David Fajgenbaum, MD
He cured himself. Now he’s on a mission to cure – and inspire – many more.
Turning hope into action to cure more diseases
Dr. David Fajgenbaum is a world-renowned physician-scientist, bestselling author, inspirational speaker, and survivor on a mission to save lives by using AI and relentless hope to unlock hidden cures.
Hi, I’m David. I’m a survivor, scientist, physician, and disease hunter.
During medical school, I was diagnosed with Castleman disease, a rare and deadly condition that nearly took my life five times. With no effective treatments available, I turned my desperation into determination—conducting my own research, co-founding the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network, and eventually discovering a repurposed treatment that is saving my life and many others. I rushed to write Chasing My Cure to share the lessons I learned about life, hope, and love before my disease took my life. Amazingly, it’s been over 11 years of remission, I have an amazing family, and my book is being turned into a movie by the Oscar-winning Producer of Forrest Gump, Wendy Finerman.
My mission has grown too. I co-founded Every Cure to save and improve lives by repurposing existing medicines to treat diseases they weren’t originally designed for—what I call finding “cures hiding in plain sight.” Whether in the lab, on stage, or through my book Chasing My Cure, I’m driven by the belief that even in our darkest moments, hope and action can lead to breakthroughs that change lives.
One of the world’s most
influential people in health
Chasing My Cure
A Doctor’s Race to Turn Hope into Action; A Memoir
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The powerful memoir of a young doctor and former college athlete diagnosed with a rare disease who spearheaded the search for a cure—and became a champion for a new approach to medical research.
“A wonderful and moving chronicle of a doctor’s relentless pursuit, this book serves both patients and physicians in demystifying the science that lies behind medicine.”—Siddhartha Mukherjee, New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies and The Gene.
My Mission
My life’s mission is simple: to save and improve lives. After losing my mom to cancer, I dedicated my life to searching for cures. But through my own near-fatal battle with Castleman disease, I realized that the traditional approach to drug discovery was too slow and too narrow. I founded the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network and the Center for Cytokine Storm Treatment & Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania to transform research for my own condition and related ones—and it worked. But I knew the impact couldn’t stop there.
I’ve since launched Every Cure, a nonprofit dedicated to using AI and data science to uncover new uses for existing drugs—solutions hiding in plain sight. By rethinking how we discover treatments, we can bring hope to millions of patients waiting for answers, faster than ever before. This is the most powerful way I know to turn my experience into impact—and help others find the cures they need.
Thousands
Lives Saved
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Speaking
From the brink of death to groundbreaking discovery, Dr. David Fajgenbaum delivers powerful keynotes that blend personal story, medical innovation, and inspiring calls to action. As a physician, researcher, and rare disease survivor, he speaks on hope, resilience, and transforming challenges into change. Of note, David is receiving over 500 speaking requests a year and needs to turn down the majority of requests.
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