
S6E06: Decoding Lung Disease
From Two Scientists Walk Into a Bar by Genentech
October 22, 2025 · 40 min
About this episode
The episode explores lung biology and diseases like chronic bronchitis and emphysema, discussing treatment challenges and innovative approaches.
From our first breath, the air we breathe and our genes shape how our lungs function. It’s a complex interplay we began exploring in our season four episode “Take A Deep Breath: Treating Asthma.” Today, we’re branching out to discuss lung biology and the diseases that make it difficult to breathe. In this episode, co-host Maria Wilson speaks with Dorothy Cheung, Executive Group Medical Director, and Daniel Lafkas, Senior Principal Scientist, Translational Discovery Research, Roche, to understand how conditions with unmet need like chronic bronchitis and emphysema disrupt lung function. They discuss the challenges to treating lung diseases and explore promising approaches, from cutting-edge imaging technologies that help researchers uncover early drivers of disease, to treatments aimed at stopping the loss of lung function and restoring it. Read the full text transcript at www.gene.com/stories/decoding-lung-disease
People in this episode
Host: Maria Wilson
Guests: Dorothy Cheung, Daniel Lafkas
Topics covered
- lung disease
- chronic bronchitis
- emphysema
- lung biology
- treatment challenges
Keywords
- lung function
- imaging technologies
- disease drivers
- restoring lung function
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Take A Deep Breath: Treating Asthma
More episodes of Two Scientists Walk Into a Bar
- S7E02: Breakthroughs in MS · April 15, 2026 · 39 min
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- Season Seven Teaser · March 4, 2026 · 3 min
- S6E07: Foundation Models and Agents · December 10, 2025 · 46 min
- S6E05: Cells at Work · September 10, 2025 · 41 min
- S6E04: The Power of Digital Twins · July 16, 2025 · 38 min
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