Joel Hirschhorn: How Genes Add Up

Howie and Harlan are joined by geneticist and endocrinologist Joel Hirschhorn to discuss how thousands of genetic variants collectively shape disease and traits like height and obesity. Harlan reviews new research on diet soda and dementia; Howie surveys recent market swings, including the rise of Solace Health and the decline of Hims & Hers. Show notes: Diet Soda and Dementia "Soda consumption and risk of dementia: The Northern Manhattan study"  "Why One Cardiologist Has Drunk His Last Diet Soda" Joel Hirschhorn National Human Genome Research Institute: Mendelian Inheritance MedlinePlus: FGFR3 gene  Cleveland Clinic: Achondroplasia National Human Genome Research: Polygenic Trait  Hirschhorn Lab "A saturated map of common genetic variants associated with human height"  "What are single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)?" ScienceDirect: Genetic Variant Joel Hirschhorn: "Genome-Wide Association Study of Quantitative Kidney Function in 52,531 Individuals with Diabetes Identifies Five Diabetes-Specific Loci" Joel Hirschhorn: "Polygenic prediction of body mass index and obesity through the life course and across ancestries" "Obesity Prediction Could Be Guided by Genetic Risk Scores" "Genome-wide association study shows BCL11A associated with persistent fetal hemoglobin and amelioration of the phenotype of β-thalassemia"  Society for Science: Noam Elkies MIT: Eric S. Lander Ups and Downs "Understanding Creative Destruction: Driving Innovation and Economic Change" "Solace Health raises $130M series C for advocacy platform" "Molina Healthcare's stocks fall as company plans exit from Medicare Advantage"  "Centene swings to loss but predicts stabilization in 2026" "UnitedHealth limps into 2026 with a smaller business and fresh challenges" "Hims & Hers Falls 14% After Pulling Copycat Wegovy Pill—Novo Nordisk Up 8%"  "Compounding and the FDA: Questions and Answers" In the Yale School of Management's MBA for Executives program, you'll get a full MBA education in 22 months while applying new skills to your organization in real time. Yale's Executive Master of Public Health offers a rigorous public health education for working professionals, with the flexibility of evening online classes alongside three on-campus trainings. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.