#105 – Robert Langer: Edison of Medicine

Robert Langer is a professor at MIT and one of the most cited researchers in history, specializing in biotechnology fields of drug delivery systems and tissue engineering. He has bridged theory and practice by being a key member and driving force in launching many successful biotech companies out of MIT.

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This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify, or support it on Patreon.

Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

OUTLINE:
00:00 – Introduction
03:07 – Magic and science
05:34 – Memorable rejection
08:35 – How to come up with big ideas in science
13:27 – How to make a new drug
22:38 – Drug delivery
28:22 – Tissue engineering
35:22 – Beautiful idea in bioengineering
38:16 – Patenting process
42:21 – What does it take to build a successful startup?
46:18 – Mentoring students
50:54 – Funding
58:08 – Cookies
59:41 – What are you most proud of?