A Mother’s Resolve: Abby Brody’s Crusade Against Cancer and Educational Stagnation

During her son’s battle with cancer, a mother realized that change in our current systems was long overdue. Abby Brody is hopeful and confident that with the advancement of technology, the necessary tools to personalize healthcare and education for all are already here. As the founder of the N=1 Movement, she advocates for systemic change that promotes a more personalized learning experience for kids and healthcare treatments that fit the individual. 

Abby Brody’s Career in Education Reform

As a lifelong learner, Abby has been deeply driven by her curiosity about how changes could better support learning. She became frustrated with the traditional education model, which includes one-size-fits-all classrooms, poor testing scores, and high dropout rates.

“My background is in education reform. I’ve founded multiple schools and have been a leader in education reform to meet the needs of the digital economy,” Abby expressed. 

As part of the Founding Leadership of Avenues: The World School, a global K-12 model that emphasized interdisciplinary learning. At Mind the Gap, Abby helped mix students’ experiences with a curated mentorship that saw a gap year as a launchpad rather than a pause. 

The MYX was a new way to think of college: hybrid, affordable, and compatible with one’s life. It is designed to give students autonomy, purpose, and real-world readiness. 

Personalization was at the core of Abby’s educational work. 

Additionally, technology is seen as a tool that enables flexible education rather than a barrier. Abby hopes these programs empower students to design their future rather than follow a system set for them.

The Turning Point: When Healthcare Became Personal

Tragedy struck when both Abby’s husband and son were diagnosed with a rare, aggressive cancer. Within the chaos of hospitals and the uncertainty of treatments, she felt like the medical system was treating her family as a case number rather than human beings.

Abby recalls, “I was living day to day in the hospital where I learned there is also a one-size-fits-all care approach in the healthcare system like I’ve witnessed in education, but here the stakes are much higher: life or death.”

After learning that her son’s survival rate was 50%, Abby wanted personalized options beyond the standardized protocol. She noted the system’s outstanding flaw—the idea that health could be standardized across all people. 

The Birth of a Movement: N=1 and the Board of American Precision Medicine

Named after the concept of research sample sizes, the N=1 movement emphasizes individualized studies. The movement stresses that each person, not the population, should guide the system.

During this journey, Abby created a hospital blog where a community of parents seeking better health outcomes shared their insights. She also supports The Board of American Precision Medicine. This modern medical board focuses on prevention, personalization, and precision, guided by science, technology, genomic insights, AI decision tools, and personalized treatment plans. 

The movement aims to advance access to personalized care while promoting policies, research, and funding for individualized models. Technology is a fundamental motivator for the movement, and it also wants to invest in tools that can scale personal solutions.

N=1 hopes to build a community of 50,000 supporters by 2026. With Abby’s blog and social media outreach, they engage more reformer advocates daily. 

This Isn’t the Future. It’s Now

Abby Brody hopes that this is the most promising era yet. The systems may still look old, but the tools are new, and change is beginning. With the help of technology, parents and students can look forward to a brighter future in education and healthcare—one that differentiates them as individuals with unique needs. 

Abby says, “We are in a BEAUTIFUL time in education and healthcare. With the support of AI and other advances, we can now personalize learning and healthcare to provide best-in-class care. The future is here, and it is personal.”