This video was filmed in 2011 when David Fajgenbaum was in in his third year of medical school. Since then, Fajgenbaum has had two more life-threatening relapses, but he is currently in his longest remission since becoming ill with HHV-8-negative multicentric Castleman disease.
Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc, is now an assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Translational Medicine & Human Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania, the executive director of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN), and the associate director of Patient Impact of the University of Pennsylvania’s Orphan Disease Center.
Fajgenbaum co-founded the CDCN in 2012 to accelerate research and treatments for Castleman Disease through global collaboration, strategic investment in high impact research, and patient engagement.
Fajgenbaum is also the co-founder and former board chair of the National Students of AMF (Actively Moving Forward) Support Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting grieving college students. AMF has reached 3,000+ students on 200+ college campuses throughout the U.S.
Fajgenbaum completed his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his MD from the Raymond & Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Human Sciences from Georgetown University.
Fajgenbaum is married to the love of his life, Caitlin Prazenica.