Podcast Summary: TED Talks Daily

Episode: How do you turn hope into action? A doctor and a public health expert answer | David Fajgenbaum and Celina de Sola

Date: September 26, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features an unscripted, in-depth conversation between immunology researcher Dr. David Fajgenbaum (founder of Every Cure) and public health expert Celina de Sola (co-founder of Glasswing International). Host Elise Hu introduces the discussion, which centers on how to navigate hope and despair while driving real-world solutions in the fields of medicine and trauma-informed public health. The guests share personal stories, explore systemic challenges, and discuss actionable insights to effect transformative change in their respective sectors.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Holding Hope and Despair Simultaneously

• Balancing Emotions for Change:
  • Celina de Sola emphasizes the importance of accepting both hope and despair as motivators:

    “I feel like you can hold hope and despair at the same time…how do we hold those simultaneously in a way that enables us to keep working and keep learning and…collaborating?” (02:28)

  • This theme recurs throughout as both guests reflect on the duality of working with suffering populations while aiming for systemic change.

2. Personal Journeys Fueling Innovation

• David Fajgenbaum’s Story:
  • Became critically ill with Castleman disease at a young age—an experience that catalyzed his focus on drug repurposing:

    “I went from being this healthy third year med student…to becoming critically ill…nearly died five times…before eventually discovering a drug that wasn’t made for my disease, that could save my life.” (04:50)

  • Fajgenbaum now leads Every Cure, an initiative using AI to scan global medical data to find new uses for existing drugs.
• Celina de Sola’s Approach:
  • Founded Glasswing International in El Salvador to create trauma-informed care systems, especially in contexts of violence:

    “We’re trying to create systems that are more trauma informed…so kids and families can navigate adversity…and thrive.” (03:26)

  • Focus on working in public schools and with law enforcement for wider impact.

3. Systemic Barriers and Solutions

• Repurposing Existing Resources:
  • Both advocate for maximizing what’s already in place—whether medicines or human resources:

    “We have the solutions there, right?...How do we really capitalize on these resources that are sometimes latent…” – Celina de Sola (11:40)

  • Fajgenbaum illustrates this with patient stories where existing drugs saved lives with previously unrecognized applications.
• Building Trauma-Informed Systems:
  • De Sola recounts a police officer’s transformation through trauma training, which later scaled to national police programs:

    “We've been able to work with national police in three countries and they're integrating mental health training as part of their cadet training.” (08:01)

4. Managing Setbacks and Sustaining Motivation

• Embracing Successes and Losses:
  • When asked how he copes with patients for whom no cure is found, Fajgenbaum stresses leveraging both failed and successful cases as motivation:

    “It’s also really motivating. It just, you know, pushes us to work harder and harder.” (12:07)

  • De Sola echoes this, highlighting the need to draw inspiration from those helped, while also acknowledging pain and exhaustion as part of the process:

    “I feel like you can hold hope and despair at the same time…how do we hold those simultaneously in a way that enables us to keep working and keep learning and…collaborating…” (14:33)

5. Scaling Impact without Losing Depth

• From Local to Systematic Change:
  • Both guests started with focused, local interventions that evolved into national or global initiatives.
  • De Sola uses a “systems R&D” analogy:

    “If we’re working deeply and long term in communities…with mental health we knew there was an opportunity to do non clinical work…now there’s a huge demand for it.” (15:27)

  • Fajgenbaum details rapid scaling enabled by AI:

    “When we built our first AI platform…to compute 75 million scores…it took 100 days. Now…about 17 hours to compute the same 75 million scores.” (17:32)

6. Advice for Systemic Changemakers

• David Fajgenbaum’s Framework:
  • Understand existing systemic gaps before acting.
  • Iterate rapidly: “Get into the space, start helping people…then start asking about the system. But don’t stop asking questions…” (21:18)
  • Build a diverse team, especially for areas outside one's expertise:

    “I really don’t have strengths in systems and policy and so I’ve got amazing colleagues…” (21:18)

• Celina de Sola’s Emphasis:
  • Importance of continuous local engagement, alignment with diverse stakeholders, and maintaining both breadth and depth.

7. Resilience, Vision, and Leadership

• Staying the Course Against Big Challenges:
  • Fajgenbaum’s three keys:
    1. Vision—being able to literally visualize the outcome.
    2. Team—having people by one's side.
    3. Small Steps—breaking down challenges.

    “If someone…said, we want you to create what you have now, you’d have been like, no way…But I think taking those little tiny bite-sized pieces…helps me.” (24:35)

  • De Sola cites Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” as a touchstone for hope through visualization. (25:59)

8. Hope That Drives Action

• The Power and Pitfalls of Hope:
  • Fajgenbaum distinguishes between passive and active hope:

    “The type of hope that I love so much is the hope that drives action…when there’s this hope and action circuit, you can get even more hopeful and then do even more action…” (26:43)

  • Both reflect on how hope, when connected to action, is cyclical and sustaining.

9. Leadership, Team Building, and Humility

• Styles and Strategies:
  • De Sola advocates collaborative leadership and knowing when to step back:

    “So much of leadership is…knowing when to get out of the way. And asking for help.” (27:58)

  • Fajgenbaum prioritizes assembling mission-driven teams and overcommunicating vision:

    “Being able to set that vision…constantly remind everyone of what that vision is.” (28:58)

  • Emphasis on humility and curiosity when working with system partners:

    “Maintain the humility and curiosity about…what they need, what their priorities are…” (30:41)

  • Both agree diversity, perseverance, and genuine curiosity are essential for sustained impact.

Memorable Quotes and Moments

• “You can hold hope and despair at the same time.” – Celina de Sola (02:28, 14:33)
• “All I’ve been able to think about is how many more drugs are out there that are made for one disease that could actually save way more lives.” – David Fajgenbaum (04:50)
• “It’s all about impact, that’s why we do what we do.” – David Fajgenbaum (09:37)
• “Joseph and Tara, a year and a half ago, were planning Joseph’s funeral. Now they’re planning their wedding together.” – David Fajgenbaum (11:18)
• “Hope that drives action…when there’s this hope and action circuit, I find that you can get even more hopeful and then do even more action and then be more hopeful and drive even more change.” – David Fajgenbaum (26:43)
• “So much of leadership is about doing things together and knowing when to get out of the way. Right. And I think. And asking for help.” – Celina de Sola (27:58)
• “If it was easy to solve, someone else would have done it and we wouldn’t be working so hard.” – David Fajgenbaum (31:35)

Notable Timestamps

• 02:28: Celina de Sola on hope and despair
• 03:11: Fajgenbaum on AI-driven drug repurposing
• 04:50: Fajgenbaum’s personal medical odyssey
• 08:01: De Sola’s story of a police officer’s transformation
• 09:37: Fajgenbaum on impact and a success story (Joseph)
• 11:18: The story arc from patient despair to hope
• 12:07: Discussing setbacks and motivation
• 15:27: Scaling trauma-informed work in Glasswing
• 17:32: How AI supercharged drug repurposing scale
• 21:18: Fajgenbaum’s systemic change advice
• 24:35: Keys for facing overwhelming challenges
• 26:43: Hope that drives versus stifles action
• 27:58: Approaches to leadership and team-building
• 30:41: The necessity of humility and curiosity in leadership

Tone and Feel

The conversation is authentic, vulnerable, and deeply hopeful—marked by stories of personal and systemic struggle, coupled with pragmatic optimism. Both guests balance intellectual rigor with heartfelt compassion, emphasizing real-world application, resilience in the face of setbacks, and the persistent quest to turn hope into transformative action.