Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/792366
t m c » p u l s e | m a r c h 2 0 1 7 7 Look where we are: the No. 1 medical center in the world. If we don't work on the big problems, who will? We can't run away, shy away. It's a responsibility. It's an ethical responsibility. Berkeley. I get back to Italy and I'm thinking, 'Man, I've gotten my break into big-time action!' All those Nobel laureates at Berkeley. Back in my day, there were 17 Nobel laureates. I was watching all these great people and I was thinking great thoughts. Before I married Marialuisa, I actually stopped going to college for six months so that I could make money any which way I could, including tutoring high school kids. I was a tutoring machine. When I got back to Italy after Berkeley, my father said, 'Well, now you've got your Ph.D., you can charge more when you tutor high school kids!' You see the disconnect? It was all in good faith, but what the heck did they know about Cal Berkeley, universities, Nobel laureates and all that stuff? It's entirely different. Q | You started as a mathematical physicist and mechanical engineer, then moved into medicine. Tell me about that combination of disciplines. A | At Berkeley, I was a mathematician who used to work on mathematical physics. My job was in the mathematical foundation of the theory of relativity and how it applies to the expansion of the universe. Then I got a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, then taught and got a tenured faculty position in materials science, civil engineering and bioengineering. That was just at Berkeley. Then I moved over to Ohio State, where I was a full tenured professor of medicine. I started medical school at age 43 as a full professor of medicine. That was a lot of fun. You know the words 'interdisciplinary' and 'multi- disciplinary?' I don't like either word. I like the word 'superdisciplinary.' You know when you get excited and the sparks start flying when you put two different things together? Now that I've moved to Texas, the way I think about what I try to do is 'disciplinary frack- ing.' I go deep, and I break barriers so the juices start flowing and everybody wins. Q | How will a 'super-disciplinary' approach or 'disciplinary fracking' help us cure cancer? A | The reason we haven't been able to cure cancer is diversity. There is no such thing as one disease. There are hundreds of diseases. Every cancer is different, and you can only fight like with like. Unless you have a diversity of approaches that work together, you cannot beat the diversity of cancers. Nobody can do it solo. It's important that we have depth in all of the disci- plines, but it is equally important—perhaps even more important—that we understand how to connect them in a synergistic fashion. I'm a big believer in the notion that science is autobiography and that science is essentially self-confession. We can only do the science that our brain cells are wired to do. My brain sees patterns, sees connections. I've been a professional mathematician, professional engineer, this and that. I wasn't good at any. I'm a little bit better Mauro Ferrari, Ph.D., points to a special photograph in his office. at putting things together and seeing ways in which things can get together and do things that are impres- sive, which is good for the job that I do. Everything we do here is at the service of patients. A lot of times in the sciences, we do science for the sake of science. I don't mean to criticize because that's the right thing for a lot of people. That's right for uni- versities, but here, we are a hospital. Every day, I get phone calls or emails or con- tacts from people who are desperate, who are dying. Someone with breast cancer, metastatic disease, their life expectancy on average 24 to 36 months. It's them, it's their husbands, their children who contact me and say, 'We read about this thing in mice. Can you do it to my loved one or to me?' Those are very difficult questions and we field each and every one of them personally. Q | You have a framed printout with the words 'Luke 12:48' above your office doorway. What does that mean to you? A | This is the passage from the Gospel of Luke where it talks about the fact that from people to whom much is given, much is expected. Look where we are: the No. 1 medical center in the world. If we don't work on the big problems, who will? We can't run away, shy away. It's a responsibility. It's an ethical responsibility. Q | What do you do in your free time? A | I'm writing theater productions. I write and I perform. The next one I'm going to do is called, I'm Not an Actor. My idea is I'm there in front of a lot of people and I talk to them like I'm talking to you. I'm telling true stories. When you've got 2,000 people in a room, it's kind of hard to look everybody in the face, but that's where the challenge is. I have been through a lot. This has been a very difficult, very rewarding life and I think it's worth telling. Q | Why do these performances? Is it for the benefit of the audience or for you? A | I think it has to be both. There has to be some emo- tional fracking. In some ways, there is a restlessness inside me and it is soothed by talking about things and sharing. You get a feeling of community. It's all part of the mission concept of life. Whether you're religious or not religious, it doesn't make any difference. It's all about service to others. It's the only thing that I find to be soothing for the soul. Nothing else. Q | You have a Downton Abbey tumbler on a shelf in your office. What's the meaning behind it? A | In Downton Abbey, there is one character I identify with very much. The gentleman's name is Mr. Carson. He is the butler in this environment of great aris- tocracy and big castles, which is where we are at the Houston Methodist Research Institute. I know my job. I'm the butler. And I'm very happy to be the butler and a servant. Dr. Mauro Ferrari was interviewed by Pulse reporter Shanley Chien. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Read the full interview at tmc.edu/news/