Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1474575
5 4 P E R S P E C T I V E | J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 The first time I saw Elizabeth olmes, my scientist husband Dan was watching a documentary. I thought it was a boring science story, so I told him to turn it off. nowing the drama behind the story, he said, "give it a minute." For the most part, nothing scandalous ever happens in science. For any scientist, the concept of Theranos made no sense, a full array of blood tests from ust a single drop of blood. Technology as revolutionary as this doesn't ust appear out of nowhere. ow Elizabeth olmes—once an unknown college dropout entrepreneur—and her company Theranos duped both scientists and highprofile investors for more than ten years was uncharted territory. Of course, this is what hooked me. Elizabeth olmes is a woman who at the age of nineteen, founded a biotech startup on a shoestring and D e s i g n i n g a D e b a c l e T H E D R O P O U T B Y C AT S M I T H , P R O D U C T I O N D E S I G N E R leveraged it to a billiondollar corporation, becoming one of the most celebrated and wealthiest women in the world. Initially, I empathized a little too much with Elizabeth. She was a woman with a dream. She wanted to democratize healthcare. ut at what cost ehind the curtain, the Theranos technology never performed properly. Maybe Elizabeth believed the technology would catch up with the dream. I think the obstacles along the way blinded her to the shortcuts she made to overcome them. hat she did was terrible she compromised the health of real people. Plus, science is unforgiving the consequences for failure are permanent. hen I began work on The Dropout, I became a little obsessive. nd as it turned out, I wasn't the only one. Everyone involved in the proect was equally obsessed. e wanted it to look as authentic as possible—we were more worried A. THERANOS PAGEMILL OFFICE. THE CREW DESIGNED AND CREATED 40,000-SQ. FEET OPEN SPACE, PLUS 20,000- SQ. FEET OF LAB SPACE, REQUIRING $250,000 WORTH OF GLASS. SET PHOTO. B. EXT. BEIJING STREET LOCATION BEFORE. ALPINE STREET, LOS ANGELES C. EXT. BEIJING STREET LOCATION. SKETCH BY LORIE WALLICK IN PHOTOSHOP. A