50th Birthday Bash

This October 15th, I will turn 50 years old. [As I told Erica, that means my life is 1/4 over... :) ] To celebrate, we are planning a party the likes of which have not been seen around here in a long time! All of my family, friends, and colleagues are invited, including those of you in Sacramento, Illinois, or wherever else you may be, in addition to the local Pasadena crowd!

We'll probably have a catered party here at the house on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 14. Those of you coming from out of town should plan on coming in Friday and spending a long weekend here. We'll arrange for a block of rooms at some nearby Pasadena hotel. Or those of you with kids might want to combine this with a trip to Disneyland, or Knotts Berry Farm, or somewhere else of your own choosing. And for those coming without kids: perhaps a trip to Tijuana, Vegas, or elsewhere...

This year's birthday is of course special for reasons beyond simply marking the half-century mark. It will celebrate my personal victory over this terrible disease (achieved only with the help of all of you), and the initiation of a new research program at Caltech to explore using nanoparticle-based thermal methods to attack and destroy glioblastomas. For me, it's no longer just about my personal recovery (although that is a prerequisite!): it is about using my experience, and my talents (such as they are), in collaboration with experts in this area, to once and for all DEFEAT this disease, and make total recovery the norm for everyone, not the exception, as it is now with conventional therapies. This GBM disease doesn't know what it's up against! With a crack team of first-rate clinical and research MDs, with a few science/engineering PhDs (like myself) sprinkled in for good measure, the disease doesn't have a chance! We're going to win this by a TKO!

I hope to see all of you in October! You'lll have the opportunity to meet the scientists and doctors from Caltech, Huntington Hospital, and/or other major research centers who are going to make this happen! Don't pass up this once-in-a-lifetime event!

And don't worry about whether you are invited. Everyone who cares enough to be a regular reader of this blog is by definition invited!