In this special episode, my friend Dr. Sharon Abada shares the story of her grandfather, Dr. Marshall Klaus, and how he helped discover a lifesaving treatment for premature infants called surfactant. This story weaves together family, scientific curiosity, failure, and collaboration to tell the story of a treatment that has saved countless lives.
You can read Dr. Klaus's paper on the website: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2024/11/12/season-4-episode-2-lifesaving-treatment-for-premature-infants-an-interview-with-dr-sharon-abada/
More information about the other characters in this story:
Dr. Mary Ellen Avery: You can read her paper here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/499174#google_vignette, and find more information about her here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ellen_Avery.
Dr. John Clements: You can learn more about him here: https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2024/09/428391/john-clements-whose-science-transformed-newborn-care-dies-101.
All comments made by Sharon are made in her individual capacity and not on behalf of UCSF, and are not reviewed or approved by UCSF.
Erratum: Dr. John Clements's industry partner was Burroughs Wellcome, not Burroughs Williams as stated in the podcast.
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Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats)
Logo credit: Biographics (Jessica Higginbotham, Tania Lintz, and Yolanda Campos Jurado)
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