In this episode, we imagine a future where medical decisions in India are personalised for our DNA; where treatments are tailor-made for our individual genetic makeup.
Why? Because not everyone responds in the same way to any given medical treatment. A painkiller that seems to work for your friend, might not work for you. An anti-diabetic medication that works for your father, might not work for your mother. As researchers are finding out, our genes could hold the answer. Our individual genetic makeup can have a role to play in what diseases we develop; how our bodies metabolise medicines; and what treatments work or don't work for us. If we know how and which genes influence our health, can we develop treatments to target those genes? Do we even know enough about genetic variations within Indian populations and how these variations relate to different diseases or disorders? And can we harness this knowledge to find personalised treatments in the near future?
Read the episode transcript here.
Imagined Tomorrow is created and hosted by Shreya Dasgupta. The episode was co-edited by Abhishek Madan. Intro and outdo music is by Abhijit Shylanath. Get in touch via Twitter, or email imagined.tomorrow@gmail.com.
Guests:
Shambhavi Ravishankar is a lawyer who lives with a rare genetic disease called Alagille Syndrome. She's an associate at Ikigai Law.
Berty Ashley is a molecular geneticist at Dystrophy Annihilation Research Trust (DART) who loves music and science.
Anu Acharya is the founder and CEO of Ocimum Bio Solutions, and Mapmygenome, a personal genomics company.
Dr. Bhawna Sirohi is a cancer specialist with expertise in breast and gastrointestinal cancers at the Apollo Proton Cancer Centre in Chennai
Episode music: Interlude music by 1tamara2, enrique27naveda and Zen_Man from Pixabay
Episode artwork: Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay