First Rounders

Brady Huggett signs off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jay Keasling is a professor in the College of Chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley, where he runs the Keasling lab. He’s also the CEO of the Joint BioEnergy Institute, and has been involved in several startups. His conversation with Nature Biotechnology covers growing up on the family farm in Nebraska, how Genentech led him into biotech, and the future of biofuels. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ingmar Hoerr is a co-founder and former CEO of CureVac. His conversation with Nature Biotechnology covers his initial discovery with RNA while in his PhD program, the struggle to find venture financing for CureVac, and how a brain aneurysm changed his view on life.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lita Nelsen is the former long-time director of the Technology Licensing Office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her talk with Nature Biotechnology covers her father’s life designing television antennas, what drove her to the chemical engineering program at MIT, and the ingredients required to create an entrepreneurial environment on campus (and beyond). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stan Crooke is born ⬩ A tenuous existence ⬩ Life with his mother ⬩ The Tech Corner ⬩ Arsenal Tech High School ⬩ Nancy ⬩ Hoodlum ways ⬩ Off to Purdue Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anthony Atala is the director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University. He is also a co-founder of Precise Bio. His conversation with Nature Biotechnology covers implanting the first tissue-engineered bladder into a patient, Wake Forest’s plans for fostering entrepreneurship, and how he was coerced into a research career by a mentor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nancy Simonian is president and CEO of Syros Pharmaceuticals. Her conversation with Nature Biotechnology covers going against the advice of her mentor to take a job at Biogen; the long, winding path to approval for the multiple myeloma drug Velcade; and assisting her father in the operating room as a girl. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carl June is a co-founder of Tmunity Therapeutics, and a professor in immunotherapy at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also runs the June Lab. His conversation with Nature Biotechnology includes how a boyhood fractured arm led him to his first scientific experiment, his years of service with the Navy, and his groundbreaking work with CAR T-cells. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Craig Mello is co-founder of Atalanta Therapeutics and a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he runs the Mello Lab. He is also a Nobel Laureate. His conversation with Nature Biotechnology covers the lure of conspiracy theorists, the state of RNA therapeutics, and getting that call from the Nobel committee.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Neil Kumar is a co-founder and CEO of BridgeBio Pharma. He discussed with Nature Biotechnology his youth in the Midwest, the founding principles behind BridgeBio, and understanding where your strengths lie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.