Learning With Lowell

Surgery, Patient Safety, AI, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Medical errors, and Human Factors About Yesh CEO and Founder: “I am a generalist who builds technologies that improve healthcare. Trained as a dentist, I have over five years of interdisciplinary experience in healthcare and technology (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Computer Vision). I previously built a startup (Open Simulation) to provide low-cost surgical simulation using Augmented Reality. In my PhD, I designed and evaluated one of the first immersive virtual reality training tools for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. I can understand healthcare challenges from a clinical point of view and build tools that address those needs. Currently, I am focused on making surgery safer through Scalpel Ltd.” Source About Scalpel “To help hospitals reduce preventable errors and cut down costs in litigation, Scalpel Ltd. is building an end to end patient safety platform. This AI-powered platform checks and verifies the implementation of safety steps during surgery using a combination of computer vision and machine learning technologies. Unlike standard checklists, Scalpel’s solution doesn’t require any human interaction, sitting in the background in any operating room it automatically monitors, it provides real-time feedback to detect and prevent errors.” Key factors that this startup is working on or with: Surgery, Patient Safety, AI, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Medical errors, and Human Factors Website link Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes: * [ 01:20 ] Why he choose to build Scalpel, his backstory, and his failure turning into a success. * [ 03:58 ] How Scalpel makes surgeries safer, and how it works. * [ 06:20 ] How problems creep in (i.e. Martin Bromley). * [ 08:40 ] How big of an impact, and how medical errors are the 3rd leading cause of death in the USA. * [ 11:10 ] Why we have not thought of this solution before, and what separates humans vs machines. * [ 14:50 ] How he has gotten people involved who help determine to what extent this technology will be appreciated. * [ 16:35 ] His process to get this in as many hospitals as possible. * [ 17:35 ] Where they are now, and what features they would work on next. * [ 19:11 ] What tools he has used to developed this technology. * [ 21:45 ] Who all is a part of the team, and how they help. * [ 23:52 ] What hurtles he has overcome. * [ 28:18 ] Lessons he has learned from his dental background. * [ 29:59 ] Other nuggets of wisdom he has come across in his experiences. * [ 32:48 ] His resource recommendations. * [ 36:11 ] How people can follow along with his journey (i.e. website).

Bioinformatic Lean Startup Blue Ridge Bioinformatics, Founders Matthew and Matt Discuss Bioinformatics, Their Startup Journey, and How to Run Lean London based bioinformatics service provider. When implemented successfully, bioinformatics can be used to identify new market opportunities and streamline existing R&D saving both valuable time and resources. Our goal is to provide easy and cost-effective access to this growing field for new to medium size biotech and bioscience based companies. Source Click here for the quick text interview we had: Quick Text Interview with Matthew, CEO, and Matt, CTO, of Blue Ridge Bioinformatics Website Contact email: info@blueridgebio.co.uk Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes * [ 01:30 ] What fuels them to keep working in bioscience, who they love to work with, and a bit of their origin story. * [ 03:00 ] Their Response to “That’s weird” in what they were working on (i.e Malaria resistance). * [ 05:00 ] Have they found and converted people to building a startup. * [ 06:40 ] If they ever feel anxious or that they just never feel good enough, and how they get over it. * [ 08:40 ] Where their ambition is leading them. * [ 10:55 ] Where/how they developed the name of Blue Ridge Bioinformatics. * [ 12:45 ] BRB service offering/s. * [ 13:10 ] What their unique skill sets are, and what value they both bring to the team. * [ 15:40 ] What the key characteristics/skills are of people who they love to work with. * [ 17:50 ] Who is still missing from their dream team, and who they’d like to hear from. * [ 19:50 ] How they learned the business side of things (i.e. Igem). * [ 22:20 ] Their thoughts on building something even if it’s not a business. * [ 23:15 ] What they think the key characteristics of success are. * [ 25:20 ] We discuss time and product management strategies. * [ 27:10 ] We discuss how to move forward, use failures, and thoughts on being efficient. * [ 28:35 ] What they have learned during their journey. * [ 32:20 ] The key places where you can follow their journey.  

Machine Learning, Antibodies, and Drug discovery. Antiverse is building a world-first computational antibody drug discovery platform. We combine in-house lab expertise with state of the art machine learning to predict antibody-antigen binding and provide antibody drug candidates in one day. Source Click here for the quick text interview we had: Quick Text Interview with Murat Co-Founder of Antiverse An AI Antibody Drug Discovery Platform Website Contact info: info@antiverse.io “Antiverse: Leveraging AI to Achieve Antibody Drug Discovery in One Day BETTER MEDICINES FASTER Antiverse is building a world-first computational antibody drug discovery platform to predict antibody-antigen binding and provide antibody drug candidates in one day. A combination of state of the art machine learning and cell-free protein synthesis is used to predict antibodies that bind to a given antigen target with high affinity. The resulting software can then take antigen taget sequence, provided by the customer, and do a high-throughput screening of all possibilities of antibody sequences to detect the sequence that will produce a high-affinity antibody for the target. The customer will be provided with the sequence in a single day, thus reducing the time typically required for antibody therapeutics discovery by 3 to 18 months.” Source The Team (see more on their website) Murat Tunaboylu has a BSc in Electrical Engineering and twelve years of experience as a software engineer. He also has extensive experience in labware automation and will be automating the lab work and creating the software that customers will use. Linked in Profile Rowina has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge in cell-free protein synthesis and will be using this cutting-edge technique for the high-throughput generation of antibody fragments. She previously worked as a protein synthesis scientist for drug development for the contract research organisation Domainex. Linkedin Profile  Ben Holland has an MEng in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford and experience in mathematical modelling, especially neural networks, and will use the generated data to train the machine learning system. Linkedin Profile  Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes * [ 01:00 ] What is unique about what they are developing, Murat’s background, and the amazing improvements they are working to create in decreasing drug discovery time * [ 03:40 ] His origin story of getting into biotech, and what drives him to work long hours to create something from nothing. * [ 05:35 ] The key skills that his co-founders bring to the team. * [ 05:55 ] How the machine learning works, and how difficult it is to understand. * [ 08:30 ] If the technology ever replaces humans and digitizes the entire process of drug development. * [ 09:40 ] How long from today it will take them to have the finished product that they are developing. * [ 12:00 ] Key people, skills, and resources they need to help develop Antiverse. * [ 13:10 ] How certain he is in what they are trying to develop coming into the world. * [ 14:05 ] What is unique about what they are developing that gives them a competitive edge. * [ 16:50 ] What partnerships they’re looking for. * [ 17:35 ] What made him think now is the best time to build Antiverse,

Wood Nanotechnology for Energy, Transparent Wood, Super Thermally Insulating Nanowood, Transparent Boats, Advanced Energy Materials Expert, Advanced Functional Materials Expert, and High Performance Thermoelectrics “Tian Li, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering, has been named to Forbes‘ prestigious “30 Under 30 2018: Energy” list in recognition for her contributions to what the magazine describes as the “remarkable scientific breakthrough” of transparent wood. Li and a research team led by Clark School Associate Professor Liangbing Hu removed the molecule in wood that makes it rigid and dark in color (lignin), and replaced it with epoxy, which reinforces the wood’s channels—making it stronger and colorless. This new “transparent wood” material, which is a highly efficient insulator and more biodegradable than plastic, could eventually replace glass in building materials and optical equipment. “Dr. Li has been extremely innovative in inventing wood-based emerging technologies, including in the application of transparent wood in energy-efficient buildings that is better than glass” said Hu. Li received her bachelor’s degree in engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China. She completed her Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering at UMD in 2015, and has also published several recent papers on solar-cell technology. This is the seventh year that Forbes has issued their “30 Under 30″ list to acknowledge the top talent in 20 different industries. WATCH to learn more about transparent wood:” Source Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes * [ 01:02 ] She explains the amazing projects she is working on and is passionate about (i.e Wood, Steam, Solar, Insulation, C02 storage, sustainability etc). This is a big meaty section that gives a great explanation of the benefits of what she has developed. * [ 07:21 ] We talk about the idea of making a transparent boat as an example of a use for her technology. We also get into how her tech is comparatively easy to scale up, and the key components of the process of removing the pigment of wood to make it see-through. * [ 10:30 ] The current limitations she is working through. * [ 11:00 ] How transparent wood would be great used as a cup or storage device. * [ 11:30 ] Who all is a part of the team and their back story. * [ 12:30 ] Talking about how transparent wood would be great for solar cells, and how it improves effectiveness of energy generation. * [ 15:15 ] She explains how she wants to become a professor out in the Bay Area. (People at Stanford and Berkley should contact her). * [ 16:00 ] We talk about her concerns for getting a job as a professor, such as the competitiveness. * [ 17:05 ] We talk about her goal to develop her own lab. * [ 17:40 ] She explains the importance of her transparent wood being able to hold up to 3000k vs the industry best of about 1400k. This is a great infusion of science. Also, a fun story of her research in Italy. * [ 21:40 ] We start talking about the idea of making a transparent wood forest,

Antimicrobial Resistance, how she got started, what she is passionate about, examples of work she and others have done to curb resistance, advice/suggestions, and more are all things you’ll find in this episode! Linkedin Profile  Twitter Work History Research Associate The Ohio State University Policy Analyst Keep Antibiotics Working Coalition Food Safety Research and Policy Associate Center for Science in the Public Interest Director of Research and Education STOP Foodborne Illness Independent Contractor Vermont Department of Health   Post Episode Content Food labeling website, Consumer’s Union: https://www.consumerreports.org/overuse-of-antibiotics/what-no-antibiotic-claims-really-mean/ Maryn McKenna’s book, Big Chicken: https://marynmckenna.com/books/big-chicken/  also has a link on the page to her Ted talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/maryn_mckenna_what_do_we_do_when_antibiotics_don_t_work_any_more Purdue’s decision: https://www.perduefarms.com/news/statements/antibiotics-position-statement/ Keep Antibiotics Working non-profit Coalition: https://www.keepantibioticsworking.org/ Alternatives to Antibiotics: http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2017/07/alternatives-to-antibiotics-in-animal-agriculture OIE: 

Lux Capital Scientist in Residence, what that is like, how he evaluates startups, the big things he focuses on, and his thoughts on being a generalist over being a specialist are just some of the topics we cover in this episode! Important links Personal Website Lux Capital about page Linkedin Page All of his writing at Wired All of his writing at The Atlantic  All of his writing on Medium Crunchbase Biography  All of the below can be seen on his website here as well as how to contact him and join his newsletter.  “Samuel Arbesman is a complexity scientist, whose work focuses on the nature of scientific and technological change. He is currently Scientist in Residence at Lux Capital, a venture capital firm investing in emerging science and technology ventures. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado Boulder and Research Fellow at the Long Now Foundation. Arbesman’s training is in complexity science, computational biology, and applied mathematics. His scientific research has been cited widely and has appeared in numerous peer-reviewed journals including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. His essays about science, mathematics, and technology have appeared in such places as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Wired, where he was previously a contributing writer, and he has been featured in The Best Writing on Mathematics 2010. Arbesman is the author of two award-winning books, Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehension (Current/Penguin, 2016) and The Half-Life of Facts (Current/Penguin, 2012). Previously, Arbesman was a Senior Scholar at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and a Research Fellow in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School. He completed a PhD in computational biology at Cornell University in 2008, and earned a BA in computer science and biology at Brandeis University in 2004. Books Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehension A QI Book of the Year and Scientific American Recommended Book Why did the New York Stock Exchange suspend trading without warning on July 8, 2015? Why did certain Toyota vehicles accelerate uncontrollably against the will of their drivers? Why does the programming inside our airplanes occasionally surprise its creators? After a thorough analysis by the top experts, the answers still elude us. You don’t understand the software running your car or your iPhone. But here’s a secret: neither do the geniuses at Apple or the Ph.D.’s at Toyota—not perfectly, anyway. No one, not lawyers, doctors, accountants, or policy makers, fully grasps the rules governing your tax return, your retirement account, or your hospital’s medical machinery. The same technological advances that have simplified our lives have made the systems governing our lives incomprehensible, unpredictable, and overcomplicated.

Astrobiologist, Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Research Scientist, climate change, solar system exploration. His non linear path to finding his way to Astrobiology, the projects he is working on, discussion on planets and moons, and his love of sharing science are just some of the topics we will cover in this episode.   Biography: “Welcome! As an astrobiologist, my research broadly investigates how the rock record can preserve properties of an ancient atmosphere, and how the rocks can create or contribute to an atmosphere; a discipline I like to call “Atmospheric Geology”. Atmospheric gases and/or gases released in water-rock reactions are fundamental in metabolic processes, and so I enjoy thinking about the role life has in modulating the concentration of gases (atmospheric or not), and how the concentration of those gases modulate biological “lifestyle” (survival, maintenance, growth). As examples, I investigate how ancient raindrop craters can record atmospheric density, how gas bubbles trapped as amygdales in ancient lava flows can record atmospheric pressure, and how channel morphology can be an indicator of flow sustainability (the latter in the context of Mars). I’m also very interested in the topographic evolution of Mars. At Ames, I focus on the latter part of this interest: how rocks can create or contribute to an atmosphere. Specifically, I am investigating the connection between geology, geochemistry, and microbiology in serpentinizing systems, through a combination of field, laboratory and theoretical studies. Deep-sea exploration has been a growing interest of mine, overprinted on the space exploration passion that has fueled my career. To that end, I have been involved with research cruises on-board the R/V Atlantis, and have explored the sea-floor both robotically (ROV Jason), and physically (DSV Alvin).” Source About Sanjoy:  Education: Ph.D. Planetary Sciences & Astrobiology (University of Washington 2010) and Stanford Ignite (Stanford Graduate School of Business 2012) Research: Atmospheric geology, Geomorphology, Aqueous Geochemistry, Bioenergetics, Astrobiology Education Where Dr. Sanjoy Som can be found: Exobiology Branch NASA Ames Research Center http://spacescience.arc.nasa.gov/ & Research Scientist & Director Blue Marble Space Institute of Science http://www.bmsis.org/

Silk Material innovation, how they developed their startup, what they specialize in, what they are nerds about, and where they want to go. About Synbiosys Synbiosys is a new platform for materials research and development by pioneering a symbiotic relationship between the scientific rigor of academia and the goal-oriented attitude of the industry. * Next generation Armour with super fast energy absorption * Biological composites for biomedical applications * High-toughness carbon fiber composites * High-strength structural glass and blast-proof glazing Read all of this an more on their website: Synbiosys Contact: info@synbiosys.co.uk   About Founder Jose: “José entered the startup environment before his undergraduate years, working in, and shadowing, companies within Imperial College London’s incubator such HydroVenturi, deltaDOT, Gusto and Duvas Technologies. During his undergraduate degree he helped build and test a proof of concept for a new form of micro-hydroelectricity. He spent a year in between his undergraduate and PhD working for Duvas Technologies. His physics and language skills have sent him on projects to Brazil and Qatar. Before joining Deep Science Ventures as a Venture Founder, he worked in its expansion via networking and equipment procurement. He has now founded Synbiosys Ltd to develop next generation reinforced materials, and part-developed the new “Entrepreneurship in Physics” lecture course in the Department of Physics, Imperial College London, which will start in Q1 2018. His main interest is on sustainable technologies, and cutting edge materials engineering. His expertise revolves around optics, experimental semiconductor physics and organic composite design. He also has experience in optimising two-phase flow (air in water), plastic film coating and fibre extrusion. Technical specialties: – Raytrace modelling for concentrating optics – Solar cell characterisation (single and multi junction, quantum well) – Photoelectrochemical multijunction structures and reactor optics – Luminescent solar concentrator fabrication: planar and fibre geometries – Lab managing (laser and wet) – Spectroscopy (UV and visible) – Organic material processing” Source.    About Founder Gian: “Received my Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Pisa in 2014 and completed my PhD in materials science at Imperial College in 2017. During the last year of the PhD, he co-founded Synbiosys and joined it full time in October 2017. As co-founder and director of Synbiosys, He wants to develop the next generation high-performance bio-composites which can be produced locally and from renewable sources, and will benefit consumers as well as the local communities and the environment.” Source    

Next Generation Feed, Food, and Fuel using next generation insect crop creation to make specific Black soldier fly evolutions to meet the needs of a variety of agriculture sectors. Discussion about Black Soldier Fly evolution to create next-generation crops that will drive a sustainable bioeconomy that produces feed, food, and fuel. We also get into his startup journey, how he had to transfer out a member of the founding team, and what he learned from that situation on founding greater teams, his fears, and some of his accomplishments. Thomas’s Linkedin link. About Beta Bugs “Beta Bugs is a cutting edge biotechnology company that produces enhanced insect strains for the growing insect farming industry. The domesticated, optimized strains we produce provide benefits at all levels of the production chain ensuring the industry is both more profitable and sustainable. We accelerate the evolution of the organisms to create traits that ensure greatly superior final products ” Source  Additionally: “At Beta Bugs we know the insect industry has huge potential, both environmentally and economically. Insects, such as the Black Soldier Fly, are excellent sources of protein for feed as well as a broad range of other resources from bio-materials to fuel. However, having only recently been domesticated, insects, unlike other agricultural species, are far from optimized for industry. There are huge improvements to be made in efficiency, quality of produce and ease of farming. At Beta Bugs we are changing this through the application of state of the art breeding programmes and tried and tested bio-techniques.” source Beta Bugs and Thomas were also a part of Deep Science Ventures. Check out the episode we did on them with their Founder Dom.  Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes: * [ 01:30 ] Who is on their team, and what they do. Additionally, how he used to have a co-founder, and how they parted ways. * [ 03:50 ] What inspired him to want to create Beta Bugs and a bit of his backstory (i.e. PhD). * [ 07:30 ] What he thought about in creating his breeding techniques and the many places he pulled from. * [ 09:36 ] How he is using traditional breeding over GMO type practices and the benefits of doing so. * [ 10:50 ] How long until they have a viable product and the first market they are targeting. * [ 11:44 ] His thoughts on a customer-driven approach, and the types of things his potential customers are looking for. * [ 13:00 ] His first product development in regards to salmon, and why he choose it. * [ 13:58 ] His thoughts on adding compounds/processes to bugs which then makes it possible for the bugs to give salmon their pink coloring. * [ 15:30 ] How he plans things out. * [ 16:12 ] We discuss his team of advisers, and how they have helped in his development. * [ 16:50 ] Grey hair fallacy, and how he finds advisers. * [ 18:14 ] How he gets them on the team and keeps them excited. * [ 18:43 ] How DSV helped him out, and the first ways they challenged him. * [ 20:50 ] His thoughts on different levels of feed stock and trait costs similar to Telsa’s car tiers. * [ 23:20 ] Why build out a catalog as a breeding company. * [ 24:30 ] His thoughts on vertical vs horizontal integration. * [ 26:30 ] His thoughts on competition, roadblocks, and his value proposition. * [ 27:30 ] What the benefits of going horizontal vs vertical are. * [ 28:46 ] Books and other recommendations, and his thoughts on them.

Personalized medicine development technology to improve all of our lives, their startup journey, what they’ve learned, and what they still have yet to do. About CSO Dr. Katia Nazmutdinova: She has a “PhD in Genetics, experience in kidney disease modelling and the use of patent-specific cells for personalized medicine” Source. Additionally, she  specialized in rare genetic diseases. is skilled in disease modeling, 3D cell culturing, personalized medicine assays, drug testing and DNA sequencing (NGS, Fluidigm, Sanger). Source.  About CEO Dr. Natalie Grefenstette: She has a “PhD in Organic Chemistry Specialised in systems chemistry and aqueous organic chemistry” Source. Interests: “Astrobiology, Origin of Life, Artificial Life, Synthetic Biology, Cancer Biology, Genetics” Source.  Their mission and the logic of Encelo labs: “We are all unique As we all know, every person is different. This uniqueness is currently being explored thanks to the boom in sequencing that lead to multiple businesses sprouting around the field of personalised genetics. However, it might surprise more than one to hear that most of research into human biology and disease is stuck in the past, relying on immortalized cell lines or animal models; both containing very little genetic diversity. This is due to the fact that the gold standard of research, human primary cell lines (ie: unadulterated cells from actual patients or healthy people), are rare and expensive; as they are sourced through invasive and opportunistic surgical procedures. This bottleneck of material particularly affects research into rare diseases and paediatric diseases. Most importantly, this bottleneck is limiting our access to the long awaited advent of personalized medicine. We are all cells Access to individuals’ genetic material is greatly helping understand variation in human genetics. Yet, DNA on its own will not reveal all the necessary information. A human body is composed of trillions of cells, each with a specific role. The differences between your skin cells and cardiac cells are obvious both visually and in behaviour. This is due to differences in the expression of the DNA. Expression levels change in response to external stimuli. Cells react. Cells change. Cells are alive. This is why research needs cells to study biology. We need to understand the relationship between cells and the outside world, as well as the relationship between cellular response and the DNA it holds inside. For this, we need more human primary cells. Bridging the gap We have identified a novel method of sourcing human cells, that will allow for unlimited and unprecendented access to stem cell-like cells. Once we develop the necessary tools for this collection, we can source cells from anyone. This will allow for unrestricted access to rare disease patients, children and other patients. This will allow for an abundance of precious material, that will accelerate research into our own biology. And finally, it will allow for personalised medicine to finally be within reach.” source Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes: * [ 01:50 ] The main purpose of Encelo labs. * [ 02:12 ] Why go away from Henrietta lacks cells and facts about those cells, and the benefits of working out a process of attaining personalized cells. * [ 03:39 ] The current methods for harvesting cells and the downsides of those methods. * [ 04:20 ] How their method stacks up against the current methods,

Tissue engineering, applications, a biotech startup, their startup journey, and why they moved to the UK from Brazil are the big talking points of this episode. About Biomimetic Solutions: “Biomimetic Solutions is an innovative tissue engineering company based in United Kingdom that produces a new generation of biomaterials for tissue engineering applications.” Source “Our products are a result of high level professionals working in a rigorous property quality control and constant investment in research and development.” Source Major Awards: “Biomimetic Solutions was the winner of Startup Games 2017- Belo Horizonte Edition and broke the Mondial record of virtual funds raised of all editions.Startup games is a global business competition promoted by the British Consulate and this year the competition was attended by 73 startups from all over the world. The competition already passed by Sidney, London, Singapore and Santiago.” Source About CEO Alana Santos Benz: “Materials Engineer by CEFET-MG (Federal Centre of Technology of Minas Gerais- Brazil). Founder and CEO of Biomimetic Solutions, a tissue engineering company based in UK that develops high quality materials for tissue engineering field. Integrating biomaterials science, natural extracts and patented methods, Biomimetic generates affordable and optimised materials for 3D cell culture.” Source About CTO Ana Elisa Antunes dos Santos: “Founder and biotechnology entrepreneur. Graduate in Materials Engineering by CEFET-MG (Federal Centre of Technology of Minas Gerais). CTO of Biomimetic Solutions, a biotechnology stratup that operates in the segment of Tissue Engineering developing technologys for in vitro tests of Cellular Agriculture field, Cosmetic Industry and Regenerative Medicine.”  Source Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes: * [ 01:15 ] What their greatest strengths are and what helps them be successful in their biotech startup journey. * [ 02:45 ] What their backgrounds are in and what they are specializing in. * [ 03:27 ] What things made them gravitate towards hard sciences over anything else. * [ 04:51 ] The biggest struggles they have gone through (i.e. merging University and startup worlds). * [ 08:29 ] How they describe their technology and why it’s important for the clean meat (cellular agriculture) fields. * [ 09:45 ] How they would explain their technology of growing clean meat to a laymen. * [ 11:47 ] What they think is unique about clean meat and their technology. * [ 13:42 ] How their technology could be used to form a heart and other tissues. * [ 14:36 ] What seeing the first results were like, and how long it took to get great results. * [ 16:25 ] How they celebrate by planning next moves, and what it was like to move to the UK. * [ 19:01 ] Who their mentors are, and how their mentors have helped them. * [ 22:08 ] Some of the things that they think early stage biotech startups need to focus on. * [ 23:55 ] How they formed the team and found each other (i.e. a special Brazil program). * [ 25:48 ] Why the team reached out to Alana to become the CEO and founder. * [ 27:05 ] How they level up their skills. * [ 28:30 ] The person that inspires Ana. * [ 29:10 ] Book recommendations and clean meat resources. * [ 30:20 ] Their advice for people who are starting out. * [ 33:10 ] The best ways to follow along and contact them!  

Extinction, Vaquita conservation, life as a Director of Education, SAFE food labels, and more! About David: “He has a bachelor’s degree in marine biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a master’s degree in biology with an emphasis in educational media design from the University of California, Irvine. As the Aquarium’s director of education, Bader develops and manages school and public programs, education department long-term planning and staffing, exhibit development, interpretation training, and grant development. In 2015 Bader became the public engagement project coordinator for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Vaquita SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) program. Key areas of his expertise include marine biology, oceanography, interpretation of current ocean science for the public, vaquita conservation, and the biology and ecology of various marine animals, from sharks to sea jellies.” Source Vaquita SAFE “The vaquita is the most critically endangered cetacean in the world and can only be found in the northwestern corner of the Gulf of California, Mexico. This porpoise population is in rapid decline as a direct result of the animals being caught in fishing gillnets.  The latest data estimates the population to have less than 30 individuals and the vaquita is in severe risk of going extinct. The Need for SAFE * Between 2010 and 2014 alone, three AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums reported taking part in a variety of field conservation projects benefiting vaquitas. Over those five years, the AZA community invested over $50,000 in vaquita conservation. See AZA’s Conservation and Research Database for more information. * Most projects were associated with obtaining visual (photo and video) records, assessing wild populations, and conducting conservation education programs. * A primary threat to vaquitas is entanglement in gillnets, used for capturing fish and shrimp. Collaborative projects between AZA-accredited institutions that raise awareness about this issue and engage the public in marine mammal conservation help ensure a future for this highly endangered porpoise. Despite the tremendous efforts AZA members and partners have committed toward saving the vaquita, the species is still declining at an alarming rate and there is a clear need to approach conservation differently.  AZA SAFE provides a new approach for collaborative conservation.  Using a One Plan approach,  conservationists working to save a species work together to identify and prioritize the conservation needs of a species and then develops a 3-year Conservation Action Plan (CAP).  Each AZA SAFE Conservation Action Plan includes specific projects, goals, and actions that will address the needs of each species.” Source Update new links and great resources!

Cellular Agriculture, building a new industry, what Kate works on, how she got started, new research, and how to get involved. About Kate “Kate began working in cellular agriculture as an intern at Perfect Day Foods (formerly Muufri) developing strategies to make milk proteins. She has a background in protein biochemistry and cell biology, and completed her PhD in May 2017. While in graduate school, she created and instructed at Clones to Crystals, an 8-week undergraduate laboratory course covering the basics of cloning, protein purification, and crystallization trials. She also co-founded and ran Learn to Code, a data science bootcamp for women, teaching 50+ students the basics of data science and software development in Python. Her research focused on how insects use their immune systems to fight disease, particularly the biochemistry of thioester containing proteins (TEPs), a family of insect immune proteins. She has extensive research experience in biochemistry, structural biology, and cell biology. She holds a PhD in Cell Biology from Yale University and an AB in Biochemistry from Mount Holyoke College, and is a proud native of Federal Way, Washington. She is can often be found hiking or brewing hard cider.” Source About New Harvest  “By applying advances in tissue engineering and synthetic biology to growing food, we can revolutionize the supply chain of animal products to continue to provide affordable and sustainable food to a growing population. We call this “cellular agriculture.” Thanks to cellular agriculture, we can produce eggs, milk, meat, and more without intensive crop and animal farming. Unfortunately, this nascent field is not well supported by existing research funding mechanisms. This is where New Harvest comes in.” Source Social media links( Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) Time stamp Show notes * [ 02:20 ] Why she choose Cellular Agriculture and New Harvest, and how she found her way into New Harvest (i.e. Starting at Perfect Day). Also, she gets into what she is doing now. * [ 05:55 ] How she describes New Harvest, and the benefits of having a non-profit organization pushing and developing Cellular Agriculture. How the process of innovation happens with drugs, which is a good analogy to what they are trying to do. * [ 07:00 ] How cellular agriculture and lab meat is similar to Solar. * [ 07:45 ] Their funding, other funding in the space, and the benefits of having New Harvest working on creating open-sourced patents and technologies. * [ 08:50 ] Some of the specific things that New Harvest does to promote the industry (i.e. training, etc). * [ 10:10 ] What we can do to be helpful in creating this new industry. * [ 10:55 ] An online course that they are developing. * [ 11:40 ] Her thoughts on people making weird meat or stuff with this technology, like Gringotts jelly beans. * [ 12:25 ] The types of meat she has heard people are interested in culturing. * [ 13:10 ] How tissue engineering will benefit from the research they are doing. * [ 13:45 ] What her daily life is like (i.e. NASA talk about food systems, etc). * [ 15:30 ] How the research is going, expanding their research team, and the latest research that is coming out of the lab (i.e.

Implants, the concerns, the benefits, and why he has dedicated his life to building great implants. We also get into how to build a team, find mentors, get involved, and how to learn more about implants. Check the hyperlinked timestamped show notes on the website to see more about the topics we cover! Linkedin Profile, VivoKey website, and his Ted talk. About VivoKey: “We believe the power of cryptography should be in everyone’s hands, literally. Using traditional security tokens means managing them, remembering to bring them everywhere you go, and worrying you might lose them or that they may be stolen. Mobile phones and SMS messages do work for cryptography and two-factor authentication, but cryptographic keys are often stored virtually unguarded on the phone and two-factor SMS messages can be intercepted or even re-routed by malicious attackers or hostile governments.” VivoKey website About Amal: “Amal Graafstra, founder of biohacking company Dangerous Things, recognized that identity and the issues surrounding establishing, managing, validating, and protecting identity are currently a huge mess. Your biological self and the collection of accounts, services, messages, transactions, and records which make up your digital identity exist as two identities, which are only loosely coupled by vulnerable account passwords and impractical or interceptable technologies. So, he launched Project UKI (/yoo key/) to change that, which eventually became VivoKey. You can be you (and nobody else can), anywhere, all the time. You + VivoKey means your biological and digital identities can be cryptographically merged, ensuring the one true you is the only you using your devices, sending your messages, reading your email, accessing your accounts, opening your doors, driving your vehicles, and spending your money.” VivoKey website Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes (only clickable on this website): * [ 02:10 ] Why he chose implants as the thing he was going to work on and innovate, and how he started implanting for the first time. * [ 05:44 ] How much time and energy he is saving with implants, and how he thinks about implants as reducing the phone, keys, wallet juggle we do in our daily lives. * [ 07:00 ] How people’s concerns about implants stack up against reality. * [ 10:20 ] Medical information being stored on the chips, and his thoughts on establishing the right protocol and procedures. * [ 12:10 ] How expensive the tech is, and his thoughts on a paywall. * [ 15:30 ] His thoughts on finding compelling reasons and applications to get people to get excited about implants. * [ 18:00 ] How current token technology and security is similar to releasing cats to control rat populations, and then releasing dogs to control the cat population, and how Amal’s technology simplifies all of that. * [ 22:23 ] How your body reacts to having an implant, and how they have built their implants to be really safe. * [ 23:50 ] The talk about whether someone can steal, cut off your hand, and how safe the implants are. This is a great spot to listen to if you want to hear a back and forth on violent crime, implant safety, and ease of access. * [ 29:20 ] How I would consider it to be similar to pick-pocketing and we continue to discuss security concerns. * [ 33:54 ] If it’s possible to clone a chip and how secure his system is. Also, a fun story of how unsecured other systems are. * [ 36:30 ] We use Elon Musk and his rockets/dreams as an analogy to ...

Keira Havens, CEO, Founder, TedTalk speaker, Bioengineer – discusses her thoughts on systems and how to integrate innovation into society, how people tend to think of nature incorrectly, and her life as a CEO and Founder of a biotech startup. Ted Talk Linkedin Reddit first and second AMA she has done. Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes (only clickable on this website): * [ 02:10 ] How Agriculture is the current system that she is trying to change. * [ 03:50 ] How Most of what we think as natural is actually human controlled. Especially in USA. * [ 05:20 ] Great power and responsibilities, and her thoughts on looking at externalities in systems that people tend to miss, and donuts economics. * [ 07:00 ] The repercussions of not being responsible with our environment and a fun anecdote about Admiral Nelson and trees, and how successful companies tend to emulate nature and it’s characteristics. * [ 09:40 ] Changes in our brain over our evolution and how thinking bigger can be very beneficial. * [ 11:05 ] What life was like as a female founder for her and how she interacted with people. * [ 13:00 ] Channeling Steve Jobs, but giving credit where it’s due. * [ 13:50 ] Her experiences being compromising in vision vs being focused on what she wanted to do. * [ 14:45 ] What are GMOs actually like,  how they are not like stapling an apple to a pear, and how she got into geoengineering. * [ 17:45 ] Theseus Ship and her thoughts on the ships relationship to the observer. * [ 19:00 ] Editing the Germ line and how it’s analogous to a generational ship (Aurora by Kim). * [ 22:45 ] How often things swap DNA and horizontal transfer. * [ 23:30 ] Where she got started and how she developed over the years, * [ 27:00 ] Societies needing to accept innovation and how to help encourage adoption with a fun example of how people fought hand washing in ancient (modern ?) times. * [ 28:00 ] How not to get society to accept your innovation and findings, and Keira’s thoughts on data and setting up strong narratives. * [ 30:20 ] How we can be supportive of her missions and other missions, get informed, and then get involved, and the analogy of seeing problems with a hammer instead of a toolbox. * [ 33:30 ] Her thoughts on tools and toolboxes in societies, and an example of developing plants to detect landmines vs more effective methods.