Stem Cells & Cognition

I Am Interchange

What does it mean to heal? Emotionally and mentally, as we begin to peel back the protective layers of denial, isolation, internalization, projection—like so many filters obscuring what is, what has happened, what lies beneath—we are left with something alien—raw, fragile, and often unconscionably unfamiliar. The process is painful. And physically? When a burn brings blisters, a bone breaks, cells become cancerous, from where does the healing come? What happens inside that cast? Under that bandage? How do we harness the body’s ability to heal? Direct it where we want it to go? Supercharge it?

Here, I sit down with acclaimed stem cell researcher and scientist Christian Drapaeu and Philip Robinson, a licensed clinical social worker pioneering collaborative mental health care systems for all, to explore the potentialities and potholes inherent to healing, in all its forms and facets.