Jessica Wapner, freelance science and medical writer and author of “The Philadelphia Chromosome,” gave a presentation at the Miniaci Theatre on Nov. 6 as part of the Farquhar College of Arts and Science’s Distinguished Speaker Series centered around the college’s academic theme of identity.
Wapner said, “I considered anyone a potential audience member [for the book] and I am totally delighted to speak with students now.”
Wapner’s book is a chronology of 50 years of genetic research that led to the drug that treats Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). It connects the history of seemingly unrelated scientific discoveries with a suspenseful story of CML patients who rallied together for pharmaceutical companies to make the alternative drug to the painful chemotherapy and risky bone marrow transplants previously available to them. This drug, called Gleecov, is a modern-day scientific landmark. Wapner’s presentation focused on stories of patients who miraculously recover.
“Science is fascinating, but I am always looking for the human story,” she said. “Science and people cannot be separated.”
Wapner explained how research done on chicken tumors played a role in developing Gleecov and how this drug allowed a 43-year-old CML patient to remain a joyful and integral part of his son’s life for years after his diagnosis.
The knowledge from many scientists made the creation of Gleecov possible.
Wapner said, “Different academic disciplines must work together because in life people need to come together. Rarely is one person responsible for a discovery.”
Her book was read by a group of NSU students in the Honors Reading Seminar. Professor Emily Schmitt said she was ecstatic that students of her Honors Seminar Book Study course had the opportunity to meet Wapner in a private session before the public presentation. The course is a one-credit class that discusses a book and underlying themes in detail. In Schmidt’s class, the focus is on the theme of identity because of the conflicting identities of the main character as a doctor, scientist, and an individual.
Schmitt believes that the message in Wapner’s book mirrors the mindset of many of her forward-thinking biology students.
She said the overriding message she took away from the book was the effect of one’s beliefs and actions on other people.
“You never know how what you do will impact others. If you believe that strongly in something maybe eventually others will too,” she said.
Kristi Njaravelil, freshman biology major, read the book in the Honors Reading Seminar. She said the opportunity to meet Wapner and get to know her was the most memorable part of the class.
“The fact that Wapner was so down to earth made the story more real to me,” she said. “I could tell she was passionate about the patients she wrote about.
The book also impacted her own life.
“As a student who is aspiring to become a physician, this book opened my eyes to opportunities I will have to make a difference in cancer patients’ lives,” she said.
In her talk, Wapner explained how all students, not just biology students, can take on the identity of a cause they believe in and advocated for curiosity.
“Students of today have power,” Wapner stated. “It is better to always have more questions than answers…Students are everything to the future advancement of cancer research.”
Wapner’s message was positive and posed challenges to the students. She explained the conflicting interests between oncologists researching new cancer treatments and large, for-profit pharmaceutical companies over money. The cancer researchers were concerned about finding a treatment for CML, but drug companies were not as interested because there is not a large marketplace for CML drugs.
Wapner stated, “If the companies were non-for-profit, there would probably be a cure for Ebola by now.”
She asked the audience, “What role the market size and profit potential should have in pursuing new cancer treatments?” and challenged them to “be haunted by these questions.”
“The Philadelphia Chromosome” can be borrowed from the Alvin Sherman Library or purchased through Wapner’s blog “Work in Progress: Exploring the Ethics and Economics of Drug Development” at jessicawapner.com.
The next distinguished speaker will be neuroscientist and musician Daniel Levitin, who will visit NSU in February.
