Navigating Lab Cultures and Funding Challenges

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Part 2 of 4. 

My guest for this week’s episode is Barbara Alcaraz Silva, Executive Director of Early Stage Life Sciences and Healthcare, Startup Banking at J.P. Morgan. She is also a former scientist-entrepreneur whose graduate studies focused on Telomeres and DNA Repair. Barbara has worked with many startups, including co-founding her own company, BioChron. While at the Manos Accelerator, she worked as an advisor for Biotech and Medtech companies, providing mentorship in business, fundraising, and capital, and offering guidance to startup companies. Additionally, Barbara worked as a Senior Investment Fellow at Life Science Angels, investing in up-and-coming biotechs and managing investor relationships. 

After her time at Life Science Angels, Barbara became the Director of Early-Stage West Coast Life Science and Healthcare banking at SVB and is currently the Executive Director of Early Stage Life Sciences and Healthcare, Startup Banking at J.P. Morgan, where she is leading the national life sciences and healthcare practice. Barbara’s dedication to building a strong community in the biotech space and her expertise in science, management, and investing make her conversation one that founders don’t want to miss.

Please enjoy my conversation with Barbara Alcaraz Silva.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@excedr 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excedr_inc 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcedrInc 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excedr 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@excedr 

Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/ 

UC Irvine: https://uci.edu/ 

Minority Science Program: https://msp.bio.uci.edu/

What Is Molecular Biology? https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-is-molecular-biology

Lab Equipment List for Synthetic Biology: https://www.excedr.com/blog/lab-equipment-list-for-synthetic-biology-research 

Types of Equipment Used in Molecular Biology Research: https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-type-of-equipment-is-used-in-molecular-biology-research 

National Autonomous University of Mexico: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Autonomous_University_of_Mexico 

Beckman Laser Institute https://www.bli.uci.edu/

King’s College London https://www.kcl.ac.uk/

Guy's Hospital https://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/guys-hospital

Fiona Watts https://www.linkedin.com/in/fiona-watt-a45a44b5/?originalSubdomain=uk

John Murnane https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-murnane-b57340179/

00:28 Intro

01:59 Episode starts, applying to grad school

06:07 Starting at the Beckman Laser Institute

12:18 Barbara’s first time managing a team during her PhD

16:24 Fellowship at King’s College London, postdoc experience at UCSF

19:31 Barbara shares her outreach efforts for postdoc positions and responses she received

23:46 Barbara discusses her experience at UCSF and the differences in lab culture

26:36 Outro

The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.