The Chain: Protein Engineering Podcast

November 10, 2026 | Andrew Bradbury (Specifica) and Ben Hackel (University of Minnesota) pressure-test AI antibody engineering against real measurements on the latest episode of The Chain. They explore where algorithms match results from the bench and where they still fall short. They also trace how better datasets, better blinding, and better developability thinking can make the next generation of antibody discovery more trustworthy and more useful. Listen in to hear: • why the field needs prospective, blinded benchmarks instead of marketing claims • how the Nature Biotechnology antibody challenge is structured across three tasks • about affinity maturation results where the best AI matches the best experimental outcomes • why developability screens can overturn “best affinity” winners • what CDR design gets right today and where it still breaks in practice • how investor pressure and publication gaps distort perceptions of progress • the origin of Specifica and the Gen 3 library idea of matched, developable building blocks Please subscribe to the podcast and give us a rating. It helps other people find and join the conversation. If you've got speaker or topic ideas, we'd love to hear those too. You can send them in a podcast review.The Chain explores the lives, careers, research, and discoveries of protein engineers and scientists, the impact their work is having on the field, and where the industry is headed. Tune in to stay up to date on the newest advancements and to hear the stories that are impacting the world of biologics. 

You can’t forecast the next epidemic with precision, so why do we keep building preparedness plans that depend on guessing? Host Dennis Burton, Ph.D., sits down with Jim Crowe, Jr., M.D., professor and director of the Vaccine Center at Vanderbilt University, to map a more durable approach: AHEAD 100—Advanced Human Epidemic Antibody Defenses 100—an index-fund-style program to create and stockpile human monoclonal antibody drugs for the 100 infections most likely to spark major outbreaks. The goal is to take best-in-class neutralizing antibodies, move them beyond early clinical testing, and get them ready to deploy when the world needs them. They also honestly discuss scientific accountability, what the public is asking of researchers, and how to think about gain-of-function research without slogans.Links from this episode:The Scripps Research Institute Vanderbilt University Medical Center The Chain explores the lives, careers, research, and discoveries of protein engineers and scientists, the impact their work is having on the field, and where the industry is headed. Tune in to stay up to date on the newest advancements and to hear the stories that are impacting the world of biologics. 

How have antibody trends changed over the decades? Janice Reichert, Ph.D., founder and editor-in-chief of mAbs, joins host Paul Carter, Ph.D., to discuss the evolution of monoclonal antibody therapeutics and their experiences with shaping—and documenting—the field. Their conversation covers the advances that have transformed the industry, evolving success rates for antibody therapeutics, and the growing sophistication of multispecific antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, and more. Plus, they discuss both AI and China's emergence as major forces in antibody development. Links from this episode:  Genentech mAbs The Chain explores the lives, careers, research, and discoveries of protein engineers and scientists, the impact their work is having on the field, and where the industry is headed. Tune in to stay up to date on the newest advancements and to hear the stories that are impacting the world of biologics. 

July 14, 2026 | Most ADCs today lean on the same Topo-1 payloads—and resistance is catching up. Jack Elands, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Adcytherix, speaks with host Rakesh Dixit, Ph.D. about what “next-generation ADCs” should mean if we care about patients, not just pipeline counts. Their conversation gets specific about where differentiation comes from: novel payloads with new mechanisms of action, better therapeutic index choices, and smarter design decisions that reduce the toxicities that make patients quit therapy early. They also pressure-test the hype around bispecific ADCs and dual-payload ADCs.  Links from this episode:  Adcytherix The Chain explores the lives, careers, research, and discoveries of protein engineers and scientists, the impact their work is having on the field, and where the industry is headed. Tune in to stay up to date on the newest advancements and to hear the stories that are impacting the world of biologics. 

At this year’s PEGS Boston, industry experts gathered on a panel to explore how AI and machine learning are deployed in biologics R&D today. Moderated by Peter M. Tessier, Ph.D., Albert M. Mattocks professor of pharmaceutical sciences and chemical engineering at University of Michigan, the panel consisted of Andrew Buchanan, Ph.D., head of discovery at a stealth-mode biotech company; Norbert Furtmann, Ph.D., head of biologics AI and design of large molecules research at Sanofi; Konrad S. Krawczyk, Ph.D., founder and CSO at NaturalAntibody SA; Andrew C.R. Martin, Ph.D., emeritus professor of bioinformatics and computational biology at University College London; Melody Shahsavarian, Ph.D., senior director of data strategy and digital transformation of biotherapeutics discovery research at Eli Lilly & Company; and Bernhardt L. Trout, Ph.D., professor of chemical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Links from this episode:  Pharmaceutical Sciences & Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan University of Michigan Sanofi NaturalAntibody SA Bioinformatics, UCL Biosciences Computational Biology, UCL University College London   Eli Lilly & Company The Chain explores the lives, careers, research, and discoveries of protein engineers and scientists, the impact their work is having on the field, and where the industry is headed. Tune in to stay up to date on the newest advancements and to hear the stories that are impacting the world of biologics. 

May 12, 2026 | When it comes to drug discovery, either you find a rare, clean target and everything clicks, or you spend a decade chasing biology that refuses to cooperate. Daniel Chen, M.D., Ph.D., founder and CEO of Synthetic Design Lab, makes the case for a different playbook: objective-driven protein engineering, where we start with the outcome and design biologics that can execute it with built-in logic. With host Andrew Bradbury, Chen unpacks the SYNTHBODY platform and what “multi-tier logic gating” means in real drug design. They dive into logic-gated antibody drug conjugates, where target summation can boost binding, internalization, trafficking, and payload delivery and where an additional AND gate can trigger multiplier functions that go beyond cytotoxic payloads. Links from this episode:  Specifica Synthetic Design Lab  The Chain explores the lives, careers, research, and discoveries of protein engineers and scientists, the impact their work is having on the field, and where the industry is headed. Tune in to stay up to date on the newest advancements and to hear the stories that are impacting the world of biologics. 

How is BindCraft, the automated pipeline for de novo protein binder design, changing the protein design industry? Martin Pacesa, assistant professor of pharmacology at the University of Zurich, joins The Chain to discuss how BindCraft is helping non-protein designers learn how to design proteins—and how the role of the protein designer will evolve. With host Chris Bahl, their conversation explores how BindCraft may help with drug development, its role in the democratization of tools and resources, and how to work more collaboratively with AI models. Pacesa will also be speaking at May’s PEGS Summit in Boston.  Links from this episode:  AI Proteins UZH - Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology  University of Zurich Models & Molecules Podcast The Chain explores the lives, careers, research, and discoveries of protein engineers and scientists, the impact their work is having on the field, and where the industry is headed. Tune in to stay up to date on the newest advancements and to hear the stories that are impacting the world of biologics. 

T cell and immune cell engagement is gaining traction, but what makes it different from other therapies? Patrick Baeuerle, Ph.D., chief scientific advisor at Cullinan Therapeutics, and Jeffrey Miller, M.D., deputy director of Masonic Cancer Center, join The Chain to discuss the advantages, similarities, and differences of T cell and immune cell engagers, and how they compare to other modalities such as CAR T cells. Hosted by Laszlo Radvanyi, Ph.D., their conversation covers engineering recognition of multiple targets, prospects for peptide MHC engagers and NK cells engagers, and the application of these modalities to oncology and beyond. Links from this episode:  University of Toronto, Department of Immunology University of Toronto Cullinan Therapeutics Masonic Cancer Center The Chain explores the lives, careers, research, and discoveries of protein engineers and scientists, the impact their work is having on the field, and where the industry is headed. Tune in to stay up to date on the newest advancements and to hear the stories that are impacting the world of biologics. 

During last year’s PEGS Europe, industry experts gathered on a panel to discuss the future of biologic therapeutics. The panel kicked off with a presentation on 50 years of monoclonals, from hybridomas to next-gen antibody therapeutics, followed by a conversation featuring Paul Carter, Ph.D., Genentech Fellow of Antibody Engineering, G. Jonah Rainey, Ph.D., associate vice president of Eli Lilly and Company, and Janine Schuurman, Ph.D., biotech consultant at Lust for Life Science B.V. Moderated by Daniel Chen, M.D., Ph.D., founder and CEO of Synthetic Design Lab, the discussion centered around whether half-life extended peptides will eventually replace multispecific antibodies. Links from this episode:  PEGS Europe  PEGS Synthetic Design Lab Genentech Eli Lilly and CompanyLust for Life Science B.V. The Chain explores the lives, careers, research, and discoveries of protein engineers and scientists, the impact their work is having on the field, and where the industry is headed. Tune in to stay up to date on the newest advancements and to hear the stories that are impacting the world of biologics. 

How has immunotherapy evolved in the last decade? In this episode of The Chain, Laszlo Radvanyi, professor of immunology at the University of Toronto, discusses his years-long research on cancer immunotherapy, including his time at MD Anderson, with host Rakesh Dixit. He shares his thoughts on agonist antibodies, the true breakthroughs that are moving the needle for patients, reducing the CD-28 pathway so that it doesn’t produce cytokine toxins, and what is the next frontier in immunotherapy. Links from this episode:  EpiVax University of Toronto, Department of Immunology University of Toronto  The Chain explores the lives, careers, research, and discoveries of protein engineers and scientists, the impact their work is having on the field, and where the industry is headed. Tune in to stay up to date on the newest advancements and to hear the stories that are impacting the world of biologics.