Episodes
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In which Dr. Peter Tollman, former Managing Director and Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), shares his journey from engineering to consulting and his pivotal role in BCG's growth. Drawing from his experience as the global leader of BCG's Biopharmaceutical Practice, he discusses the unique challenges of management in the life sciences sector. Peter also highlights the significance of humility, continuous learning, and strategic thinking for aspiring professionals. Hosted by James Bole Pan.
Timestamps:
(0:10) - Introduction
(1:00) - Peter’s early career journey
(4:00) - Transition from engineering to business
(6:28) - Role in BCG's expansion
(9:30) - BCG’s culture
(12:05) - Founding MPM Capital
(15:15) - Experience at Monitor Company
(17:15) - BCG’s secrets in leadership transition
(18:50) - Theory on Smart Simplicity
(25:30) - Managerial challenges in the life sciences
(30:05) - Qualities of top CEOs
(32:35) - Advice for CEOs
(35:07) - Advice for translational research scientists
(37:20) - Developing interdisciplinary skills
(41:15) - Advice for college students
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In which Dr. James Banal, co-founder of Cache DNA, shares how his startup is building efficient storage solutions for nucleic acids. Dr. Banal shares how the bit density and longevity of DNA compare to those of hard drives, how strategic encoding schemes can recover lost data, and how transport vesicles inspired Cache’s barcoding system for search and access. We also discuss the first commercial use cases for Cache’s technology and what the future may hold for DNA computing using Cache’s technology (e.g. more efficient matrix multiplications for machine learning). Dr. Banal also shares his philosophy on biologically-inspired innovation. Hosted by Emma Chen.
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Intro
(01:05) - Density and longevity
(04:52) - Converting to and writing DNA
(08:54) - Cost of DNA synthesis
(13:10) - Strategic encoding schemes
(17:19) - DNA storage conditions
(21:29) - Accessing data
(27:03) - Inspiration from histones and vesicles
(28:20) - James' philosophy on biomimicry
(31:19) - Molecular computers
(36:13) - Cache's business strategy
(43:40) - Cache's origin story
(46:06) - Postdoc-to-founder transition
(47:46) - Advice for biotech
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Missing episodes?
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In this episode, Cristina Larkin, former COO of Spero Therapeutics and Executive-in-Residence at Columbia Technology Ventures, shares her journey from pharmaceutical sales at J&J to life sciences executive at Spero. She shares what her day-to-day work is like, and also offers advice on translational research for scientists. Hosted by James Pan.
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In which Nephrogen founder Demetri Maxim discusses his work developing curative gene therapy for kidney diseases. He shares the company’s origin as a diagnostic device startup and shift to gene therapy, how he balanced science with competitive alpine skiing, and insights into navigating investor advice. Demetri also shared that Nephrogen is hiring! For more information, please reach out to [email protected].
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Intro
(1:11) - Company origin story
(4:12) - Recognizing the need to pivot
(6:21) - Shift to gene therapy
(10:08) - Research in academia VS startup
(11:50) - Intellectual property strategy
(14:15) - Interaction between payload and delivery vehicle
(16:09) - Competitive alpine skiing
(20:18) - Committing to Nephrogen
(22:27) - Nephrogen milestones
(24:56) - Balancing energy as CEO
(26:18) - First CRISPR therapy approval
(27:28) - Treatment affordability
(29:43) - Most difficult challenge
(32:14) - Staying resilient
(33:57) - Navigating investor advice
(36:00) - Advice for aspiring founders
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In which Chirag Sachar (PhD), Director of Portfolio Innovation at Novartis, discusses his experience in business development, from building partnerships at Immunai to now devising strategy for global clinical trials at Novartis. He also shares insights on combining scientific knowledge and business insight throughout one's career. Hosted by Emma Chen.
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In which Kamal Obbad, co-founder and CEO of Nebula Genomics, shares his journey founding one of the largest consumer whole genome sequencing services. He also discusses trends in the consumer genomics landscape, the future of genomics research, and the implications of social and technological innovations on genetic privacy. Hosted by Kevin Xu.
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In which Craig Shimasaki (PhD), CEO of Moleculera Labs, discusses his experience as a founder of startups, professor, student, and thinker. He gives advice to those looking to get involved in the industry and explains how he has learned and grown through his career. Hosted by Rinn Kersh.
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In which Vasilis Stenos, Columbia alumni and Founder and CEO of Solmeyea, discusses his company’s innovations in producing carbon-negative biological products (such as pigments and proteins) through fermentation and hybrid vertical microalgae photosynthetic processing. He shares his experience integrating various technologies into a unique product pipeline and collaborating with government agencies, carbon emitters, and food manufacturers along the way. Hosted by Kevin Xu.
Note: Solmeyea and Vasilis’ team are actively recruiting students and researchers who are interested in working with Solmeyea for 2024 Spring/Summer either as interns or permanent employees. For anyone interested, reach out to Vasilis at [email protected] or [email protected]!
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In which Kou Qin (PhD), Investment Director at Eisai Innovation, discusses his experiences as a life science researcher, product manager, entrepreneur, and investor. He also shares his insights on how corporate VC fosters collaborations between pharma and biotech startups, as well as his perspectives on emerging trends within the life science sector. Hosted by Emma Chen.
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In which Elena Itskovich, PhD, co-founder and president of Nest Catalyst, discusses her experiences helping Israeli science founders translate their research into biotech startups and explains the unique challenges of entrepreneurship in the life sciences. She also shares her takeaways speaking with scientists outside of academia in her podcast: mAcademia. Hosted by Kevin Xu.
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In which Jeffrey Kim, co-founder and CEO of Slingshot Biosciences, discusses how synthetic cell mimics are revolutionizing the way cell-based assays and therapies are performed. He also explains the metagenomics data platform he built at Radiant Genomics and shares his insights on the industry as a scientist, investor, and entrepreneur. Hosted by Kevin Xu.
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In which Alex Zhavoronkov, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine, discusses how AI can accelerate drug R&D, from target identification to clinical trials. He also shares his own path from computer science to biotech, explains how Insilico’s business model has evolved, and gives advice on leading interdisciplinary teams.
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In which Adam Feuerstein, national biotech columnist at the healthcare and life science digital media company STATNews, discusses his experience covering the biotech sector from a business-focused perspective. He also shares his views on past and future trends of the industry from technological, financial, and regulatory lenses.
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In which Sean Escola (MD, PhD), a theoretical neuroscientist and psychiatrist at Columbia University, discusses his research background and gives insights into neuro-inspired AI. He also shares his experiences with founding a drug discovery company: Herophilus, Inc. and a non-profit: Neuromatch Academy.
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In which Caleb Bates discusses his work in life sciences patent prosecution and strategic patent portfolio management at Fish & Richardson. Caleb also discusses technology transfer as well as trends in life science patent portfolios.
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In which David Sable, a portfolio manager for the Special Situations Life Sciences Fund and a lecturer in the Biology Department at Columbia University, shares insights about life science investing. David also discusses the need for investing in reproductive medicine, specifically in vitro fertilization.
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In which Samuel Sia, a co-founder of Harlem Biospace, shares insights about successful life sciences startups. Sam also discusses his past experience with founding his own biotech startups as well as his goals as the newly appointed Vice Provost for the Fourth Purpose and Strategic Impact at Columbia University.
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In which Kris Ramadurai, a partner at Harmonix Fund, shares insights about life sciences venture capital. Kris describes the process of investing in early stage biotech startups and the differences between tech VC and life sciences VC.
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In which Zack Abbott, PhD, discusses his company ZBiotics. ZBiotics is a biotechnology startup that is focused on engineering microorganisms for consumer benefit. Zack talks about the company's current product, a genetically engineered probiotic designed to breakdown acetaldehyde, a toxic byproduct of alcohol. Additionally, Zack offers insight on his transition from completing a PhD to the biotech start-up space.
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Hello and welcome to Columbia University BioWorks! This is a podcast focused on life science business, entrepreneurship, policy, and investment. Listen in to hear conversations with a diverse array of guests making "bio work" in the real world.
If you’re interested in academic research, be sure to check out our sister podcast - Columbia University Bio Bytes - at this link: https://anchor.fm/biobytes
Hope to see you soon!
