In 2009, I quit neurosurgery to invent a new cancer drug but...

Repost/remix in celebration of my 15th Dropout Anniversary! 🎂 After over 30 years of school, I put everything on the line and quit #neurosurgery residency to try to bring a new cancer drug to patients, especially #braincancer patients. The idea came out of my research from when I was a student/trainee. It was extremely risky bc the dogma in the field was that you couldn’t safely block the receptor our drug targeted (beta1 integrin). But I had conviction and support from my mentors and was able to convince some maverick investors. After a few years of hard work we proved the dogma wrong! And we did it with a team never larger than 7 full-time people. In fact, half of the time it was just my wife and I bc we constantly ran out of capital. We rolled up our sleeves and did everything ourselves. Unfortunately, in 2019, just after we received the nod from FDA to begin clinical trials I got completely burned out and the marriage ended. I made my cofounder (and soon to be ex-wife) the CEO. Meanwhile, I moved in with 90(!) strangers in Venice Beach to recover. The pandemic caused delays, of course, but the company successfully enrolled its first #glioblastoma patient in the first clinical trial in early 2021. And in 2022, we were vindicated again when integrins (our drug target) won the Lasker Prize (considered the American Nobel). Suck it, Dogma!!! Unfortunately, the company once again ran out of capital and had to shut the trial down before completion. But I believe wholeheartedly in this technology, especially in combination with modern immunotherapies. And today I’m back with the company (fractionally) as Chief Scientific Officer to help it through this tough time. Yes, my former spouse is now my boss! We’re cool like that. 😎 Yes, I’m still writing the book. 📚 Appreciate everyone’s support over the past couple years since I first posted this. Stay tuned… 💚💚💚 #STEMTok #premed #gradschool #biotech #startup