Plot Synopsis

Narrated and executive produced by Jim Parsons, FIRST IN HUMAN is a three-part, six-hour medical documentary series that takes viewers inside the crucial beginning phase of scientific research. The powerful series follows four diverse patients -- cancer patients Bo Cooper & Anita McAlister and bone marrow transplant recipients Lucy Wiese & Deidra Williams -- as they participate in a "First in Human" trial, the initial time when a new therapy is tested in humans, revealing the quiet heroism of both doctors and patients. If successful, the next chapter of medicine is written. This series represents the first time cameras have embedded in Building 10, the Clinical Center on the campus of the revered National Institutes of Health, which is the largest hospital in the world devoted solely to medical research. From the first use of chemotherapy for cancer, initial treatments for HIV/AIDS, and lithium for depression, Building 10 has been ground zero to many medical breakthroughs. While unassuming, this building houses what has been arguably the most exciting and innovative work for over sixty years. Some of the greatest minds in medicine have spent their careers at Building 10, including Steven Rosenberg, MD, who in 1985 cured the first patient of cancer with immunotherapy -- the training of one's own immune system to fight his/her cancer. Patients treated in Building 10 are volunteering to be part of medical research. They receive care at no expense, and receive no guarantee that they will benefit from it - all in the name of advancing medicine. Due to the risky nature of the trials in Building 10, the doctors can often only partner with patients who have exhausted all the standard options the medical establishment has to offer.
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On Thursday, August 24, 2017 from 9-11pm ET/PT, Discovery Channel premiered the season finale of FIRST IN HUMAN. In the season ender, "Prognosis," all four patients meet with their doctors one last time to learn whether their experimental treatments were successful, and what the future holds for them.