• Question: what is the probability of your work saving lives?

    Asked by hussainismail to Marcus on 17 Jun 2014.
    • Photo: Marcus Johns

      Marcus Johns answered on 17 Jun 2014:

      Hey Hussain,

      That’s a very good question. I think my work will eventually help save lives, but don’t think that the work that I do in the next 3 years will save lives by itself. In all honesty I’ll be quite happy if at the end of 3 years I can create a material that heart cells can be grown on. I think it’ll then take other people working in biology and medicine with much more expertise in cell growth than I do to take the material and develop it to a stage where it can be put into a person.

      Then there’s always the chance that someone else will come up with a better material than mine and that will be used instead. What I do hope is that when someone creates a solution, my work will feature in the process that was undertaken.

Comments