Grow Everything Biotech Podcast

We kick off our CPG series with Dr. Erin Marasco, Senior Director of Global Biology at Cargill, who leads innovation in ingredient discovery, strain development, and biotech applications. Erin takes us on a fascinating journey from the fundamentals of fermentation to the complexities of scaling biotech products from lab bench to global supply chains. We explore Cargill's 30-year history in bio...

Karl and Erum kick off 2026 by reviewing their 2025 forecasts—celebrating the wins (DeSci's rise, waste as a resource, AI-biology convergence) and acknowledging the misses (no biotech M&A boom, no quantum biology breakthrough yet). Then they unveil their boldest predictions for the year ahead: the first functional AI-composed genome entering production, a major non-sterile biomanufacturing...

Karl and Erum kick off 2026 with deep reflections on prosperity, consciousness, and the idea that we might be living in a simulation. But the real focus is on a concept that could make or break biotech companies: orchestration. They dive into why most biotech innovations outside of pharma struggle to commercialize and introduce the idea of value chain syndication—bringing together innovators, manu...

In this special holiday replay episode, we revisit our conversation with Ashley Beckwith, founder of Foray Biosciences, who shares her groundbreaking work in plant cell culture and tissue engineering. Growing up in Colorado, Ashley watched forests disappear to housing development and wildfire—experiences that sparked her lifelong mission to reimagine how we produce plant materials. After training ...

In this episode, Karl and Erum speak with Aradhita Parasrampuria, founder of CellSense, about revolutionizing the fashion embellishment industry through biology. Aradhita shares her journey from witnessing toxic dye masters in Gujarat textile factories to creating biodegradable sequins, beads, and buttons using algae and bacterial cellulose. She explains how her materials can be produced at room t...

Karl and Erum explore the untapped potential of fungi through three groundbreaking interviews. First, they speak with Susanne Gloersen, founder of the Future is Fungi Award, about why fungi represent the next frontier in biotech and how her global platform is accelerating fungal innovation across industries—from soil remediation to firefighting foam. Next, they sit down with Ricky Cassini of Michr...

Lauryn Menard, co-founder of Gob, joins us to discuss how she's tackling the 40 billion petroleum-based earplugs produced annually by creating the first biodegradable, mycelium-based alternative. Named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies of 2025 and featured in Time Magazine's Best Inventions, Lauryn shares her journey from industrial designer to biotech entrepreneur. She e...

In this Thanksgiving replay, we revisit our conversation with Paul Shapiro, co-founder and CEO of Better Meat Co, who's pioneering the use of mycelium-based proteins as a sustainable alternative to animal meat. Paul shares his remarkable journey from starting an animal welfare organization in high school to becoming a biotech entrepreneur. He explains how fungi fermentation creates protein-ric...

Join us for a mind-bending conversation with Professor Michael Levin, director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, as he reveals how cells make decisions without brains, store memories without DNA, and navigate anatomical space like we navigate physical space. Discover how his team created two-headed immortal worms whose memory persists across regeneration cycles, how bioelectrical...

We sit down with Andrew Verbinnen, founder of HairDAO, who's revolutionizing how we approach hair loss research and treatment. After experiencing hair loss himself at nineteen, Andrew discovered that androgenetic alopecia - affecting 95% of hair loss cases - receives almost no funding because it's classified as cosmetic rather than a disease. By creating a patient-led biotech organization combinin...

Karl and Erum sit down with Gabe Tavas, CEO and co-founder of Symmetry Wood, who is pioneering a revolutionary approach to wood production. Gabe shares his journey from design student to bio-innovator, inspired by his time volunteering in rural Ecuador where he witnessed the devastating impact of plastic waste. His company has developed Pyrus, the first solid wood made primarily from bacterial nan...

In this Halloween-themed episode, Veronica Breckenridge from First Bite returns to discuss her eye-opening "Industrial Bio-Manufacturing Graveyard Report." Drawing from her experience scaling companies like Apple and Tesla, Veronica reveals why 80% of bio-manufacturing startups fail—and it's not because of bad science. The conversation explores critical mistakes like targeting commod...

In this episode, we explore how Varda Space Industries is pioneering pharmaceutical manufacturing in microgravity with Chief Strategy Officer Michael Riley and Chief Science Officer Adrian Radocea. The team discusses how removing gravity from the crystallization process enables better drug formulations—creating more stable, bioavailable medicines that don't require refrigeration. From their reusab...

In this episode, Erum and Karl unpack six major reports that define the current state of synthetic biology and the bioeconomy. From investment trends to national security concerns, from manufacturing failures to trillion-dollar opportunities, these reports paint a complex picture of an industry at a critical turning point. Grow Everything brings the bioeconomy to life. Hosts Karl Schmieder and Eru...

In this special 150th episode of Grow Everything, Erum and Karl broadcast live from the BioFab Fair 2025 in London. They explore the innovative world of biology as technology with special guests Elliot Roth and Amanda (from Mothership Materials), discussing community biotech labs, biopunk culture, and sustainable feedstocks for the bioeconomy. Chapters: (00:00:00) - Introduction to BioFab Fair 202...

This episode explores the journey from scientific breakthrough to scalable industrial implementation. Phil Morle — partner at Main Sequence and co‑founder of Pollenizer — explains how strategic off‑takes generate market pull, the reasons nylon recycling advanced faster than PET, and the orchestration techniques required to progress from First-Of-A-Kind (FOAK) to Next-Of-A-Kind (NOAK) facilities. T...

In this episode of Grow Everything , hosts Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez sit down with Dr. Alessandra Zonari, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at OneSkin. Alessandra shares her personal journey from Brazil to biotech, driven by a mission to transform how we think about aging. She explains the science of cellular senescence, the discovery of the groundbreaking OS-1 peptide, and why skin is m...

What if we could treat debilitating diseases by listening in on the "secret, invisible language" of worms? In this groundbreaking episode, we talk with Dr. Andrea Choe, Co-Founder and CEO of Holoclara, who uncovered a "universal worm language" used for hundreds of millions of years. Dr. Choe reveals how our modern "aggressive hygiene routine" removed the worms we co-e...

In this episode of Grow Everything , hosts Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez talk with Benji Leibowitz, Co-Founder of Pump Science, about what it really means to be “DAO-ing science differently.” From the early days of Molecule DAO to today’s crypto-native platform for funding longevity and nootropics research, Benji explains how decentralized science (DeSci) can rebuild healthcare and biotech from th...

In this highlight reel episode of Grow Everything , hosts Erum Azeez and Karl Schmieder dive deep into the rapidly evolving world of decentralized science (DeSci). Featuring expert insights from Albert Anis, Jocelyn Pearl, Michael Fisher, and Laura Minquinin, this episode explores how DeSci is revolutionizing the way research is funded, shared, and governed — far beyond traditional academic system...

Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez sit down with Karen Ingram, Creative Director & Designer at Karen Ingram & Associates, Inc. From her iconic Biogenetic Blooms—Petri dish paintings made with living yeast—to her innovative teaching with BioBuilder and playful experiments like Fallacy Bingo , Karen shows how science and creativity can merge to inspire broader engagement with biotechnology. She s...

Hosts Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez sit down with Dr. Kyle Landry, President and Co-founder of Delavie Sciences, to explore how extremophiles—microbes that survive in the harshest environments on Earth and space—are unlocking new frontiers in skincare and longevity. Kyle shares his unconventional path from food science to biodefense to NASA collaborations, revealing how a microbe that survived 18...

Karl and Erum speak with Richard Traherne of Capgemini Invent and Cambridge Consultants, where they explore the explosive convergence of engineering biology, artificial intelligence, and sustainable innovation. Richard reveals how programmable biology is catalyzing a new industrial revolution—transitioning biotech from niche innovation to foundational infrastructure across sectors like food, fashi...

In this episode of Grow Everything, Erum sits down with Momo Vuyisich and Guruduth (Guru) Banavar of Viome to explore how decoding the human microbiome could transform the way we understand and treat disease. From the depletion of beneficial gut bacteria to the cutting-edge use of AI in precision health, Momo and Guru share how Viome’s technology turns deep biological insights into actionable, per...

In this special episode of Grow Everything , hosts Karl and Erum pull back the curtain on their own operations, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how the podcast came to life. They discuss the core mission of sharing innovative bioengineering breakthroughs, the challenges of maintaining a weekly podcast, and the team behind it all. From the technical intricacies of biomanufacturing to the strat...