Jacob Trefethen
@JacobTref
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Program director @open_phil, science
San Francisco, CA
Joined June 2015
So excited to share this. If you're into science, please subscribe and let me and Saloni know what you think!. Links to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube etc from this page:
harddrugs.worksinprogress.co
Hard Drugs is a show by Saloni Dattani and Jacob Trefethen about medical innovation: how to speed it up, how to scale it up, and how to make sure lifesaving tools reach the people who need them the...
LAUNCH DAY š Today Iām launching a new podcast, Hard Drugs, with Jacob Trefethen (@JacobTref). Our first episode is about lenacapavir āĀ a new HIV drug that blocks infections with an efficacy rate of nearly 100%, and which could completely change the fight against HIV worldwide.
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Still plodding through this series. Todayās reading, on metagenomic sequencing e.g. of wastewater, to catch new pathogens before they spread far:
13. @Simon__Grimm on how to generate the data necessary to reliably detect new pathogen outbreaks with AI:
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RT @1daysooner: We are hiring! If you are passionate about reducing the burden of infectious diseases worldwide, 1Day is seeking contractorā¦.
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RT @alexkesin: @NikoMcCarty @salonium and @JacobTref podcast episode on lenacapavir. Barry Werth's books on Vertex (about their successfulā¦.
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RT @NikoMcCarty: I wish there was a quarterly magazine that covered the stories behind medicines, and clearly explained how they were discoā¦.
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Proud supporters of this at @open_phil after we saw @mfgrpās wild paper on it a few years ago. Much left to figure out!. Chasing down ābig-if-trueā findings like this is a good fit for science philanthropy, since donors can move quickly, flexibly, reactively vs govt grant cycles
Saw a talk this week on the trippiest thing: bacterial cultures on skin induce immune responses. At Michael Fischbach's lab, they demonstrated immunizing mice against tetanus by just dabbing an engineered version of a harmless staph culture on its head. Unlike intramuscular.
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Canāt resist plugging a list of other articles Iād love to read in case the universe (or Priyanka) is watching:.
Finally finished @faherty530ās electronic doorstopper on the NIH Lots of interesting details. In the spirit of putting your dreams out into the world, Iād love to read similar opinionated pieces on some other public institutions below:.
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As often with great longform, it made me yearn for more:. - does being in Pune help or hurt on talent, given concentration of biotech in Hyderabad?.- role of special economic zones important or incidental?.- has Serum outpaced rest of global health now, eg malaria vaccines stuck?.
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One thing that sticks out from the article is how innovations in manufacturing can sound āincrementalā, but take a product from 0 to 1 in terms of whether it actually affects peopleās lives:
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Sunday, finally sat down with @PriyankaPullaās piece on one of 2025ās most impactful companies. 30y ago Western pharma made expensive vaccines. Now, combo of Serum/Bio E/Bharat/etc (supply), Gates Fnd/DFID/USAID grants (push), & Gavi (pull) means most kids in Africa get vaccines!.
The story of how Serum Institute of India came to deliver at least 1 vaccine to some 65% of children across the world is one of the most important ā and still undersung ā in all of global health
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RT @charlesjkenny: 1. Immunization programs save millions & are very cost-effective, espec in poorest countries. 2. Giving a very poor famiā¦.
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RT @seemaychou: we recently did our biggest icebox so far @ArcadiaScience -- we made the call to wind down our first/longest running start-ā¦.
research.arcadiascience.com
Ticks produce a trove of bioactive molecules. We built a discovery pipeline to find new therapeutics in ticks, but were stymied by compounding challenges in our approach and decided to ice the...
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RT @typedfemale: there is a great trefethen essay about inverse yogiisms. statements that are literally true, but convey something false.ā¦.
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Much to reflect on in this piece, since it's well written for humans, which I'll take while I still can. This was one of the more surprising parts for me. An example of how policy "wins" from open science can have practical costs if imposed as requirements from NIH, vs bottom up
I've written up some thoughts on publishing for machines. 10M research papers are published per year and there are 227M total - machines will be primary producers and readers of publications going forward. It's time to revise the scientific paper.
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this perspective does not apply to most people of course. I cop to some dividends š¤².
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Some responses that if $ is invested, itās already doing good. IMO, bar too low on risk. If your personal needs are already met, & youāre making much $ from dividends, coupons, or rent, thatās a shame. Aim at cap gains & 100% losses on behalf of society if you can afford to lose!.
San Francisco *should* buck the trend here. Build the wealth then ditch the wealth at unprecedented speed. Invest at 100% personal loss for the sake of new ideas, knowledge, cures for others. Build humanity's endowment. Dynamism not dynasties. Basically no oneās giving >=5%/y :(.
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RT @rtk254: 1/ š¢Ā @CosmikNetwork has been awarded $1M in grant funding by @open_phil and @AsteraInstitute! These generous grants will suppoā¦.
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RT @DrSamuelBHume: Liver cancer is expected to almost double between now and 2050 ā but most cases are preventable . Hepatitis B: preventabā¦.
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