Once upon a time, pathogen reduction was just a dream. Ray Goodrich helped that dream become reality, and he joins me to share his story.
Dr. Ray Goodrich
A Pioneer Takes an Idea to Reality
Modern pathogen reduction operates on a very selective basis, using compounds designed to bind to nucleic acids and keep potential infectious organisms from replicating and causing infection. This idea seems obvious to us now, but Dr. Ray Goodrich was one of the pioneering scientists trying to figure out exactly what substances to use and how to treat the product back in the early days. His stories of trying to use compounds called “psoralens” as well as a substance as simple as vitamin B2 (riboflavin) are fascinating.
The work that Ray and many other scientists did has made it possible for millions of patients around the world to have access to pathogen-reduced blood products, and the impact of that work will be felt for a long time.
Dr. Ray Goodrich
A Pioneer Takes an Idea to Reality
Modern pathogen reduction operates on a very selective basis, using compounds designed to bind to nucleic acids and keep potential infectious organisms from replicating and causing infection. This idea seems obvious to us now, but Dr. Ray Goodrich was one of the pioneering scientists trying to figure out exactly what substances to use and how to treat the product back in the early days. His stories of trying to use compounds called “psoralens” as well as a substance as simple as vitamin B2 (riboflavin) are fascinating.
The work that Ray and many other scientists did has made it possible for millions of patients around the world to have access to pathogen-reduced blood products, and the impact of that work will be felt for a long time.
About My Guest:
Ray Goodrich, PhD is the Executive Director of the Infectious Disease Research Center (IDRC) at Colorado State University, where he oversees the Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing and Academic Resource Center (BioMARC), the Regional Biocontainment Labs (RBL) and the Research Innovation Center (RIC).
Dr. Goodrich formerly served as Vice President of Scientific and Clinical Affairs and Chief Scientific Officer, Blood Bank Technologies, for Terumo BCT, a leading global medical device manufacturer based in The United States. His responsibilities included oversight of research and development and clinical programs in the field of blood product processing and blood safety. He has worked in medical research for over 29 years during which he managed research staff and development programs in the fields of transfusion and transplantation medicine and pathogen reduction technologies. He has been awarded over 58 patents covering technology in these areas and has co-authored over 200 peer reviewed articles and abstracts.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed on this episode are those of my guest and I alone, and do not reflect those of the organizations with which either of us is affiliated. Neither Dr. Goodrich nor I have any relevant financial disclosures.
Thanks to:
- Samantha Chaffin, Design and content consultant
Music Credit
Music for this episode includes “Cuando te invade el temor” and “Reflejo,” both by Mar Virtual via the Free Music Archive. Click the image below for permissions and license details.
Hello Joe and Ray, even though this was assigned to me as a homework assignment for my advanced transfusion class, I simply had to comment here and say thank you for sharing this podcast, Ray….what an inspired, and amazing discussion and wanted to thank you for taking the time to have Joe interview you…WOW!!! I learned so so much from this discussion….couldn’t stop writing things down! Thanx again Joe!!!
I’m honored you enjoyed it! Ray had so many interesting things to say and stories to tell that the episode could have been a lot longer, actually.
-Joe