Learning With Lowell

Space talk with space experts, enthusiasts, a technical writer, and a person who will probably be in space pretty soon. We get into advice in career transitions, unsung aspects of the space industry, and what their dreams are.  All of this and more in under 1 hour! Katie Ali Westley Technical Writer at The Spaceship Company “Technical Writer and Community Outreach leader with a demonstrated history of working in the aerospace and marketing industries. Skilled in Sales, Team Building, Marketing Support, Management, and Account Management. Strong media and communication professional with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) focused in Political Philosophy from The University of Dallas” Source   Ron Rosano Business owner,Astronomy Educator “I’ve been teaching astronomy lessons to classrooms since 1995, in teacher partnerships with Project Astro, with NASA JPL’s Solar System Ambassador Program, and since 2011 with Galactic Unite, Virgin Galactic’s non-profit initiative.” Source     The Spaceship Company “The Spaceship Company (TSC) is Virgin Galactic’s aerospace-system manufacturing organization. Headquartered in Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, it is building and testing a fleet of WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft and SpaceShipTwo reusable spaceships that, together, form Virgin Galactic’s human spaceflight system. We are proud to share the Virgin Group heritage and value our position as an integral part of a remarkable story and globally celebrated brand. Like many Virgin companies across the world, its team of over 430 talented and dedicated engineers, technicians and professionals are drawn together by a willingness to disrupt and challenge the status quo and deliver innovative aerospace solutions to our customers’ needs. The Spaceship Company has a straightforward name: as you would expect, we build spaceships. But we also do much more. The Spaceship Company’s extensive capabilities encompass preliminary vehicle design and analysis, manufacturing, ground testing, flight testing and post-delivery support. The Spaceship Company team is uniquely positioned to offer end-to-end aerospace development with extensive experience in design, manufacturing, and testing. We are proud of our relaxed and informal culture that encourages individuality and innovation. Our team is built on motivated, enterprising and enthusiastic contributors. Our company culture and values are set up in such a way that you need to be able to “check your ego at the door”, be a self-starter and possess a sense of humility. We thrive under pressure, are driven by challenges and aren’t afraid to set the goals that will take us to new heights”. Source Website link Twitter Facebook Virgin Galactic “We are a part of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, and with our sister companies – The Spaceship Company and Virgin Orbit – we are developing and operating a new generation of space vehicles to open space for everyone. We are comprised of hundreds of dedicated and passionate professionals, united in creating the world’s first commercial spaceline. Our mission – to be the spaceline for Earth – means we focus on using space for good, while delivering an unparalleled customer experience. Through our work, we believe we can help inspire future generations and make it possible to see our beautiful home planet from a new perspective. We are proud to be part of the incredible spaceflight story. It is thousands of years in the making,

Build consistent and persistent to achieve your ambitions, and see how one innovator, founder, scientists, doctor, and future astronaut built herself to where she is today and where she is going in the future (i.e. Space! ) Shawna Pandya, MD Passionate about the two ‘extremes’ of humanity – surviving and thriving – namely furthering technological innovation and human knowledge and tackling humanity’s grandest challenges to effect positive social change. Previously served as co-founder of CiviGuard, Inc., a Silicon Valley start-up based at NASA-Ames and incubated by Singularity University. Our mission is to save lives in crisis situations by improving coordination, collaboration and communication between key agencies, and also between authorities and civilians. Have been extensively involved with public service and innovation in the past, having served as VP Research for a inner-city free clinic for high-risk youth, Director of Research & Projects for a national organization promoting space exploration and development, and Founder/Director of an anti-bullying initiative for school-aged children. Graduate of the International Space (MSS ’07) and Singularity (GSP ’09) Universities, with backgrounds in Neuroscience (BSc Hons ’06, University of Alberta) and Medicine (MD Candidate ’12, University of Alberta). Published author on telemedicine for the developing world, space technology spin-offs for medical benefit and neuroArm, the world’s first intra-operative, MR-compatible image-guided robotic arm for neurosurgery (conducted pre-clinical and early clinical testing). Awards including being named a finalist for the 2009 ASTech “Leader of Tomorrow” award for leadership and innovation in science, technology and entrepreneurship, Rhodes scholarship provincial finalist, two-time Peter Lougheed scholar and Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation National Laureate. Source Key specialties: Innovation, technology, medicine, “rocket surgery,” leadership, telemedicine, telesurgery, robotics in surgery, neuroscience, space technology spin-offs for medical benefit, telemedicine for the developing world, medical/scientific writing/editing, space exploration, strategic/business plans Project PoSSUM Project PoSSUM is a 501(c)(3) research and education organization using citizen-science astronautics to study our mesosphere and communicate the critical role that it plays in the understanding of our global climate while developing compatible space technologies. PoSSUM received support through NASA for tomographic noctilucent cloud missions, Antarctic balloon missions, and microgravity spacesuit evaluations. PoSSUM also maintains a professional astronautics education program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and also engages students through immersive aeronomy and astronautics programs at various locations throughout the US. Source Key specialties: upper atmospheric research, astronautics education, spacesuit test and evaluation, and aeronomy education Key Websites and Links ted.com/profiles/bio/id/122431  (Profile on TED.com) https://www.facebook.com/shawnapandyaofficial/(Facebook) * http://shawnapandya.com/ iloa.org/about.html  (ILOA Bio) CiviGuard

Medical Device Expert, Forbes 30 under 30, CEO of Sonavex & MonoMano, Venture Partner at FundRx, and External advisory board member for the center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design at John Hopkins University. We get into the process of bringing a medical device to market, his startup journey, and what makes him unique, and that’s all just to start. We get into a number of great topics in this episode! What Forbes says about David: “Narrow’s company, Sonavex, has raised $1.1 million to develop an ultrasound implant for patients who have had operations. The device, called EchoSure, will help nurses find blood clots before they can cause problems. In his spare time, Narrow runs MonoMano Cycling, a company that makes bikes for people who can only use one side of their body.” Source About Sonavex “Sonavex, Inc. is a Baltimore-based medical device company spun out of Johns Hopkins. The company is dedicated to providing novel ultrasound solutions to visualize and quantify critical data for improved outcomes and reduces costs in new surgical applications. Sonavex developed EchoSure to detect blood clots after surgery to prevent catastrophic surgical failures. For more information, please visit www.sonavex.com.” Source About MonoMano “Co-founded MonoMano Cycling, a company that designs and sells adaptive equipment and is devoted to bringing mobility back to stroke survivors, veterans, people with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury. The MonoMano Trike enables these individuals to return to the sport of cycling and gain full steering, braking and gear-shifting control with only one hand. Responsibilities include: translating user needs to design specifications, product design, financial management, marketing, and sales. Website: www.monomanocycling.com” Source About FundRx “FundRx is a venture capital platform that builds and invests in the next-generation of healthcare and life sciences startups. Our community of hundreds of venture partners – themselves physicians, scientists, and industry executives – contribute their capital, time, and expertise to the FundRx portfolio, providing exceptional hands-on support and guidance to nurture great companies. We take a scientific approach to investing, working with a distributed network of experts to peer-review prospective startups, and are a pioneer in venture capital technology – with a dedicated engineering organization enabling advanced analytics and screening of investments. We are headquartered in New York City, with offices in Chicago and San Francisco.” Source  About Center for Bioengineering innovation and Design at John Hopkins University “CBID is a joint effort of the Whiting School of Engineering and the School of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. Our focus is translational engineering focusing on health care technology. No other program combines clinical immersion, travel to developing countries for global health immersion, state-of-the-art facilities, and world-renowned lecturers to inspire students to deliver real innovation” Source Links: David’s linkedin Contact email for Sonavex or contact@sonavex.com Sonavex website MonoMano website

Harvard & MIT Professor, author of Regenesis, methods for 1st genome sequence (1994) & 10M-fold improvements (NGS, nanopore), genome editing, writing and recording. In this episode, we get to talk about Genghis Khan ,Woolly Mammoth, storing data in DNA, advice for people getting started, and more all in under one hour! George is one of the most interesting and down to earth people you’ll read about (might be from the future or an alien, but cannot confirm). He is always working to make all of our lives better. Anytime you are looking for inspiration, do what I do, and learn about what he and his team are working on. I always feel like I can do anything  after reading or listening to the current things he is working on. I hope to one day contribute like he does! As a side note: I am working on something that was inspired from our discussion, so we shall see how that goes.  If anyone is inspired after listening to him talk, please email me and let me know. We can start a fan group around George and scientists in general. Scientists are the unsung superheros of our society! Also, scroll down to the bottom to see the breadth of his work. I felt like it should be put here in it’s entirety. Hyperlinked show notes will go up tonight for this episode and the previous ones that are lacking them!  Quick bio “George Church, professor at Harvard & MIT, co-author of 480 papers, 130 patent publications & the book “Regenesis”, developed methods used for the first genome sequence (1994) & million-fold cost reductions since (via NGS and nanopores), plus barcoding, DNA assembly from chips, genome editing, writing & recoding. He co-initiated the BRAIN Initiative (2011) & Genome Projects (1984, 2005) to provide & interpret the world’s only open-access personal precision medicine datasets. George Church is Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Director of  PersonalGenomes.org, which provides the world’s only open-access information on human Genomic, Environmental & Trait data (GET). His 1984 Harvard PhD included the first methods for direct genome sequencing, molecular multiplexing & barcoding. These led to the first genome sequence (pathogen, Helicobacter pylori) in  1994 . His innovations have contributed to nearly all “next generation” DNA sequencing methods and companies (CGI-BGI, Life, Illumina, Nanopore). This plus his lab’s work on chip-DNA-synthesis, gene editing and stem cell engineering resulted in founding additional application-based companies spanning fields of medical diagnostics ( Knome/PierianDx, Alacris, AbVitro/Juno, Genos, Veritas Genetics ) & synthetic biology / therapeutics ( Joule, Gen9, Editas, Egenesis, enEvolv, WarpDrive ). He has also pioneered new privacy,biosafety, ELSI, environmental & 

Dialogue type episode where we talked and meandered around the science topics we have been covering on our different podcasts. He specializes in Neural Implant/ Brain interfacing type things where on my podcast we are a bit broad, so it was fun talking about the different people we have covered. I enjoy his podcast, and if you liked him here you should check him out at his website here. Ladan Jiracek linked in Website

Threading the needle between being in Academia and founding startups, fostering the next generation of innovators, building an engineer for innovation at King’s College, and amazing advice and perspective with an amazing, world class scientists, innovator, and leader. Dr. Davide Danovi “Dr. Davide Danovi is leading the Cell Phenotyping Unit at King’s College London in the framework of the HipSci project, funded by the Wellcome Trust and MRC. Prior to this, he was principal scientist at Progenitor Labs, a novel biotechnology company founded to isolate drugs for regenerative medicine using innovative stem cell technologies. Before, he worked with Prof. Austin Smith and Dr. Steve Pollard at the University of Cambridge and at University College London where he developed a live image based chemical screening platform to isolate compounds active on human neural stem cells from normal or brain tumour samples. He holds an MD from University of Milan and a PhD in Molecular Oncology from the European Institute of Oncology where he demonstrated the causative role of the HdmX protein in human cancer.” Director of Cell Phenotyping Platform at King’s College London “We work in the framework of the Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Initiative (HipSci) project, funded by the Wellcome Trust and MRC. We provide a dedicated laboratory space for collaborative cell phenotyping to study how intrinsic and extrinsic signals impact on human cells to develop assays for disease modeling and drug discovery and to identify new disease mechanisms.” Director of HipSci Cell Phenotyping “HipSci stands for Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Initiative. The project brings together diverse constituents in genomics, proteomics, cell biology and clinical genetics to establish a UK national iPS cell resource (over 500 lines from patients and 500 from healthy individuals) to discover how genomic variation impacts on cellular phenotype and identify new disease mechanisms. Strong links with NHS investigators will ensure that studies on the disease-associated cell lines will be linked to extensive clinical information. Further key features of the project are an open access model of data sharing; engagement of the wider clinical genetics community in selecting patient samples and provision of dedicated laboratory space for collaborative cell phenotyping and differentiation.” Show notes and key links from episode with a rough estimate of when you hear them.   Dr. Davide’s, bio and background https://www.linkedin.com/in/davide-danovi-a6246a13/ https://www.kcl.ac.uk/lsm/research/divisions/gmm/departments/stemcells/people/dr-davide-danovi.aspx https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Davide_Danovi ~6 min mark Tim Minchin graduation

How to build a factory to automate processes, Scaling DNA circuits tests to be able to be done in under 30 minutes,  why now is the prefect time for Cell Free to exist, a bit on his founding story and struggles, and great rapid fire questions at the end!   CEO of Cell Free and Director of Open Cell Dr.Thomas Meany “As a former interdisciplinary Research Fellow at Cambridge, Tom spent his career working closely and across academia, industry, nanoelectronics & synthetic biology.“ From Website       Cell Free  “we develop practical tools for industry, researchers and individuals who wish to test and trial biological circuits. Our technology allows users to test a DNA circuit in as little as 30 minutes without any laboratory infrastructure. This completely revolutionises how one can conduct experiments. Instead of testing tens of recombinant DNA samples in cell culture over the course of a few days, you can now trial thousands of variants in a few hours. This data and detailed understanding of how bio-circuits work allow us to design practical technologies as biological sensors and materials that can be incorporated into tangibles like wearables and smart devices.We are hiring for wetlab and programming roles. Get in touch! info@cell-free.tech” from website   Open Cell From a great Article write at Synbiobeta on Open cell ” Open Cell is a new collaborative space for bio designers in Shepherd’s Bush London. It aims to support the London ecosystem of designers and scientists specializing on incorporating new biological techniques into material development. It’s a unique space, composed of modular mixed use areas including labs, studios and workshops. Open Cell is located within 45 shipping containers adjacent to Shepherd’s Bush Market. The team is building the space from the bottom up with a user-centric approach.” Article link. There is a lot more to the story in the link. Check them out.  Links/Sources Website Cell Free  Open Cell Website Thomas Linkedin Article link. Facebook link Twitter link Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes * [ 01:10 ] How he divides his time between Cell Free and Open Cell. * [ 01:50 ] He explains how he is able to be the Director of one and the CEO of the other. * [ 02:20 ] Why he choose to separate them legally instead of making them like Google under Alphabet. * [ 03:06 ] The rocket science aspect of Cell Free (2 key big things). * [ 04:40 ] He explains some of the scaling issues he has had to overcome and how he overcame them. * [ 06:04 ] The timing question. Basically, why he choose now to build Cell Free. * [ 09:40 ] I ask what a lab cloud is, what his facility looks like, and he explains it. * [ 11:34 ] How people send over samples (i.e. you do not have to send over live samples). * [ 12:30 ] What about him would be surprising to learn (i.e. he built a small quantum computer). * [ 13:16 ] What he wants to build and work on moving forward (5-10 year project). * [ 14:50 ] Answering what’s getting in the way of scaling, and where things are going. * [ 16:30 ] He explains what the error rate is like, and to what extent it is a concern. * [ 18:30 ] The above section continued.

Celiac Disease with Dr. Ingrid of PvP Biologics, the creation of a Therapeutic for Celiac Disease, Seattle, Protein engineering, resource recommendations, and IGEM competition are all topics discussed. Dr. Ingrid is the co-founder and the chief scientific officer of PvP Biologics, and Transnational Investigator of  Institute for Protein Design About Ingrid “Ingrid Swanson Pultz, Ph.D., is a co-founder and the chief scientific officer of PvP Biologics. Dr. Pultz is a leader in computational enzyme design, and has a distinguished track record of leading research teams to success. As an inventor of PvP’s gluten-degrading enzyme technology and an entrepreneur, Dr. Pultz has established cross-disciplinary connections and bridged industry with academia to accomplish research goals. Dr. Pultz established PvP Biologics in 2012 and joined the team as its chief scientific officer in 2016. Prior to PvP Biologics, Dr. Pultz led the effort to develop effective therapeutics for celiac disease at the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington, where she held a faculty position in the Department of Biochemistry. Dr. Pultz completed her Ph.D. in microbiology at Washington in the laboratory of Dr. Samuel Miller, and post-doctoral research with Dr. David Baker. She holds a B.A. in biology from Wellesley College. While operating at the forefront of protein engineering, Dr. Pultz also has a strong interest in training the next generation of effective leaders in science and technology. Dr. Pultz has received numerous awards and recognitions including a Life Sciences Discovery Fund grant, the Neil Groman Award for Excellence in Teaching, and a competitive NSF research fellowship. ” Taken from website   About PvP Biologics Our mission is to develop a highly-effective therapeutic product to reduce the burden of living with celiac disease. Towards this end, we are advancing a product candidate designed to break down the immuno-reactive parts of gluten in the stomach and thereby avoid the painful symptoms and damage done in the small intestine from accidental gluten ingestion. Website https://www.pvpbio.com/   About Institute for Protein Design “The exquisite functions of naturally occurring proteins solve the challenges faced during evolution.  However, we face challenges today that were not faced during natural evolution.  The goal of the Institute for Protein Design (IPD) is to develop and apply methods for designing a whole new world of synthetic proteins to address these challenges. To achieve this goal, the Institute for Protein Design was established in 2012, and is building on strengths within the University of Washington and Seattle more generally.  Protein design requires high-level expertise and talent in computing and software, biochemistry, genome sciences, biological structure, pharmacology, immunology and other basic science disciplines, as well as clinical medicine.  We are marshaling deep institutional strengths in our faculty, scientific staff, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, our partners from collaborating institutions, innovator networks, and from the computer and biotechnology industries — bringing extraordinary expertise to bear on a singular focus to advance the potential of protein design. Over the past 16 years, UW researchers have made significant progress in protein design and protein structure prediction, developing the world leading Rosetta software.  During this period, UW scientists have developed methods for designing proteins with a wide range of new functions, including catalysts for chemical reactions, HIV and RSV vaccine candidates, and flu virus inhibitors.  The IPD integrates these strengths in protein design with Seattle-area expertise in biochemistry,

Broadband for the brain. Paradromics is developing high-volume, bidirectional data streaming capabilities between brains and computers. Their neural interface technologies will initially be used to help physically disabled patients reconnect with the outside world (i.e. blindness, deafness, paralysis, ALS, etc) People in this episode Matt Angle, CEO of Paradromics Kunal Sahasrabuddhe, Applied Scientist Paradromics Yifan Kong, Hardware and Fabrication Lead at Paradromics About Paradromics “Paradromics is developing high-volume, bidirectional data streaming capabilities between brains and computers. Our neural interface technologies will initially be used to help physically disabled patients reconnect with the outside world – with infinite possibilities beyond. Blindness, deafness, paralysis, ALS, and amputation – all of these conditions fundamentally involve the breakdown of communication between the brain and the outside world. So what if patients with connectivity disorders could interact with the world through a direct computer link? In an instant, an entire ecosystem of digital devices and online services would be available to compensate for a patient’s loss of biological connectivity. A blind person could see through the aid of a digital camera. A paralyzed person could order groceries, receive them at the door, and then invite a friend for dinner, all without moving a muscle. Together with our government, academic, corporate and clinical partners, we are developing high-volume digital connection capabilities for the human brain.” Source Website.  Press/funding 1) Brain-Machine Interface Company Paradromics Secures a $7 Million Series Seed Led by Arkitekt Ventures 2) DARPA Invests $18.3 Million In Brain Implant Startup That’s Building ‘A Modem For The Mind’ 3) U.S. to Fund Advanced Brain-Computer Interfaces Links Website http://www.paradromics.com Emails careers@paradromics.com info@paradromics.com Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/paradromics-inc/ Twitter https://twitter.com/paradromics/

AI, Neuroscience, and Cognition exploration with CEO and Founder of the startup NeuroCreate, which aims to use personalized AI to help you feel ‘in the zone’ more quickly at work. Website Shama Linkedin Email: shama@neurocreate.co.uk Twitter link  About Dr Shama Rahman Scientist, Explorer, Singer, Multi-instrumentalist, Composer, Actor and Theatre-maker Multi-disciplinary PhD exploring the Neuroscience and Complex Systems of Creativity. CEO and Founder at NeuroCreate Ltd- startup at the junction of AI, Neuroscience and Cognition. First Sitar and Roli Synth player to perform in Antarctica. I was invited to be an Art/Science Explorer on an expedition with the first ever Antarctic Biennale. First artist-in-residence with the pioneering wearable technology mi.mu gloves. Artistic Director of Art-Science agency Jugular Productions (tagline: Joining the Head and Heart) authentically bringing together cutting-edge research and visceral lived experience. About NueroCreate NeuroCreate uses personalized AI to help you feel ‘in the zone’ more quickly at work. With our digital interface we help accelerate you to reach flow; a mental state where you feel capable of overcoming challenges effortlessly.Flow improves wellbeing, creative productivity, and mental flexibility, leading to a better experience at work. Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes: * [ 01:01 ] What she is working on and her goals. * [ 05:30 ] Flow explained. * [ 06:30 ] What she has built so far, and what still needs to be developed in order to get it in consumer hands. * [ 07:51 ] Who helps develops the A.I. components. * [ 08:30 ] Who all are a part of the team, and what they do. * [ 09:15 ] What some of the biggest challenges that she went through are, and how long her startup has been in existence. * [ 10:55 ] The different types of investors and her thoughts on finding the right type. * [ 12:45 ] Benjamin Franklin origin story, and how her technology could develop educational resources. We discuss a few different applications. * [ 15:37 ] From PhD to CEO. What allowed her to make that transition. * [ 18:16 ] Her early adopters, and what they love about it. * [ 21:45 ] The special “rocket science” aspect about what she is developing. * [ 24:23 ] An idea for a business card with a logo of flow state. * [ 25:00 ] Worst things and best things about the startup journey thus far. * [ 26:45 ] The different markets she is going to target. * [ 28:00 ] When will she consider herself a success. * [ 29:30 ] Different ways to finance her startup (i.e. Kickstarter). * [ 31:48 ] Last two questions. What is something amusing that happened in her startup journey, and how we can follow along? * [ 33:15 ] Looking for human guinea pigs and a silly joke before the end.

Living Ink is a cutting edge biomaterials company developing the next-generation of ink and coatings. Algae cells are transformed into sustainable pigments for renewable, biodegradable, and safe ink products. In this episode, we get into Scott’s journey to create this startup, what’s unique about it, the future of what he is working on, and a little parenting discussion at the end. Living Ink At Living Ink, we are developing patent pending processes that transform algae into eco-friendly ink and coating products. The value proposition is renewable, biodegradable and safe. Our goal is to use biomaterials to make the world’s most sustainable ink. *Awarded NSF-SBIR Phase II for $750,000 *Awarded NSF-SBIR Phase I grant for $225,000 *Awarded Colorado Advanced Industry grant for $75,000 *Awarded U.S. Department of Energy prize of $50,000 *Won business competitions from CU-Denver and Colorado State University for >$25,000 *Ran successful Kickstarter campaign with over $60,000 and 977 backers Source Founders Scott and Steve met when they were PhD students in the Cell and Molecular Biology Program at Colorado State University. They were both researching algae projects related to biofuels and bioproducts. In 2013, it was brought to their attention that the majority of printing ink used in the world are produced from toxic petroleum products. This inspired them to use algae as biopigments to develop the world’s most sustainable ink. Source   Other great links. 

Mental Health, VR, Reduce stress, Increased self-esteem, Increase happiness, Reduced anxiety. We get into how to a lot in their startup journey and the differences they are seeing with their technology.  Small disclaimer: I am traveling, so the notes on this episode will be fleshed out when I am done traveling. About Psylaris and the Mission “Realizing that a large part of our population isn’t receiving the best possible care regarding mental health, Yoeri set out on a mission to change this. after contacting his old friend Christoph, they thought of the concept to combine VR with therapy. Mike completed the team with insights in optimizing the personalized session. Since then they have been on their  mission: To provide better mental healthcare for everybody in the world. With our VR tools, we believe that all individuals can have access to the needed psychological help, regardless of their geographical, economic or social status.” What they currently Target Stress Low self-esteem Addiction Negative memories Phobias Anxiety Negative beliefs Personal conflicts     Mike Verhiel CEO Experienced growth-hacker and product manager. In charge of sales and growth. Christoph Lynen CTO Former AltspaceVR consultant. In charge of development and release management. Christoph Lynen Linkedin Mike Verhiel Linkedin Website Facebook page Twitter Page Show notes to come

No calories, has significant health benefits,  is coming out within two years, 1500 times sweeter than sugar, and comes from a plant. About Dr. Abhiram Dukkipati “Experienced Chief Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the lifesciences sector. Skilled in Life Sciences, Protein Expression, Molecular Biology, Structural Biology, and Cell Culture. Strong entrepreneurship professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) focused in Biology from Syracuse University.” Who was a post doctoral research fellow at Oxford and Stanford Universities. Linkedin Source  About Magellan Life Sciences “There are those who follow and those who lead. If we think there is a quicker and more efficacious way to reach our destination, we will first explore THAT pathway than go down the old, beaten road. Our mission is to create a strong portfolio of intellectual property in proprietary protein production platforms and novel protein based molecules for use across a wide spectrum.” Website link Links Website Startup Linkedin Abhiram’s Linkedin Twitter Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes * [ 01:08 ] Where he got their startup name, and how it exemplifies what they want to do/be. * [ 02:45 ] How he would describe his product on the natural to synthetic spectrum. * [ 04:12 ] How he discovered the plant and realized it would be a great opportunity. Also, how most people passed it up. * [ 07:08 ] We discuss how now is great timing for what he is making. * [ 08:37 ] How he went from a post doc, to working to make this commercially viable. * [ 10:00 ] How he would teach someone to figure out how to scale something developed in the lab. * [ 12:30 ] What the benefits of his product are over sugar (i.e not being a carbohydrate, etc). * [ 14:14 ] From the tests they’ve run, how people have responded to the taste when compared to sugar. * [ 15:11 ] How partners have responded to what he has created. * [ 15:57 ] How long until this is ready to hit the market. * [ 16:22 ] What’s left to do to get this to market. * [ 17:00 ] Why someone who produces sugar wouldn’t try to knock them off. Basically, how it is defensible. * [ 18:10 ] The future of his company (i.e. licensing, production, etc). * [ 18:50 ] Who will be the first beach head markets. * [ 20:20 ] Who all are a part of the team, and what they bring to the table. * [ 22:25 ] Thoughts on finding the right people to hire. * [ 24:37 ] The most rewarding aspect of his journey. * [ 25:10 ] His other hobby (i.e. trading currencies). * [ 26:17 ] What makes him hopeful for the future. * [ 26:45 ] What he will do to celebrate when they succeed at passing their milestones. * [ 28:10 ] What a typical day/week looks like. * [ 29:15 ] He explains how his being in a plane crash is funny. * [ 30:55 ] Who in the science community inspires him. * [ 31:25 ] What things he is currently watching in the science community that he thinks is very exciting. * [ 32:00 ] Resource recommendations. * [ 32:45 ] For people sitting on the fence, what he would encourage those people to think about. * [ 34:40 ] The call to action he wishes to leave us with, and his twitter handle (the best way to reach him).

Bioplastics, methane based materials that are competitive with conventional, oil-based plastics that do not biodegrade or have the same fantastic features. About Molly “Dr. Molly Morse is an innovator, inventor and entrepreneur who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the CEO and co-founder of Mango Materials, a startup company that uses methane to manufacture biodegradable materials. She has engineering degrees from Cornell University and Stanford University and is excited about how innovation and science can transform the world, leaving it a better place.” Linkedin source About Mango Materials “Mango Materials produces biodegradable polymers from waste biogas (methane) that are economically competitive with conventional, oil-based plastics. Mango Materials produces poly-hydroxyalkanoate (PHA) powder, a valuable biopolymer that is converted into a variety of ecofriendly, plastic products such as children’s toys, electronic casings, water bottles, and food packaging containers. Due to a rising preference for green products, demand for biodegradable and non petroleum-based plastics is growing rapidly. Mango Materials uses affordable methane gas and a process that competes favorably with petroleum-based plastics to produce low-cost, biodegradable plastics.” Linkedin Source Links Website Molly’s Linkedin Startup Linkedin Facebook Instagram Twitter Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes * [ 01:10 ] What made her choose Mango Materials as the name for the startup, and the story of how it came to be. * [ 02:51 ] Her origin story of creating the company, the founding team, and her background. * [ 05:34 ] Why PhD isn’t on her business card, and what advice she would give to people from a technical background to break the mold and start their own company. * [ 07:33 ] Suggested accelerators. * [ 08:16 ] What things from her technical background she uses to be successful now. * [ 09:35 ] Her suggestions to someone from a non-technical background to level up their skills. * [ 11:41 ] How to reach out to people effectively. * [ 12:18 ] What she does for fun outside of eating mangoes. * [ 12:59 ] Things she won’t try. * [ 13:14 ] Thoughts on clean meat. * [ 14:01 ] How she gets the methane to produce her bioplastic. * [ 15:15 ] Are there still redwoods in Redwood City, CA? * [ 15:40 ] What the reactors look like, and what the process to creating the bioplastic is. * [ 16:24 ] What application she is most interested in creating. * [ 19:03 ] If it looks or feels different. * [ 19:33 ] The cost of the product, and what she is working on to reduce costs. * [ 20:25 ] What would help her and the startup. * [ 21:21 ] How close she and the startup are to their goals. * [ 22:50 ] Why now is the best time to create a startup like this. * [ 23:21 ] How long it took her to say the chemical name correctly, why she says it a lot, and a quick reference to The Office. * [ 24:35 ] A fun discussion on how to name products, such as PHAT. * [ 25:08 ] What things people tend to get wrong about what she is building with examples. * [ 26:58 ] Certifications and her thoughts on them. * [ 28:15 ] How her vision for the company has only focused down versus pivoting over the years. * [ 29:57 ] What keeps her up at night (i.e Funding and scale). * [ 30:47 ] How much funding she needs to get to her goal.

Antibody Expert, Structural bioinformatician specializing in antibodies and mutations, Experienced expert witness, Antibody consultant. See the separate text interview we did as well by clicking here. Check out Andrew’s Website here Check out Andrews Linkedin Page About Andrew “I am a Bioinformatician / Computational Biologist specializing in antibodies and the effects of mutations on protein structure and function. During my PhD, I co-developed one of the first automated protein modelling programs for modelling antibodies which was commercialized by Oxford Molecular as ‘AbM’. I have maintained my interest in antibodies ever since and have published widely on this topic. We have developed various tools for dealing with antibody sequence and structure including the abYsis web-based analysis platform (www.abysis.org). I have helped a number of labs and companies with antibody humanization and acted as an Expert Witness in numerous patent disputes related to antibodies and general bioinformatics. I am also an adviser to the WHO-INN on the description and annotation of antibody-based drugs and naming of biologics. My other main interest is in the effects of mutations on protein structure and predicting whether a mutation will be pathogenic using machine learning. We have developed specialized predictors for specific phenotype prediction in individual proteins as well as a general predictor. We also develop tools for use by the structural bioinformatics community, most of which are available as open source. In the past I have also done contract scientific programming for the National Grid Company and Bradwell Nuclear Power Station. I teach general biochemistry topics as well as the structure of antibodies and bioinformatics at various levels from introductory first-year undergraduate lectures to masters and specialist training level.” Source Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes * [ 01:20 ] The start of a discussion on what makes antibodies beautiful and key characteristics. * [ 04:40 ] What made him choose antibodies as his vocation, and the roles/versatility of antibodies. * [ 08:30 ] What his focus is. * [ 09:30 ] How he thinks about antibodies, evolution, and how clever they are. * [ 13:25 ] How hard it is to determine different factors in antibody loops, how that’s surprising, and how machine learning can help. * [ 17:30 ] How antibodies and DNA remind him of computer code or computer analogies. * [ 23:25 ] How machine learning specifically comes into his work with antibodies (free programs, process, etc). * [ 24:55 ] He went to Oxford, so is it really different than other campuses or does it just have a great brand awareness. He gets into what’s special about Oxford, and what he did while he was there. * [ 29:45 ] His work as an expert witness and antibody humanization explained (i.e. benefits, limitations, issues, work arounds, etc). * [ 41:50 ] Good ways to follow up with Andrew. Learn more, and find software at his website.