New diseases, or, or, diseases that are new
to me in terms of trying to identify problems.
Really all that work flows from a very simple philosophy.
And that is that the solution to every problem
really is embedded in the understanding of the problem.
And I actually try not to solve problems too early.
Because once you start solving a problem,
you close the doors to understanding it further.
So I spend a lot of time not only reviewing the scientific literature, but
also talking to physicians about their specific experiences.
And just you know,
I usually start with a hunch that the problem is worthy of solution, right?
So a, a poorly treated problem or problem with some bad side effects.
So I've, I've already selected a problem that has some of the criteria.
Now I'm trying to understand it.
So I'm, it might take me years, I mean,
I mean it's not a short thing, it may take me, ten years to understand a problem.
And, so I'll continue to.
And, and sometimes, I may not be able to understand those problems.
So, I'm, I'll continue to go after deeper understanding.
I might run even some experiments.
In some cases I have said, okay, I really need to understand this problem, but
I need to replicate a an experiment that was reported in the literature.
So I might do some cell culture studies or
some animal studies to just understand the problem better.
And that usually, you know,
if I can crack the code, it leads to some really novel solutions.
I have a reasonably good understanding of anatomy and
physiology, so I really look for
the underlying causes of the disease or that condition that I'm going after.
So, I'm always interested in the mechanism of the disease,
the mechanism of action of, of current therapies.
What are they acting on?
If there are pharmacologic therapies, how are they acting on the disease, on, on,
at the cellular level?
And, and, if there are side effects, what is causing those side effects?
So I really go down into the the depths of
understanding for, for really understanding the mechanism of
the disease, the mechanism of current therapies and where the gaps are.
I think one of the things you really have to figure out,
because diseases, most diseases are very complex.
And, and you know, you look at your own background.
Are you equipped to understand do you have the educational background and
training to understand those problems?
So don't go after solving a problem that you're not equipped to understand.
because that's going to, that's going to be a hard road.
Now, if you have understanding in adjacent areas you can,
you can cross over and, and, and learn from the literature.
But if you have no, for
instance, if you have never had biology in college, and you don't have any, the fir,
know the first thing about cell biology and pharmacology and anatomy, physiology.
And you're trying to understand, let's say cancer.
It's, it's a, it's a tall order.
So, really understand the class of problems you're capable of understanding,
and if you have gaps in your knowledge, go fill them.
Maybe go back and take courses.
So, so, you have to prepare yourself to be able to understand problems.