Parmita Mishra is a computational biologist and the founder & CEO of Precigenetics, a company aiming to become a rocket to precision medicine.
Parmita is deeply knowledgeable about cutting-edge biology, particularly epigenetics — how behavior and environment can affect gene function without altering genetic code. Her passion for advancing our understanding of diseases is inspiring (and contagious: OSV is an investor in Parmita’s company!)
In our conversation, Parmita and I discuss everything from the curious case of male baldness to how her parents have saved 50,000 lives.
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, highlights, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our Substack.
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Show Notes:
- Explaining epigenetics to a golden retriever
- The curious case of male pattern baldness
- How to think about biology: start from first principles & beware binary thinking
- The lens you look through determines what you see
- The problem of data collection in biology
- Why the FDA needs to change its approach
- Why we still don’t understand the human brain
- Garry Tan’s advice: “Get an idea. Get a co-founder.”
- What’s been surprising about foundership?
- Failure is a ladder
- Obsession & how Parmita’s parents have saved 50,000 lives
- The most surprising things about America
- Parmita as World Empress
Books Mentioned:
- What is Life?; by Erwin Schrodinger
- I should have loved biology; by James Somers
- Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid; by Douglas Hofstadter
- The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America; by John D. Gartner
