Episode 68: Dr. Michael Pollastri on Drug Discovery for Neglected Tropical Diseases

Drug discovery is already an incredibly difficult and tedious process, but what happens when there’s little financial incentive to develop the medicine at all? On this exciting episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry edited by Presley Vu, hosts Poorvi Iyer and Nina Deng talk with Dr. Michael Pollastri, senior vice provost and academic lead of the Roux Institute at Northeastern University. From his time as a bench chemist at Pfizer to his current role leading academic research on diseases affecting some of the world’s most vulnerable populations, Dr. Pollastri discusses the realities of neglected diseases and the role academic labs play in addressing gaps in global healthcare research. We hope you enjoy!