Dr. Zhen Xu, accepting the Golden Goose Award, explains that federal funding, specifically NIH, backed histotripsy research for about 20 years and roughly $40 million at a time when no investors or companies would fund the early-stage work. She credits that funding with enabling the eventual FDA approval, more than 5,000 patients treated, and the growth of HistoSonics, the company she co-founded. Xu frames this as a broader argument that government research funding drives major healthcare and economic impact and is key to US leadership in technical innovation.
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Xu says more than 90% of her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health.
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HistoSonics is valued at $3.75 billion and has about 500 employees.
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Time magazine named HistoSonics one of the top 10 influential companies in life science and healthcare this year.
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Xu notes she was separately named to Time's 100 Global Healthcare list.
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1:01:34That's amazing. So the Star Trek hospital pod is actually becoming a reality. Well, I mean, I could talk to you about this, um, for several more, at least, at least a few hours more, but I know that you are a very busy person because today you have won the Golden Goose awards of 2026. So congratulations on that. I don't want to keep you any longer, but, um, it's, it's really incredible. Some of the work that you do. Congratulations. Thank you. And then I do want the audience to know the AAAS Golden Goose Award. Uh, the one big thing is to, uh, to really emphasize how federal funding is
1:02:15impacting the research and the, not just research, but research that produces a big impact on our society. And I do want to note that, uh, for the histotripsy, it's just an example of the research that had been heavily funded by, uh, the federal funding. And in my case, uh, more than 90% of my research was, has been funded by national Institute of health and age. And especially at the beginning, when no investor, no company would be willing to put a penny in to this at an early stage of the discovery, where the, uh, go government step
1:03:01up, NIH step up and said, we will, you know, fund you to do very innovative work and not funding over the 20 years, uh, federal funding, I H founded, uh, uh, about like $40 million, but it has resulted in FDA approval, more than 5,000 patients treated. And HistoSonics is valued at 3.75 billion with a B and 500 employees. And the value is really climbing up. Uh, and HistoSonics, uh, was named this year by time, uh, as one of the top 10, uh, influential companies
1:03:45in life science and, uh, healthcare. And, you know, I'm, I was named by time 100 global healthcare, but that's, that's a different, but I just, you know, this is showing that, um, that the government funding for research, uh, really produces, uh, the, you know, big impact on healthcare and our society economy. And this is precisely the reason that United States is leading the technical innovation. And if we want to keep doing so and keeping being the leader and this is the biggest driver of the economy going, we need to support federal funding for
1:04:30research.