My Quest to Cure Prion Disease — Before It’s Too Late | Sonia Vallabh | TED
Sonia Vallabh’s TED talk, titled “My Quest to Cure Prion Disease — Before It’s Too Late,” is a poignant journey through her personal experience with genetic prion disease and her unwavering determination to find a cure. After receiving a predictive genetic test report revealing her high risk of inheriting the disease, Sonia’s life took a drastic turn as she witnessed her mother succumb to this devastating illness.
With a background in law and engineering, Sonia and her husband, Eric, delved into the world of biomedical sciences to understand and combat prion disease. Their mission led them to establish a lab at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, dedicated to developing a therapy for prion disease within their lifetimes.
Prion disease is a rare but fatal condition that causes rapid degeneration of the brain, leading to death within months of symptoms appearing. Sonia and Eric’s approach to finding a treatment involves preventing the disease before it manifests, rather than intervening once symptoms arise. Their innovative research focuses on targeting the protein responsible for the disease and developing drugs to deactivate it before it can cause harm.
Sonia’s journey is not just a personal quest for a cure but a pioneering effort in the field of rare disease research. By sharing her story and scientific insights, Sonia inspires hope and highlights the importance of combining audacity and humility in the pursuit of preventing and treating devastating neurological conditions.
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Video “My Quest to Cure Prion Disease — Before It’s Too Late | Sonia Vallabh | TED” was uploaded on 06/03/2024 to Youtube Channel TED