How Do You Turn Setbacks Into Motivation? A Doctor + A Trauma Specialist Answer | TED Intersections

Overview

This conversation between immunology researcher David Fajgenbaum and public health expert Celina de Sola explores how personal adversity and systemic challenges inspired them to create organizations that drive large-scale impact. They discuss leveraging existing resources, scaling solutions, and balancing hope with realism in their missions to improve lives through drug repurposing and trauma-informed systems.

Notable Quotes

- I feel like you can hold hope and despair at the same time... it's okay to hold those things because if you're trying to be hopeful, you can't always let go of the sadness and frustration. — Celina de Sola, on navigating emotional dualities in impactful work.

- The medicine was there, but we humans hadn’t done the work to match it together. — David Fajgenbaum, on the untapped potential of existing drugs.

- Hope that drives action... creates a circuit where you get more hopeful and then do even more action. — David Fajgenbaum, on the synergy between hope and effort.

🌍 Addressing Systemic Challenges in Public Health

- Celina de Sola shared her work in El Salvador, focusing on creating trauma-informed systems to help children and families navigate adversity.

- She emphasized the importance of training teachers, nurses, and law enforcement to understand the impacts of stress and trauma, enabling them to provide better support.

- A key insight: the best way to mitigate childhood trauma is through the presence of a caring adult, which her organization integrates into public schools and police training programs.

💊 Repurposing Drugs to Save Lives

- David Fajgenbaum recounted his near-death experience with Castleman disease and how he discovered a drug, originally for organ transplant rejection, that saved his life.

- His nonprofit, Every Cure, uses AI to identify new uses for existing drugs, analyzing 75 million drug-disease combinations in hours.

- He highlighted the inefficiencies in the medical system, where promising treatments are overlooked due to lack of financial incentives or systemic inertia.

🤝 Scaling Impact Through Systems Thinking

- Both speakers emphasized the importance of leveraging existing systems rather than starting from scratch.

- Celina discussed working with public sector professionals at all levels, from community workers to policymakers, to ensure sustainable change.

- David shared how AI has allowed his team to scale drug repurposing efforts, moving from individual cases to thousands of patients globally.

💡 Leadership and Team Building

- Both leaders stressed the importance of assembling mission-driven teams with diverse skill sets.

- David highlighted the need for overcommunication and constant alignment on the organization’s vision to save lives.

- Celina emphasized humility and curiosity when working with external partners, particularly in government systems, to align on shared goals.

🌟 Balancing Hope and Action

- The conversation explored the emotional toll of their work, from heartbreaking setbacks to inspiring successes.

- Both agreed that hope must be paired with action to drive meaningful change.

- Celina reflected on the duality of holding hope and despair, while David described how hope fuels a cycle of action and optimism.