Columbia University BioWorks

Join us for a conversation with Simar Bajaj, a Stanford medical student, Knight-Hennessy Scholar, and award-winning journalist whose work bridges medicine, research, and storytelling. Simar shares how he built an unconventional career across these fields, why science communication plays a critical role in improving healthcare, and what reporting has taught him about the people and systems that sha...

Join us for a deep dive with Ritish Patnaik, CEO of Curve Biosciences, on building “whole-body intelligence” for chronic disease. Ritish shares how Curve’s whole-body atlas, built from hundreds of thousands of curated tissue samples, powers blood tests that map DNA methylation signals back to their organ of origin. We explore how this approach overcomes the signal-to-noise challenge in blood-based...

In which Arvind Thiagarajan, Co-founder and CTO of Tessel Biosciences, shares how he is combining organoid models with active learning algorithms to generate clinically-relevant data with greater experimental efficiency to ultimately develop novel therapeutics. He also discusses how his prior experiences at MIT, D.E Shaw, BenevolentAI, and Verily each shaped his career and worldview into the engin...

In which Dr. Timothy Lu, co-founder and CEO of Senti Bio, shares how his team is engineering logic gates into immune cells to create smarter, more effective cancer treatments. He also reflects on leading the Synthetic Biology Group at MIT, co-founding multiple synthetic biology startups, and navigating the differences between biological and artificial systems.  Hosted by Emma Chen.

Ever wondered how AI can transform the way we diagnose and predict underlying conditions? Join us for an insightful conversation with Mohamed Sadeq Ali, Co-Founder and COO of AccurKardia, a startup innovating in AI-driven ECG analytics. Sadeq shares his journey from tech consultant to healthcare innovator, the challenges of navigating complex regulatory hurdles, and why AI is essential for address...

Join us for an insightful episode as we sit down with Mark Tomishima, Senior Vice President at BlueRock Therapeutics, to explore the latest advancements in regenerative medicine. Mark shares his experiences leading genome engineering and stem cell research, discusses key challenges in cell therapy development, and offers valuable career advice for aspiring scientists. Don’t miss this deep dive int...

Dr. Andrea Califano, founder of Columbia University’s Systems Biology Department and President of the Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub New York, talks about his research on identifying checkpoints within cancer cells. Through algorithms and experimental verification, the Califano Lab is able to find specific proteins that are crucial for tumor progression, revealing useful therapeutic targets. As the co-fou...

In which Dr. Jimmy Sastra, co-founder and CEO of Monomer Bio, discusses how automation can drive greater scalability, standardization, and data accessibility in complex cell culture workflows. We also chat about the importance of building killer apps and not just platforms, the fickleness of growing stem cells, the software layer behind Waymos, and Jimmy’s philosophy on building a mission-driven t...

In which Nicholas Larus-Stone, co-founder of Sphinx Bio, discusses the future of “software-defined biology” and how his startup is accelerating scientists’ research by streamlining the process of experimental design, data processing, and data analysis. He also shares his experience working as a software engineer at early- to mid-sized biotech companies as well as the story behind Bits in Bio, a co...

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 signific...

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 u...

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.

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 info@ne...

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.

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.

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.

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 agenci...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.