Cells, cancer and the cost of uncertainty

UCLA ingenuity touches lives everywhere, but the funding future of research and scholarship across U.S. higher education is uncertain. Despite shifting federal policies, UCLA faculty remain committed to their students, postdoctoral researchers and the discoveries that shape our world.

In the inaugural episode of "Science Interrupted," a special series from the UCLA College's "Tell Us What You Know" podcast, Eric Deeds, a professor of integrative biology and physiology, explains how his lab uses computational and mathematical tools to answer a fundamental question critical to tackling cancer, developmental disorders and other diseases: How do cells know what to become?

Deeds also shares a personal story about his mother's battle with lung cancer and the breakthrough drug Keytruda, which gave her years of life once thought impossible. He reminds listeners that such advances are not miracles but the result of decades of painstaking research.

"Federal grants are investments our society is making for the future," said Deeds. "The more we know about the world, the more effectively we can interact with it, treat diseases and advance lifesaving, world-changing technology."