Michael Drazer

Physician-scientist @ the intersection of genomics, hematology/oncology, & patient care. Runner. Tweets are my own - no COI. Scholar:

[colby 🎠☂️ @babysbbreath]

“They Sit Together on the Porch” by Wendell Berry

[Amanda Fortini @amandafortini]

RIP Wendell Berry. You are free.

[Michael Drazer @michaelwd_hem]

PCA is becoming an all-time Cubs great before our eyes

[Wayne Drehs @W_Drehs]

As I marvel at PCA's emerging superstardom, I keep coming back to the interview I had with Cubs hitting coach John Mallee this off-season for my profile of Pete in @ChicagoMag.

John compared Pete to Bryce Harper, Shohei, Trout & Schwarber. Multiple times. All guys Mallee has worked with.

He said Pete's swing was "second to none." His issues, Mallee said weren't mechanics, but rather timing, pitch selection and sequencing.

He said just like all the great ones, Pete worked tirelessly at his craft. He will get there, Mallee insisted.

It all seems obvious now. But damn, to say those things in January, when Pete was coming off a dreadful end of 2025. Wow. Now Pete is the favorite for 2026 NL MVP.

[Michael Drazer @michaelwd_hem]

100% agree with @stevemagness - incredible to witness the golden age of the 800m in real time!

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

The best sporting event to follow right now: the women's 800m.

Audrey Werro just ran 1:53.70, inching closer to the oldest individual World Record in track, one that has controversially stood for 43 years.

But it's not just her. We've got a slew of contenders changing the game.

In many ways, it's our generations chase for the 4-minute mile.

Let's get this out of the way.

The old record is 1:53.28 by Jarmila Kratochvílová.

And it is suspect...to say the least. She never tested positive or been named. But the Czechoslovak state had a documented doping program with a secret drug lab testing athletes before they'd compete. She wasn't named in the files...

But...it was the 1980s, and well, use common sense.

With a few exceptions, it's largely gone unchallenged. Before this current generation, only 4 athletes in 40 years had gotten within 2 seconds of the time, and one was DSD.

Then over recent years we've seen a jump:
Keely Hodgkinson: 1:54.33
Lilian Odira 1:54.62
Femke Bol: 1:54.71
Georgia Bell 1:54.90
Athing Mu: 1:54.97

All of the sudden, we're in the golden age of the 800.

It's like our own little Bannister vs. Landy vs. Santee playing out.

A battle to take on what seemed unimaginable. And just like that trio, this group is lifting one another to a new level. As Keely put it: "The standard has gone up… We are dragging the best out of each other and the standard keeps getting higher and higher, but it brings out the best in me."

Of course, we've had technology breakthroughs in the spikes, and new supplements that actually work like the encapsulated sodium bicarb.

That's certainly made a difference (And honestly gives me hope this is a clean fight). But you can't help but notice the trading off of victories, the pushing each other to new heights.

These women don't avoid each other like we sometimes see in this sport. They show up and race.

At the 2025 World final in Tokyo, three women broke 1:55 in the same race. That had never happened before.

But Werro was only 6th in that race. A year later, she's on top. What's changed?

"I think I had too much respect back then."

She was a widely talented junior, but would go to the back of the pack, let others go and hope to come on strong at the end. As she became a pro, she talked about seeing people she'd admired and watched on TV.

"Through my mental coach I learned to be self-confident. And also to accept that I really do have my place in the elite."

Even the best of the best have a bit of imposter syndrome. One of the things I've seen over and over at this level is you have to own your seat. You've got to stand on that starting line knowing you belong.

Even with the pros, it's one of the hardest things to do.

When you're in an arena that few in history have been in, it's so easy to get in your head. Either by letting the doubt spiral. Or going too far the other direction, and making the record seem like the only thing in the world that matters.

You need people on your team that counterbalance the maniacal drive many have. It looks like Werro has that:

"My philosophy is really to work on the development of the athlete. The medal is ultimately only the fruit of that development...I have a holistic vision of the athlete. Sport is a means to develop harmoniously."

That doesn't sound too different from another duo...

"Franz is not the kind of coach who, Svengali-like, wishes to turn the athlete into a machine, working to his dictation. We shared a common view of athletics as a means of ‘re-creation’ of each individual, as a result of the liberation of the latent power within him. Franz was like an artist who could see character fulfilment in human struggle and achievement."
-Sir Roger Bannister

[Michael Drazer @michaelwd_hem]

@Papa_Heme Race to the finish between Soma and Mayonaise for me, same (epic) show. https://t.co/fwekIrvdC1

[Michael Drazer @michaelwd_hem]

This is a really important step forward over traditional models

[Dr. Anthony Letai @NCIDirector]

I am a strong supporter of human-relevant cancer models. New research, funded in part by @NIH, adds ~150 3D organoids across 10 cancer types to DepMap—preserving tumor biology that 2D lines miss and revealing drug targets that might never have been found. https://t.co/elACsmag1x

[Dr. Anthony Letai @NCIDirector]

I am a strong supporter of human-relevant cancer models. New research, funded in part by @NIH, adds ~150 3D organoids across 10 cancer types to DepMap—preserving tumor biology that 2D lines miss and revealing drug targets that might never have been found. https://t.co/elACsmag1x

[Michael Drazer @michaelwd_hem]

@VincentRK @viditchess what are your recommended use cases for physicians?

[Walter Stadler @WalterStadler5]

If you’re going into medicine for prestige and money you’re in the wrong profession. We do this because we believe we can make a difference for the person who is hurting and/or the population who deserves better. If you’re lucky you can look back with gratitude. I’d do it again.

[Matthew Zirwas, MD @MattZirwas]

AI is going to teach us that there are a LOT more "rare and undiagnosed" diseases than we imagined.

It'll be one of the defining moments of AI in medicine - when we find out just how much doctors have missed or gotten wrong.

And I don't blame the doctors.

We're literally taught that "when you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras."

And you want a doctor who thinks horses. They'll be right 99.999% of the time.

But if it is a zebra 1 time in every 100,000 that means lots of zebras have been called horses.

Buckle up.

[Michael Drazer @michaelwd_hem]

@mbeisen "The vote reflected a split among the committee members regarding this ambitious proposal"

[Michael Drazer @michaelwd_hem]

@ross_prager I believe you. Do you have a citation for this?

[Portal Innovations @portalinno]

Great to see Portal featured in GEN’s “Next 10” U.S. Biopharma Clusters, building on John and Patrick Flavin’s recent Timmerman Report editorial on the rise of a more distributed biotech ecosystem.

Take a look: https://t.co/tLX71DB5Yt

[Emma M. Groarke @emmamgroarke]

Excited to see our How-I-Treat now officially out in @BloodPortfolio! Free link below:

https://t.co/7oPYzG77U9

[UChicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center @UCCancerCenter]

Meet @DanielOlsonMD, an oncologist who treats skin cancers and sarcomas. He delivers the latest cell-based immunotherapies such as TIL therapy. Follow him for his study of new immunotherapy treatments for solid tumors. https://t.co/HPux0gVDHt #FollowFriday @UChicagoMed

[Michael Drazer @michaelwd_hem]

@insidethehall @Firestorm0624 What was the size of your graduating class at New Albany?

[Sam Rose @samwhoo]

This might be the most beautiful thing I've read in my life. What a privilege to be alive in 2026.

https://t.co/07BtpKswBu

[Michael Drazer @michaelwd_hem]

@jgault13 Almost too good to be true

[Michael Drazer @michaelwd_hem]

@nathanuldricks @DarrenElkinsMMA Hell of a career

[Mikkael A. Sekeres MD, MS @MikkaelSekeres]

Ever wonder if your risk for cancer is higher when it runs in your family? What are the most common familial cancer syndromes? My latest article @washingtonpost! @SylvesterCancer @umiamimedicine @JCO_ASCO @ASCO @ASH_hematology
https://t.co/4qZER4GIwM