Imagine trying to solve a puzzle, but from a distance, without a firm idea of what the overall picture even looks like.

Welcome to health research, where the majority of people dedicating their life’s work to improving outcomes have rarely personally experienced the health complication they are studying. It is like learning how to fly a plane by reading about it, without ever actually getting in the cockpit. Understanding the basics of how a plane, or a disease, works is very important, but it is only a part of the puzzle.