Interviewer: Ellie Austin, FORTUNE

Dr. Priscilla Chan, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (joining virtually) Interviewer: Ellie Austin, FORTUNE

Impact Initiative 2023: Leveraging Cutting-Edge Science To Cure, Prevent, Or Manage All Diseases 

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Since the inception of the Chan Zuckerberg initiative in 2015, Priscilla Chan and her husband, Mark Zuckerberg have committed more than $6.4 billion to scientific research. They've also pledged to devote 99% of their meta stop over the course of their lives to philanthropy. And a major part of this money is focused on one specific goal that they set for their organization curing preventing or managing all disease by the end of the century here to share more about the Chan Zuckerberg initiative. Please welcome Dr Priscilla Chan, who's joining us, virtually, co founder and co chief executive of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Hello, Doctor Chan, and thank you so much for joining us. And I just want to say that this is your first interview um back from maternity leave following the birth of your third daughter. So, first of all, congratulations. And secondly, a particular thanks for taking the time to speak to us today. So in my introduction, I reference that very lofty goal that you and Mark set when you started the initiative in 2015, 8 years and the small matter of a global pandemic later, how realistic. Does that original goal seem? Uh Thank you so much for having me. I'm thrilled to be here. This is in fact, day three of coming back full time. Um So I'm, I'm thrilled to be jumping back into talking about the work. Uh Yeah, so it's been eight years since we started the Chan Zuckerberg initiative. And at that time, Mark and I decided we wanted to dedicate our experiences, our expertise and our resources to addressing some of society's biggest challenges. And in science, we set the audacious goal to cure prevent or manage all disease uh by the end of the century. And in science that our work shows up in three ways, um we build uh valuable open source tools for scientists to be able to do their work better. We fund great biomedical research across the globe and for projects that need more concentrated efforts, more collaborative efforts. Um We do science in our bio hubs um first in San Francisco and soon in Chicago. And it might seem like a strange question. But what's the ultimate goal for eradicating disease? Is it that we all live to 150? Is it that our life expectancy stays the same? But the quality of our life is better. I guess what I'm asking is how would eradicating the threats posed by disease change humanity? It's really important to be able to uh keep people healthy and keep people well in order for us to be our best productive selves. And uh we're in a place in, in science where we can look at mutations but, and we can look at the end state of what happens in disease. But the middle is largely a complete mystery. And we can't actually really understand how to diagnose treat or prevent all of those would be a fantastic outcome because we don't understand what happens in the middle. So our work is really focused on making sure that we do our part in advancing how uh our understanding from a scientific perspective of how the body works. And for us, our um you know, 10 year goal is to really focus in on the cell. Um Cells are hard to study for a few reasons. One there's trillions of them and they're all different types. Um They're really, really small and they are dynamic. And so our goal really is to really understand what cells are doing in healthy and disease states so that we can um we can help patients and families understand um what's happening in their body and how to actually address it. And but you know it, no, please, no, please continue. Doctor Chang. And I was gonna say there's no one end utopia. It's really about making sure that we're accelerating our knowledge so that we're empowering scientists, doctors and patients. Um health is only one part of what you do at the CC I. There's also education and there's community work, which looks at economic inclusion and affordable housing. When you have the funds, the ambition, the social network that you and Mark do. How do you decide which of the world's many problems you want to solve and which issues and areas maybe aren't right for you. I want to start by saying the same thing I say at every new higher orientation, which is we're a big philanthropy, we're so lucky to be able to part uh to be involved and participate in power work in the field. But we are teeny tiny. Um You know, you've mentioned that we've funded billions of dollars of science, but the NIH in the United States funds on like 300 plus billions of dollars of science every single year. So we have to be really careful and strategic about where we think we can bring uh differentiated value. And so we look beyond dollars, we look to expertise um that we have, we're approximate to, we look at our ability to make a different bet um that can complement the work that's already happening. And so we at CC I, we call it like does it fit into AC C I shape problem? Um Are we, can we be a unique contributor in this space based on the resources and the uh capabilities we have within our four wall? And you talked about your new hires there. Now, in 2019, you and Mark donated almost $7 million to increase the diversity of college stem students. And I wonder now when you're hiring at C I or when you're thinking about the universities you might partner with for the bio hub. How diverse are the pools of people wanting to work for or with you? We've been so lucky to have uh an incredible community around us and the work that we do. And, you know, as you mentioned, young people are a huge part of that, but it's actually core to the work and the science that we want to do too. Um Right now, our our goal is to cure, prevent and manage the disease and that's for everyone. And in biomedical research, the majority of uh our knowledge, our data that comes out of labs is based on adults of European ancestry. Um that doesn't fit me, doesn't fit many people in the room and obviously leaves out a huge subset of people in the world role. And so our goal is to make sure that our work, both the people doing the work and our work um actually move the needle forward for everyone. And so um we funded uh the Historically Black Medical Colleges, one of which is right, right near you guys in Atlanta right now. Um to actually both diversify the people doing great uh science within their institutions as well as building uh a genetics and genetic counseling program to um demystify a lot of what it means to participate in research and to bring many more into the fold so that we have individuals of all different backgrounds coming in, um, and participating in the work and being represented in science. And, uh, you know, racial diversity is just one form of diversity. Another that's very near and dear to my heart as a pediatrician is making sure that we don't forget kids. Um Right now, a lot of research doesn't represent kids and doesn't tell us about their development. And um what should be happening as they grow up, what happens when they get sick because they have a different subset of issues that they face. And so we've been really intentional about seeding research that includes um brings in Children so that we have information across the spectrum of race, race and age as we um as we move forward in this really exciting era of science that that's really interesting and, and just one extra note on the health equity um question, public health experts estimate that treatment often only accounts for about 20% of a patient's outcome when they're suffering from a chronic health condition. Lifestyle education are also key factors. How do you make sure doctor Chan that any major breakthroughs you make at the initiative will be accessible to anyone, regardless of where they live or how much money they earn. So our research is um in the work that we do and the tools that we build, we keep it as an open source tool so that people can really access, uh scientists can access it wherever. Another really important part in health equity is actually you mentioned that treatment is just a tiny portion of it. Uh We have a portfolio called Science and Society where we support Rare disease research. And what we find is that the diagnostic journey is a place of large inequities. Um patients that don't have access to established medical centers may live far away or um aren't well plugged into the medical system, spend a lot of their time in on the just going bouncing from one place to the other without getting an answer. And we've been working very closely with rare disease groups um uh to make sure that we learn from their experiences to understand how our science, that is the science that we're supporting can be applied quickly and um equitably to individuals so that they can receive the uh the diagnosis. One of the first and most clarifying steps in their health journey um to get the treatment that they need. I have one more question and then I'm hoping that we have time for a question from the room. So Bill Gates once said in an interview that he doesn't want a legacy. How would you like to be remembered Dr Chan as an individual? And how do you hope you and your husband are remembered as a couple? Well, first of all, I want, I want this work to be successful. This work is so much bigger than myself or Mark. Um And, you know, we're building these incredible data sets and tools, but um it's both very exciting and a little nerve wracking because we're at the beginning of this journey, we want to be able to see this work applied. We wanted to just see this work translate to um affect patients lives. And every single time that we get to see an example of that, whether it's seeing cystic fibrosis in a new way or uh seeing a rare uncurable disease, um have a new cutting edge treatment. That's what gives me life in this work. Um And so I think first and foremost, I want to make sure that I'm doing everything I can to both build up the science and ensure that the basic science has a very, very strong connection to the lives of individuals. Is there a question from anyone in the room for Doctor Chan? If not? Yes, yes, please. Could we get a mic? Um And if you could keep it relatively brief, that would be great. Thank you. I appreciate it. Uh Doctor Chang admires CC I uh what CD I do for, you know, for all of us, I'm in mental health uh industry. So my question to you is uh for, when you mention about very dear to you is for children's health. And I wonder c I has done anything or it's going to do anything for the mental health for Children. Um What, you know, one thing that we do at CC I is make sure is really think about how we're supporting the whole child in the classroom. And it's not just about, you know, working in math and getting the math results. It's really thinking about how the child needs to be supported in their sense of belonging and their sense of well being um every day in the classroom so that they can thrive. And so that's the place where we do the most work um in, in your sector. Doctor Tan. Thank you so much for joining us today and good luck with the rest of your return to work. And we're thrilled that you are here.