The Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) Research Institute is home to scientists who work in diverse areas. Some seek breakthroughs on the molecular level, using microscopes to explore future therapies. Others focus on human behavior and the health system as a whole, partnering with doctors to find novel applications for established technologies and treatments.

But regardless of research technique, each scientist is committed to improving our understanding of disease, especially the chronic illnesses –- such as diabetes, cancer, asthma and heart disease –- that affect a growing number of individuals in our society. Their work can be arrayed along a disease care continuum: from prevention (seeking better tools to avoid illness before it starts), to management (better tactics to keep existing chronic disease under control), to treatment (better therapies for the most acutely ill).

This continuum of disease discovery is explored more fully in the stories that follow. These brief introductions make clear that, despite their diverse interests, PAMF's researchers are bound by a common goal: to generate new knowledge that will directly impact patient care, whether in the next few years or the decades to come.

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