The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human

Mukherjee (born in 1970) is an Indian American oncologist, biologist, and author. He holds a BS in biology from Stanford University, a PhD in immunology from Oxford University, and an MD from Harvard Medical School. Mukherjee is an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. Throughout The Song of the Cell, his sense of awe and love for science and cells in particular is apparent. He notes the excitement he still gets looking at blood or a cell under a microscope. In addition to presenting the history of cell biology, he weaves in personal accounts of his patients, his conversations with other scientists and medical professionals, his letters, and more, conveying not only the complex science but a personal connection. For example, Mukherjee discusses several friends who died of cancer, succumbing like many to this malfunctioning of cellular physiology.

Mukherjee wrote the book during the COVID-19 pandemic and includes a chapter on how it is impacting humans at the cellular level. This observation impacted how he structured the book. After writing about cells battling disease and seeing this literally take place in the hospitals he worked at, Mukherjee switches to discussing the interconnectedness of cells and how organs work to maintain homeostasis.