The Biotech Startups Podcast 🧬 Noam Solomon - Immunai - Part 2 | The Value of Attending Prestigious Institutions | Immunai’s Genesis | AI, Machine Learning, & Their Applications in the Life Sciences | Mapping the Human Immune System
Aug 15, 2024
26:11
Part 2 of 4.
My guest for this week’s episode is Noam Solomon, CEO and co-founder at Immunai, a pioneering biotech company that is comprehensively mapping and reprogramming the immune system with single-cell biology and AI to power new therapeutic discoveries, accelerate drug development, and improve patient outcomes.
Prior to co-founding Immunai, Noam had a career in both industry and academia. Noam has a double PhD in math and computer science and served as a postdoctoral researcher at MIT and Harvard. Noam also worked as an algorithms developer, consultant, and head of data science in several high-tech companies in Israel. Noam's extensive background in math, computer science, AI, and machine learning gives him a unique depth of experience that founders can learn from.
Join us this week and hear about:
- The impact of attending prestigious institutions like Harvard and MIT on his career and networking opportunities
- The genesis of Immunai, inspired by personal experiences and focused on precision medicine in cancer treatment
- Explaining AI and Machine Learning, their distinctions, and the current state of AI in biology and drug development
- The complexity of the immune system and Immunai's ambitious goal to map it completely
- The convergence of technological advancements (single-cell technology, computing power, and AI models) that created the "perfect storm" for founding Immunai
Please enjoy my conversation with Noam Solomon.
Timestamps:
00:28 Intro
02:00 Episode starts, Noam’s decision to pursue postdoctoral studies at Harvard and MIT
03:31 The value of pedigree and superficial evaluations in business
04:33 Moving to Boston and the cultural experience at Harvard and MIT
06:47 Humility in mathematics and the inspiration from academic environments
08:19 Incubation of Immunai and the motivation behind its founding
11:41 The role of AI and ML in life sciences and common misconceptions
14:39 Progress in AI, ML, and their implications in drug development
18:46 Early days of Immunai and developing the technology platform
24:03 Mapping the human immune system and the complexity involved
25:05 Outro
Find Our Guest, Noam Solomon, at this link:
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:
Social & Website
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/
Enriched Notes:
Topics Mentioned:
Harvard University https://www.harvard.edu/
Immunai https://www.immunai.com/
What Is Bioinformatics https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-is-bioinformatics-and-computational-biology
New Drug Application https://www.excedr.com/blog/new-drug-application-process
Guide to the FDA Drug Approval Process https://www.excedr.com/blog/fda-drug-approval-process-guide
Equipment Leasing for Laboratories https://www.excedr.com/leasing
Biotech Startup Support https://www.excedr.com/resources-category/biotech-startup-support
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.