Episode 4: Dr. Michael Metzger: Future of Healthcare from a Clam

PNRI Science: Mystery & Discovery

“If there's a way for an animal to evolve to block cancer, I want to know what that is. I think it has the potential to be really useful for humans.” - Dr. Michael Metzger

In this episode of PNRI Science: Mystery and Discovery, PNRI CEO Jack Faris interviews PNRI’s Assistant Investigator, Dr. Michael Metzger, about contagious cancer in clams. This cancer is over 400 years old and might hold the key to humans resisting cancer. We might all be thanking a clam for saving us from cancer in the future!

Michael Metzger, PhD, is a PNRI Assistant Investigator and an affiliate faculty member in the University of Washington’s Department of Genome Sciences and the Molecular and Cellular Biology Program. He earned his BS at Cornell University, and his MS in Epidemiology and PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Washington.

What you'll hear in this episode:

• [1:21] Meet Michael Metzger
• [2:23] Real-time science experiments
• [3:30] Three types of transmissible cancers
• [7:30] Can you get cancer from a clam?
• [11:56] Michael’s career path, incuding how he arrived at clams
• [19:26] Mentorship during Michael’s career
• [27:03] Who are the stakeholders with the clams?
• [34:31] Interdisciplinary research and cross-talk between fields
• [37:03] Science in today’s world

In this episode, Michael explains the 400-year-old contagious cancer in clams and how studying it can illuminate pathways for future cancer treatments in humans. He also delves into how this cancer is also similar to an infectious disease and to a parasite. His lab’s interdisciplinary approach is creative, novel, and critical to unlocking our possible resistance to cancer.

The Metzger Lab embodies PNRI’s spirit of intellectual freedom to drive medical breakthroughs. We provide the freedom for scientists to follow where the science leads, and that culture creates incredible discoveries.

To learn more about Michael, read his in-depth Q&A: or check out his lab webpage: pnri.org/metzger-lab

Connect with PNRI, ask our scientists questions, or come on a lab tour! pnri.org/about/connect

This podcast is hosted by PNRI CEO Jack Faris and his daughter Anna Faris: www.instagram.com/annafaris

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