32. COVID-19, Science, and Dictatorships. (w/Dr. Otto Yang. Part 1)

Dr. Otto Yang is a first-generation Taiwanese-American and the associate chief of infectious disease at UCLA. 

Dr. Yang has a background in clinical infectious diseases, and his laboratory specializes in immunology and HIV infection. That experience and background put Dr.Yang in a unique position at the beginning of the pandemic - and he has repurposed his lab to study COVID19 and how our immune system responds to it. His research was covered in a somewhat controversial way by The New York Times.

We cover a lot of ground in today’s episode. As usual, we talk about Dr. Yang’s personal journey from growing up as a first-generation Taiwanese American in Tennessee to Harvard and then UCLA. We compare notes on dictatorships. Dr. Yang shared a great primer on the state of affairs in Taiwan, which considering what has been happening in Hong Kong, we should all keep an eye on. 

We, of course, talk about Dr.Yang’s research and why he describes himself as, and I quote, “the toilet paper of medicine.” Gwenyth Paltrow and Tom Hanks also make an appearance in that part of the story…

On Thursday, we will be posting part two of the podcast - where we get into the weeds of COVID19. We talk about how the virus spreads, how it works, the variants, the immune system responses, vaccines, and all that good stuff, which we keep learning more and more about every day. 

Let us know what you think about the show. Call our Google Voice at [phone] and leave a message or email a voice memo to [email protected].

 

FIND DR. OTTO YANG:

Dr.Yang's UCLA Profile

DONATE TO DR.YANG'S LAB - Garry Shandling Biomedical Future Fund

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MUSIC: "My country" courtesy of Ben Bostick  www.benbostick.com

 

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We The Aliens podcast hosts conversations with IMMIGRANTS from all over the world who came to the US and found their path to the American Dream. No matter what their status is - undocumented, DACA recipient, permanent resident (green card holder), naturalized citizen - all are welcome here. We talk about the challenges of leaving the home country, finding the legal path, finding a way to belong in the new world, building a career, finding love, and sustaining the family traditions. We talk about IMMIGRATION as a process of growth and self-discovery, adaptation, overcoming cultural shocks, and fighting racial and ethnic stereotypes. We talk about the great contributions immigrants make to the American economy, culture, science, and society. We also feature stories of the first-gens, FIRST GENERATION American-born, the third culture kids, who have their own set of struggles growing in between the cultures of their parents' home country and America. We talk about their battle to find their identity and carve their path while redefining what American is. We talk about philosophy, psychology, culture, language, and history. We also talk about the news of the day, things that we all worry about - but in the context of the immigrant perspective. If you love NPR, This American Life, The Daily, and Pod Save America, if you read Forbes, LA Times, The Atlantic, and New York Times, if you watch John Oliver, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, and/or Trevor Noah, if you are a Twitter and Clubhouse addict because you want to be closer to people,  if you, your spouse, your parent, or your grandma is an immigrant-alien, and you know that you and they came to this country to build and contribute, and you can’t stand discrimination and belittling of their lives and contributions - this podcast is for you.