Productside Stories Dr. Christina Agapakis on Turning Science into Products (and Back Again)
How Scientists and PMs Really Build: Dr. Christina Agapakis with Rina Alexin
A synthetic biologist who became a creative and marketing leader? Yes, please. In this kickoff to Season 4, Dr. Christina Agapakis (Founder, Oscillator; former SVP Creative & Marketing at Ginkgo Bioworks) joins Productside CEO Rina Alexin to explore the messy, very human loop between research, product, and story. From lab benches to launch plans, we talk silos, funding models, and the art of “staying with the trouble” when the real world refuses your neat roadmap.
Key Topics Discussed in This Episode
The science ↔ product tangle (not a pipeline):
Christina explains why discovery isn’t a tidy flowchart—it’s a back-and-forth hairball of hypotheses, constraints, and collaboration that looks suspiciously like modern product discovery.
Funding, impact, and translating research:
Who pays shapes what gets built. We dig into grants, incentives, and new models (e.g., focused research orgs) that bridge lab breakthroughs to useful products without pretending it’s frictionless.
Personas for molecules vs. people:
Scientists often model cells; PMs model users. Christina makes the case for bringing real human context into upstream work—and why clear stories beat sterile slides when stakes are high.
Why Listen to This Episode?
In this thought-provoking episode, you’ll gain:
- A fresh mental model for discovery that treats research like product (small bets, fast feedback).
- Tactics for working across silos without losing craft (or outcome).
- Language to translate messy reality into narratives stakeholders actually act on.
- A reminder to “stay with the trouble” when ambiguity spikes and why that’s where impact lives.
If you build things for humans (or with humans), this conversation will sharpen your process and your story.
Related Resources
Check out these additional tools and resources to add to your PM belt: