Express Adda returns to Delhi to host an oncologist and a stem cell biologist, New York-based Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee is a man of many distinguished parts.
He is a professor of medicine at Columbia University working on cancer research. And the author of three remarkable books. Of these, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (2010) and The Gene: An Intimate History (2016) stand out for their empathetic and clear-sighted exploration of two of medical science’s greatest mysteries: an insidious, pervasive disease such as cancer, and, the gene as a “formula for forms”.
In 2014, Dr. Mukherjee was also conferred the Padma Shri.
During the discussion, Dr. Mukherjee spoke about gene editing and artificial intelligence as the new frontiers of medicine, the ethical implications of both and why he writes.
He also spoke about on modern medicine and mortality, on cancer’s long shadow and on the state of public health in India.
He also answered question raised from audiences on becoming a doctor and his interest on being a trained singer.
The discussion was moderated by Seema Chishti, Deputy Editor, The Indian Express and Paromita Chakrabarti, Senior Editor, The Indian Express.
Among the guests, who attended this adda event were Dr. Dinesh Pendharkar, Medical Oncologist, Asian Institute of Oncology, Mumbai, Pramod Kapoor, founder and publisher, Roli Books, Meru Gokhale, Editor-in-Chief, Literary Publishing, Penguin Random House India, Sreekant Khandekar, Director, Afaqs, PR Ramanujam, Professor of Distance Education, IGNOU, Rahul Ram of the band, Indian Ocean, MR Madhavan, President, PRS Legislative Research, Bim Bissell of Fabindia, Kirit S Parikh, Chairman, IRADe, Vasundhara Tewari Broota, artist, Dr Ajay Kumar, CEO, Fortis Escorts, Sarah Sze, sculptor and wife of Siddhartha Mukherjee, with their daughters, Leela and Aria, Shahid Jameel, CEO, The Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance, Shekhar Bhatia, Mediaperson, Deepak Pental, Former VC, University of Delhi, Soli Sorabjee, Former Attorney General of India, Nasim Zaidi, Former Chief Election Commissioner, Sunita Kohli, Interior Designer and Architect, Nalini Singh, Mediaperson, Rashid Kidwai of Grassroot Trading Network for Women, with Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairperson, Max Financial Services Ltd and Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Express Group.
The Adda, now a keenly awaited fixture on the social calendar of Delhi and Mumbai, has earlier featured politicians Kapil Sibal and Arun Jaitley, superstars Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan, ambassadors Richard Verma, cutting edge filmmakers Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banerjee, Spiritual Leader such as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Baba Ramdev, sportspersons Saina Nehwal, Viswanathan Anand and Virat Kohli, and intellectuals Dr. Amartya Sen, Thomas Friedman, Martin Wolf and Fareed Zakaria among others.