Episode 094 - The Power of AI in Drug Repurposing in RDD and Beyond w/ Dr. Luke Chen

Welcome to Episode 091 of the Beyond the Diagnosis Podcast. Artificial intelligence is opening new possibilities in rare disease research, but what happens when we combine that technology with clinical experience, research, and a willingness to think differently? In this episode, Kathy talks with Dr. Luke Chen, a hematologist and Professor of Medicine at Dalhousie University and an advisor to Every Cure, about the power of drug repurposing and what it could mean for patients with Rosai-Dorfman disease and other rare diseases. Dr. Chen explains how Every Cure uses machine learning to identify promising connections between existing medications and diseases, and how that work, combined with clinical experience, helped elevate lenalidomide and dexamethasone as a treatment option for RDD. They also discuss what it means for this combination to become a preferred treatment in the NCCN Guidelines, particularly for patients who may have limited access to other therapies. Most importantly, this conversation offers a hopeful reminder that progress in rare disease can come from looking at the tools we already have in new ways—and that there is still tremendous potential to uncover.     Let us know what you think! Leave us a review, drop us a comment or share an idea for a future podcast with us at [email protected].    Take a screenshot and tag us @histiocytosis_association on Instagram. We’d love to hear your feedback!   Be sure to subscribe so you can be notified the moment a new episode of Beyond the Diagnosis is released.     Resources mentioned in the podcast:  Dr. Fajgenbaum’s Book: Chasing My Cure: A Doctor’s Race to Turn Hope Into Action  Get more info on Histiocytosis Awareness Month: www.histio.org/getinvolved/raiseawareness  Get involved in our Blue Ribbon Run! www.histio.org/blueribbonrun  Follow the Histiocytosis Association on social media:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/histio  Twitter: @histiocytosis  Instagram: histiocytosis_association  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Histiocytosis    Music: “Heroes” by Noah Smith