Over the past few years in this column, I have occasionally shouted out a book I have read and I have occasionally been rewarded by more than a few of my readers then sharing with me their thoughts and experiences of these same works. As the first editorial of 2020, I thought it might be fun to go to my bookshelf and share a number of the titles I have read over the past year.
I always read both nonfiction and fiction at the same time, but I am only going to give you my nonfiction picks. To get my fiction reading list, you will have to buy me a glass of wine so I can wave my hands and tell you why I picked certain books. A second caveat is that I must be truthful and tell you that I often buy the Kindle version of a nonfiction book first, and if I really like it, then I buy the real deal because I like to write and scribble in my books. I am not sure what that says about me but thats the way it is and virtually all have come into my passion this way.
Leonard H.Calabrese
There is no total unifying theme of the nine books I am recommending to you but, after looking at this stack, I think I found a few threads. My intention in this column is to give you enough information that will tempt you to pick one or more up on the basis of our shared interests. The first theme surrounds my work, namely the field of immunology in all its glory. There are three books that deal with my field and thus one may wonder what there could be in books written for the lay public that would make heart a card-carrying immunology guys heart sing to read? The answer is easy. Its all about the humanity.
In An Elegant Defense, Matt Richtel recounts stories of real patients with HIV, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer intersecting with therapeutic advances in the field, and the enormous impact these changes have had on them. In The Breakthrough, Charles Graeber details the backstory of the people behind the development of checkpoint inhibitors, including many colorful interviews with Nobel Laureate James P. Allison, PhD even for me, actively working in the field, this was a terrific read.
Finally, the real sleeper in the immunology cassette, is The Beautiful Cure by Daniel M. Davis, which despite not garnering the press it deserves, in my opinion is a brilliant treatise on the evolution of the field of immunology over the past century. The book is written in scholarly fashion, but laced with terrific backstories in the style of The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee. Read it!
Switching gears, The Compassionate Connection by David Rakel and Suggestible You by Eric Vance are all about placebo science and the role of interpersonal relationships in building wellness and healing. Both of these are great reads and I am planning on a cover story/roundtable in the spring on placebo science in rheumatology. See how this works now?
The Longevity Diet by Valter Longo, PhD, a leading researcher in aging/longevity research is a terrific read on something we all share an interest in namely how to eat and living a long life. I find choosing books in the wellness field often problematic given the myriad of bugnutty offerings out there, but I assure you, Dr. Longo is a scientist in the truest sense of the word. I recently hosted him at my 2019 Cleveland Clinic Biologic Therapies VIII Summit, a presentation you will be able to watch when it posts on our website in the near future.
In my previous editorials in February 2019 and April 2019, I have already discussed the profound impact of The Empathy Effect by Helen Reiss, MD, and Deep Medicine by Eric Topol, MD, so I will not expound on them again if you havent picked up by now, please do. Perhaps counterintuitively, I believe these books on empathy and artificial intelligence are intimately related. As I have written in the past, one of the most exciting and challenging areas of investigation lying ahead is how to bring empathy to the growing onslaught of AI, machine learning and technology. We must figure this out.
Finally, why did Leonardo Da Vinci, by the noted biographer Walter Isaacson, make it to my bedside reading table? There are many reasons, perhaps prominent among them that 2019 was the 500th anniversary of the death of the most curious man with the greatest mind the world has ever known. Probably more important is a passion to learn about him instilled by a friend and a physician, humanist and Da Vinci scholar, Sal Mangione, MD, from Thomas Jefferson University.
I have heard Dr. Mangione speak on Da Vinci many times, and he has also graced our Medical Grand Rounds podium frequently discussing art, observation and humanism. His passion for the life, work and genius of Leonardo Da Vinci is quite infectious, and the book is a great start to understanding the master Thank you Sal, I am hooked.
These are my nonfiction picks from the last year tell me about yours through Twitter at @LCalabreseDO or email me at calabrl@ccf.org.
Disclosures: Calabrese reports consulting relationships with AbbVie, Centecor Biopharmaceutical, Crescendo Bioscience, GlaxoSmithKline, Horizon Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and UCB.
Over the past few years in this column, I have occasionally shouted out a book I have read and I have occasionally been rewarded by more than a few of my readers then sharing with me their thoughts and experiences of these same works. As the first editorial of 2020, I thought it might be fun to go to my bookshelf and share a number of the titles I have read over the past year.
I always read both nonfiction and fiction at the same time, but I am only going to give you my nonfiction picks. To get my fiction reading list, you will have to buy me a glass of wine so I can wave my hands and tell you why I picked certain books. A second caveat is that I must be truthful and tell you that I often buy the Kindle version of a nonfiction book first, and if I really like it, then I buy the real deal because I like to write and scribble in my books. I am not sure what that says about me but thats the way it is and virtually all have come into my passion this way.
Leonard H.Calabrese
There is no total unifying theme of the nine books I am recommending to you but, after looking at this stack, I think I found a few threads. My intention in this column is to give you enough information that will tempt you to pick one or more up on the basis of our shared interests. The first theme surrounds my work, namely the field of immunology in all its glory. There are three books that deal with my field and thus one may wonder what there could be in books written for the lay public that would make heart a card-carrying immunology guys heart sing to read? The answer is easy. Its all about the humanity.
In An Elegant Defense, Matt Richtel recounts stories of real patients with HIV, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer intersecting with therapeutic advances in the field, and the enormous impact these changes have had on them. In The Breakthrough, Charles Graeber details the backstory of the people behind the development of checkpoint inhibitors, including many colorful interviews with Nobel Laureate James P. Allison, PhD even for me, actively working in the field, this was a terrific read.
Finally, the real sleeper in the immunology cassette, is The Beautiful Cure by Daniel M. Davis, which despite not garnering the press it deserves, in my opinion is a brilliant treatise on the evolution of the field of immunology over the past century. The book is written in scholarly fashion, but laced with terrific backstories in the style of The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee. Read it!
Switching gears, The Compassionate Connection by David Rakel and Suggestible You by Eric Vance are all about placebo science and the role of interpersonal relationships in building wellness and healing. Both of these are great reads and I am planning on a cover story/roundtable in the spring on placebo science in rheumatology. See how this works now?
The Longevity Diet by Valter Longo, PhD, a leading researcher in aging/longevity research is a terrific read on something we all share an interest in namely how to eat and living a long life. I find choosing books in the wellness field often problematic given the myriad of bugnutty offerings out there, but I assure you, Dr. Longo is a scientist in the truest sense of the word. I recently hosted him at my 2019 Cleveland Clinic Biologic Therapies VIII Summit, a presentation you will be able to watch when it posts on our website in the near future.
PAGE BREAK
In my previous editorials in February 2019 and April 2019, I have already discussed the profound impact of The Empathy Effect by Helen Reiss, MD, and Deep Medicine by Eric Topol, MD, so I will not expound on them again if you havent picked up by now, please do. Perhaps counterintuitively, I believe these books on empathy and artificial intelligence are intimately related. As I have written in the past, one of the most exciting and challenging areas of investigation lying ahead is how to bring empathy to the growing onslaught of AI, machine learning and technology. We must figure this out.
Finally, why did Leonardo Da Vinci, by the noted biographer Walter Isaacson, make it to my bedside reading table? There are many reasons, perhaps prominent among them that 2019 was the 500th anniversary of the death of the most curious man with the greatest mind the world has ever known. Probably more important is a passion to learn about him instilled by a friend and a physician, humanist and Da Vinci scholar, Sal Mangione, MD, from Thomas Jefferson University.
I have heard Dr. Mangione speak on Da Vinci many times, and he has also graced our Medical Grand Rounds podium frequently discussing art, observation and humanism. His passion for the life, work and genius of Leonardo Da Vinci is quite infectious, and the book is a great start to understanding the master Thank you Sal, I am hooked.
These are my nonfiction picks from the last year tell me about yours through Twitter at @LCalabreseDO or email me at calabrl@ccf.org.
Disclosures: Calabrese reports consulting relationships with AbbVie, Centecor Biopharmaceutical, Crescendo Bioscience, GlaxoSmithKline, Horizon Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and UCB.
Read more:
What's on Your Shelf? Recommended Reading in the New Year - Healio
- Scipher Medicine and Atropos Health Partner to Accelerate Precision Medicine and Expand the Immunology Multimodal Network - Business Wire - December 23rd, 2024 [December 23rd, 2024]
- AbbVie to expand immunology pipeline with $200m Nimble Therapeutics acquisition - PMLiVE - December 23rd, 2024 [December 23rd, 2024]
- Sir Gustav Nossal Professor of Immunology to honour giant of Australian science - Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research - December 9th, 2024 [December 9th, 2024]
- Research Assistant in Immunology - Surrey, United Kingdom job with UNIVERSITY OF SURREY | 384335 - Times Higher Education - November 28th, 2024 [November 28th, 2024]
- Reflecting on Pioneering organoids and 3D cell cultures for animal and human health - British Society for Immunology | - November 28th, 2024 [November 28th, 2024]
- Innate Pharma Announces Publication in Science Immunology Highlighting Innovative Next-generation ANKET - Business Wire - November 20th, 2024 [November 20th, 2024]
- TRexBio Announces $84 Million Series B Financing to Advance Pipeline of First-in-Class Immunology Programs into Clinical Development - Business Wire - November 20th, 2024 [November 20th, 2024]
- Discovering Solutions for Long COVID: A T-Cell Immunology Breakthrough - Infection Control Today - November 20th, 2024 [November 20th, 2024]
- Innate Pharma Announces Publication in Science Immunology Highlighting Innovative Next-generation ANKET IPH6501 - The Bakersfield Californian - November 20th, 2024 [November 20th, 2024]
- Immunology Data Shows INOVIO's INO-3107 Induced Expansion of New Clonal T Cells That Infiltrate Airway Tissue and Correspond With Reduction of... - November 20th, 2024 [November 20th, 2024]
- What it's like in allergy and immunology: Shadowing Dr. Fraser - American Medical Association - November 12th, 2024 [November 12th, 2024]
- Dr. Naba Sharif Elected President of the New Jersey Allergy Asthma and Immunology Society - Newswire - November 12th, 2024 [November 12th, 2024]
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology Named a National Milestones Program - Stony Brook News - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Astria Therapeutics to Present at Upcoming American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting - businesswire.com - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Remembering immunology educator, researcher Tom McDonald, PhD - University of Nebraska Medical Center - October 13th, 2024 [October 13th, 2024]
- Systems immunology approaches to study T cells in health and disease - Nature.com - October 13th, 2024 [October 13th, 2024]
- Leading the charge to discover answers in immunology - The University of Arizona - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- New mouse models offer valuable window into COVID-19 infection - La Jolla Institute for Immunology - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Wide-Moat AbbVie Poised for Growth, Driven by Innovation in Immunology Beyond Humira - Morningstar - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Lilly's immunology unit scores another FDA nod with eczema treatment Ebglyss - FiercePharma - September 23rd, 2024 [September 23rd, 2024]
- Huang Named Head Of Pathology And Immunology - Mirage News - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Huang named head of pathology & immunology - Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Apogee Therapeutics to Participate at the Stifel 2024 Immunology and Inflammation Summit - Yahoo Finance - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Eliem Therapeutics to Participate at the Stifel 2024 Virtual Immunology and Inflammation Summit - StockTitan - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- UCLA receives $120 million from Alya and Gary Michelson for new California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy - UCLA Newsroom - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Boosting vaccines for the elderly with 'hyperactivators' - Boston Children's Answers - Boston Children's Discoveries - June 27th, 2024 [June 27th, 2024]
- Immunologists Want You to Know These Dust Mite Allergy Facts - Yahoo Lifestyle UK - June 27th, 2024 [June 27th, 2024]
- How Ragon Institute's new building aids its mission Harvard Gazette - Harvard Gazette - June 27th, 2024 [June 27th, 2024]
- Insights into CRS and NPs: Visual and Bibliometric Analysis - Physician's Weekly - June 27th, 2024 [June 27th, 2024]
- Biogen joins immunology wave with $1.15 billion acquisition of HI-Bio - STAT - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- Biogen Buys Desired Growth In Immunology With $1.15bn Hi-Bio Deal - Scrip - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- Biogen Boosts Immunology Portfolio with $1.8 Billion Acquisition of HI-Bio - BioPharm International - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- Owkin Unveils AI-Driven Oncology and Immunology Pipeline, In-Licenses Best-in-Class Asset OKN4395 - Yahoo Finance - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- Biogen to expand immunology and rare disease portfolio with $1.8bn HI-Bio acquisition - PMLiVE - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- Astria Therapeutics to Present at Upcoming European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Congress - Business Wire - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- Biogen to buy Human Immunology Biosciences in deal worth up to $1.8B - MM+M Online - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- COVID-19 Re-Vaccinations Elicit Neutralizing Antibodies Against Future Variants - Technology Networks - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- HIV Vaccine Candidate Induces Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies in Humans - Technology Networks - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- Pasteur Fiocruz Center on Immunology and Immunotherapy is inaugurated in Cear - Fiocruz - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- Biogen to buy Human Immunology Biosciences in up to $1.8 billion deal - Marketscreener.com - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- Fellow Focus in Four: Marat Kribis, MD, Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology - Yale School of Medicine - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Long COVID Can Now Be Detected in the Blood - Technology Networks - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Rimjhim Agarwal selected as Major Symposium speaker at the American Association of Immunologists ... - La Jolla Institute for Immunology - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Seeking new horizons: Where innovators find opportunities in a fast-changing immunology landscape - IQVIA - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Researchers identify new way to inhibit immune cells that drive allergic asthma - EurekAlert - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Innovation in Oncology and Cancer Immunology Research - Boehringer Ingelheim - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Measles outbreaks show the risk of under-vaccination | News | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health - HSPH News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Immunology-oncology ELISA Kits Market to Witness a Healthy Growth by 2030 - WhaTech - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Spring Allergy Season Is Getting Worse. Here's What to Know. - The New York Times - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Multiple sclerosis has distinct subtypes, study finds, pointing to different treatments - STAT - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Researchers identify viable vaccine targets for hepatitis C infections - News-Medical.Net - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Three research projects awarded funding from the Immunology Institute Pilot Project program - University of Alabama at Birmingham - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Deal Watch: AbbVie Adds To Immunology Pipeline Through Deal With OSE - Scrip - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- AbbVie and Tentarix Announce Collaboration to Develop Conditionally-Active, Multi-Specific Biologics for Oncology ... - PR Newswire - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Integrating single-cell multi-omics and prior biological knowledge for a functional characterization of the immune system - Nature.com - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Renowned immunologist and four-decade UAB researcher Max Cooper, M.D., will deliver this year's Marx Lecture - University of Alabama at Birmingham - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Inactivation of TGF- signaling in CAR-T cells | Cellular & Molecular Immunology - Nature.com - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Babies use their immune system differently but efficiently | Cornell Chronicle - Cornell Chronicle - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Antibody reduces allergic reactions to multiple foods in NIH clinical trial - National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov) - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Mestag Therapeutics Enlists Leading Cancer Biology and Immunology Advisors to Support Clinical Development of its ... - GlobeNewswire - February 21st, 2024 [February 21st, 2024]
- Theratechnologies announces publication in Frontiers in Immunology on TH1902 - TipRanks.com - TipRanks - February 21st, 2024 [February 21st, 2024]
- Smoking has long-term effects on the immune system - Institut Pasteur - February 21st, 2024 [February 21st, 2024]
- Spring Allergies Attack More Than Just Your Nose - ACAAI Public Website - American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology - February 21st, 2024 [February 21st, 2024]
- Theratechnologies Announces Publication in Frontiers in Immunology that Deepens Understanding of Sudocetaxel ... - GlobeNewswire - February 21st, 2024 [February 21st, 2024]
- Shikhar Mehrotra named co-leader of Cancer Biology and Immunology research program at MUSC Hollings - The Cancer Letter - January 27th, 2024 [January 27th, 2024]
- Gut Microbiome Benefits of Breast Milk Revealed in Mouse Study - Technology Networks - January 27th, 2024 [January 27th, 2024]
- Research on Immunological Diseases Launches with Hungarian Participation - Hungary Today - January 27th, 2024 [January 27th, 2024]
- UCLA to turn former shopping mall into centers for research on immunology and quantum science - The Associated Press - January 8th, 2024 [January 8th, 2024]
- TRexBio Announces a First Option Was Exercised by Partner under Immunology Discovery Collaboration - Business Wire - January 8th, 2024 [January 8th, 2024]
- UCLA to turn former Westside Pavilion into centers for research on immunology and quantum science - KABC-TV - January 8th, 2024 [January 8th, 2024]
- HI-Bio Announces $95 Million Series B Financing to Advance Targeted Therapies for Immune-Mediated Diseases - PR Newswire - January 8th, 2024 [January 8th, 2024]
- Beyond Cytotoxicity: The Importance of T Cell Memory - The Scientist - January 8th, 2024 [January 8th, 2024]
- IKAROS: Unlocking the secrets of the immune system's key player - News-Medical.Net - January 8th, 2024 [January 8th, 2024]
- UCLA to turn former shopping mall into centers for research on immunology and quantum science - The Caledonian-Record - January 8th, 2024 [January 8th, 2024]
- Revolutionizing Vaccine Research: The Power of a New Algorithm - SciTechDaily - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Impact of the gut microbiome on immunological responses to COVID-19 vaccination in healthy controls and people ... - Nature.com - December 22nd, 2023 [December 22nd, 2023]
- Two new practice parameters offer recommendations for treating anaphylaxis and atopic dermatitis - News-Medical.Net - December 22nd, 2023 [December 22nd, 2023]
- Physician and Patient (Un)Wellness in Allergy and Immunology During COVID-19 and Beyond: Lessons for the Future - Physician's Weekly - December 22nd, 2023 [December 22nd, 2023]
- Researchers Identify Why Some Cancers Do Not Respond to Immunotherapy - NYU Langone Health - December 22nd, 2023 [December 22nd, 2023]
- MU's Haval Shirwan recognized for achievements in immunology - Columbia Daily Tribune - December 22nd, 2023 [December 22nd, 2023]