In this episode, Anastasia Janas and Paula Lengerke Diaz sit down with Dr. Uli Stilz, Head of the Bio Innovation Hub (BIH) at Novo Nordisk, to explore how strategic partnerships and emerging technologies are redefining the future of drug discovery. Uli reflects on his journey from chemistry and molecular biology to biopharma leadership, and shares how the BIH is accelerating breakthroughs in cardiometabolic diseases using emerging modalities like RNA editing, AI-guided drug discovery, and partnership-first science.
Whether you’re an aspiring innovator, translational researcher, or healthcare entrepreneur, this episode offers a candid masterclass in how bold ideas get translated into impact — especially in the space of chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity.
Show Notes
0:00 - 02:20: Uli’s early fascination with science (and a chemistry set mishap at home)
02:20 - 05:15: Transitioning from chemistry to biology to biophysics — and why it mattered
05:15 - 09:45: The value of speaking multiple “scientific languages”
09:45 - 13:00: Why Uli left academia for pharma, and what drove that leap
13:00 - 17:30: Founding the Bio Innovation Hub (BIH) at Novo Nordisk
17:30 - 20:00: Three big questions BIH is trying to solve in cardiometabolic disease
20:00 - 24:30: How programmable RNA editing is being applied to drug discovery
24:30 - 28:00: Why BIH funds early science without contracts — the Greenhouse model
28:00 - 33:00: How AI, human biology, and subtyping diabetes open new possibilities
33:00 - 36:30: What makes small biotechs a “superpower” in R&D
36:30 - 41:00: The role of trust, creativity, and iteration in building partnerships
41:00 - 45:20: Advice for young scientists: embrace discomfort, follow curiosity
45:20 - 49:30: What excites Uli most? The unknown. “I’m most excited about the things I don’t know today.”
