Kim E. Barrett, PhD - Professor of Medicine and Vice-Chair for Research, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine

"Even if only a portion of the author's thesis is correct, it would establish wholly new insights into the pathogenesis of chronic disease states, and would have significant implications for treatment and/or prevention."

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"At first, I wish to congratulate Dr. Hanan Polansky for his scientific bravery to take such a unique, novel approach to further stimulate our understanding of the origin and establishment of chronic diseases. The philosophy underscored is an excellent one ... The amazing correlation between theoretical predictions and observed in vivo effects seem to bring us a step closer to a deeper understanding of such complex biologic processes."

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"(The book) would serve as a great teaching tool for graduate students. I believe that this book will provide for an excellent starting ground for new scientists to tackle the world of chronic diseases."

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"Dr. Polansky's book, Microcompetition with Foreign DNA and the Origin of Chronic Disease gives a chance for the reader to think in an unconventional way about the cause of chronic diseases ... In my opinion, this book will be a valuable resource for medical research and drug design as well as for the field of targeted therapy of a wide variety of diseases, including cancer. I highly recommend this book to the entire scientific community."

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"The concepts advanced in this book will serve as a nidus for stimulating further investigations and research towards validation of the complex biological concepts that are presented. It will promote increased interest in new multidisciplinary approaches toward understanding the causes of chronic disease and developing therapeutic strategies for prevention and cure."

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"... I am thoroughly enjoying Dr. Polansky's book ... I can see where many teaching faculty of various basic science graduate school departments will be interested in referencing and even deriving lectures from this collection of writings. Lastly, this book has sparked the interest of some of my current graduate students, and now sharing the book has become somewhat of a competition within our own laboratory."

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Michael E. DeBakey, MD - Chancellor Emeritus, Baylor College of Medicine

"The theory underlying the basic concept concerning the origin of chronic diseases presented by Dr. Polansky is most interesting, indeed fascinating … Perhaps a symposium could be held to provide a forum for further discussions and critiques of this fascinating theory."

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Q. Ping Dou, PhD - Co-Leader, Prevention Program, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, and Professor, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University

"Not only does the book present a strong theory to unify the cause of many diverse disease states, the book itself represents an aspect lacking in the field of medical science, an attempt to unify observations into coherent theories."

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Harry Elvanides, MD - Research Fellow, Department of Endocrinology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School

"I think that this idea (microcompetition) is very interesting and not only gives you a theory about the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of chronic disease, but also a proposal to treatment ... (The book) helped me to understand the concept of microcompetition and to get some new ideas for my future research."

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"I believe every scientist working with biological systems should read the book to become aware of how important mathematical descriptions of systems are. Moreover, the book demonstrates in a very elegant way how important it is to see the big picture and not to be focused on isolated systems."

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N. Joseph Espat, MD - Associate Professor, Department of Surgery and Department of Pharmacology, University of Illinois at Chicago

"I anticipated that the contents of Dr. Polansky's book would be philosophical and purely subjective. I sat down to read it with such a mental focus, and was completely knocked off my feet by the plethora of data provided in support of his stated theories and observations ... (The book) will challenge what we consider to be 'truisms' and has the potential to incite new thinking to old problems. Anyone in the biomedical, medical or basic science research fields would benefit from reading it."

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Fabrizia Faustinella, MD, PhD - Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Health Sciences Center-Houston

"Kudos to Dr. Polansky for having the courage to free himself from academia and contribute in such a brilliant way to the understanding of the pathogenesis of chronic diseases."

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"This book on a new theory on the origin of chronic diseases is quite fascinating and full of updated information that fully substantiates the author’s theory.

When I picked up the book, I felt very attracted to it; moreover excited and even amazed by the quantity of data and the in-depth analysis of an array of different studies pertaining to different chronic diseases."

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"This is an excellent book that provides published data from a very different perspective to formulate a generalized theory in terms of stable good health ... I am confident that this theory will be validated with future work. It has already provided stimulus to my thinking, and so far, I agree with the basic concepts outlined in this book."

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Lloyd E. King, Jr., MD, PhD - Professor of Medicine (Dermatology), Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

"(Dr. Polansky's) hypothesis provides a different and simplified perspective to understand Darwin's hypothesis of survival and adaptability ... I recommend his book as a thoughtful, in-depth analysis of seemingly unconnected data to provoke thoughtful discussions by an equally diverse audience."

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"In the final analysis, it is an extraordinary book and I certainly recommend it to students, clinicians and scientists who are interested in viruses and the origin of chronic disease. Indeed, virologists should now resurrect their RNA/DNA 'in situ' hybridization techniques and test some of Hanan Polansky's predictions."

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"In addition to the concepts that Polansky deals with directly, this book provides a unique foray into the intricate mind of a philosopher, continually challenging the reader through an adventure of the intellect."

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Sean X. Leng, MD, PhD - Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

"His book has caught my attention because we currently do not have any good theory about the origin of chronic diseases, even though we think that we understand quite well, the biological basis or pathogenesis of some individual chronic medical conditions. Upon finishing my reading, I have found that this is an amazingly well-written book. In this book, Dr. Polansky has clearly presented the theory of 'microcompetition with foreign DNA.' To support this theory, Dr. Polansky has cited a tremendous amount of evidence, most of which is the most up-to-date throughout the book ... I strongly recommend this book to both clinicians and scientists who are interested in a better understanding of the origin of chronic disease." 

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Elena N. Naumova, PhD - Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Tufts University School of Medicine

"Dr. Polansky's work compellingly demonstrates a framework that could bring together researchers from different fields. His proposed theory will work its magic by clarifying ambiguous definitions, identifying similarities and differences in various biological processes, and discovering new pathways ... I believe that Dr. Polansky's book will catalyze the scientific learning process, promote interdisciplinary cross-fertilization, stimulate development of treatment strategies and drug discovery, and leave the reader inspired."

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Edward Nwanegbo, MD - Research Associate, Human Gene Therapy Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

"(The book) has provided the research community with many things to ponder, validate and implement in the future. As a young investigator, I found these theories stimulating and inspiring."

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Marc Pouliot, PhD - Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Canada

"First of all, I would like to congratulate the author for putting together such an impressive collection of data and most importantly, for being able to delineate functional links between distinct sets of data. This is a well-organized, highly rigorous presented theory. The concept of microcompetition will change our approach in the study of chronic diseases and will furthermore give scientists a higher level of understanding in biology."

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Drazen Raucher, PhD - Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, University of Mississippi Medical Center

"In summary, Dr. Polansky's book illustrates how microcompetition with foreign DNA may cause a variety of chronic diseases, and it will contribute to our deeper understanding of the origin and molecular mechanisms of chronic diseases."

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"... Hanan Polansky must be a genius and time will show whether he will become the 'Einstein' of the theory of chronic disease ..."

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"Although well written, the text is not for the timid or the novice. It will, however be very useful for scientists considering broad, comprehensive funding initiatives, and may be of interest to seminar groups studying disease origins. Overall, for scientists who can think 'outside the box,' this is a fascinating series of thoughts on the origin of chronic diseases."

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Waldemar A. Schmidt, MD, PhD - Professor Emeritus, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University

"... I believe that all biomedical researchers in virtually all endeavors would benefit from reading the book. In addition, the concepts need to be integrated into the medical curriculum, as well as studies for biomedical research students."

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Nathalie Scholler, MD, PhD - Senior Staff Scientist, Lee Hartwell's Laboratory, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

"Reading Hanan Polansky's book stirs multiple concepts and brings up all the excitement that good science can offer: unmapped thought patterns, puzzling questions, aching doubts and glints of light at the end of a dark corridor."

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Jewell W. Sloan, PhD - Assistant Professor, Emeritus, Department of Anesthesiology, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky

"I think the book could prove useful in generating ideas for experimental approaches in the area of both acute and chronic pain and will probably stimulate a different approach to research in many chronic diseases ... (The book) will be useful to professors in preparing lectures and as adjunct reading for some graduate students, Postdocs, and researchers in drug discovery and medical research. For sure, I will continue to study this book and to share it with my colleagues."

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Raymond A. Sobel, MD - Associate Professor of Pathology (Neuropathology), Stanford University School of Medicine

"As I read it, I felt some nostalgia for aspects of my early medical education on subjects from which I am long removed. Dr. Polansky's incorporation of such a broad scientific data base to support his theory is an extraordinary and impressive achievement."

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"(The book) gives one an opportunity to think about the relationship between the workings of many biological systems and perhaps the underlying cause of some pathophysiologies."

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"Who would benefit from reading the book? I believe that advanced graduate students in biochemistry or molecular biology may be benefited by reading this book especially if they use some of these chapters for having a debate during the Journal Club. The book also provides good topics for the PhD thesis of more than a dozen students in Theoretical Biology!"

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"Author Hanan Polansky has added an excellent book that bridges the gap between a number of chronic diseases (traditionally believed to be unrelated), with a theory that elucidates the common mechanism underlying their origin."

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Ildiko Toth, PhD - Lab Manager/Associate Scientist, Schepens Eye Research Institute (Harvard Medical Center Affiliate)

"... this is an intellectually challenging book that I warmly recommend to medical and graduate students. It could also profoundly affect the biotech and pharmaceutical industry focusing on rational drug design efforts."

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Gayle E. Woloschak, PhD - Professor, Department of Radiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University

"Dr. Polansky is to be commended for this volume, with its ideas and approach that are likely to influence the biomedical community for years to come."

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Lynn C. Yeoman, PhD - Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Baylor College of Medicine

"The predictions made, the mathematical rigor provided for the models proposed and the proposed role that viruses may play in bringing about a range of subclinical chronic health problems is most fascinating ... The value of Polansky's thinking and his reorganization of others' work truly must be tested in the laboratory."

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Howard A. Young, PhD - Section Head, Cellular and Molecular Immunology Section, Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, National Cancer Institute, NIH

"In summary, Dr. Polansky is to be applauded for his attempt to provide a unifying basis for chronic diseases. His theories are stimulating and offer a basis for experimental testing and possible treatment."

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Atif Zafar, MD - Clinical Professor of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine

"The unique feature of this work is that the author presents a testable model for his hypothesis. Although ample supporting literature is provided to substantiate his ideas, further, directed research which tests the microcompetition phenomenon can now be performed. An understanding of this process at the subcellular level can then provide the impetus to develop highly targeted drug therapies aimed at reversing the respective microcellular events leading to phenotypic disease."

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"I found that the theory is groundbreaking and will likely open doors to many exciting research areas and treatment options ... biology and medicine lag behind and remain experimental disciplines, which are heavy on experimental data but thin on applicable theories that could guide future directions. In this sense, Dr. Polansky's book is nothing short of revolutionary."

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