Brainstorming Moonshots with the new National Academy of Medicine President Dr. Victor Dzau

One of the organizers of the gathering this evening, Dr. Joon Yun, suggested the moonshot of restoring the homeostatic balance instead of treating the symptoms. “Until the age of 40, the healthcare system is inside our bodies. Then we externalize it with an exquisite system of patches.” Dr. Dzau said he has $100M to support that idea, currently a $1M prize.

Dzau started the conversation with the proclamation that “the government needs some aspirational goals, some moonshots and grand challenges.”

Andy Conrad, head of Google X life sciences team: “Can we empower you to put data driven policy back into the way things work?”

John Martin, Gilead Chairman: “The U.S. develops most of the cures for the planet. And the U.S. pays for most of it. One day, there will be a pill for everything, and it will be dirt cheap.”

Question from audience: “How can we manage the health care divide between those of us in the room and the public that have become clients of the government healthcare system?”

Dzau: “Health equity is the grand challenge of the next century.”