🧬 James Evans - PhenoVista - Part 1 | Skateboarding, Resilience, & Problem Solving | The Importance of Hands-On Lab Experiences | The Elegant Simplicity of Trial & Error | Running the Whitehead Institute’s Core Facility

Part 1 of 3.

My guest for this week’s episode is James Evans, Founder and CEO of PhenoVista Biosciences, a contract research organization that works with biopharma clients of all sizes, from start-ups to established global companies.

Before starting PhenoVista, James spent a decade at MIT’s Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research as a Postdoc, a Research Scientist, and finally, Director of the Bioimaging Center.  Join us as we sit down with James to discuss his late-blooming love of science and how his childhood extracurriculars taught him resilience and problem solving.

James also offers insight into how important his hands-on lab experience was and how crucial it is to have a mentor that nurtures new talent. Learn more about why he left Harvard for MIT's Whitehead Institute, and how his experiences there further fueled his passion for imaging. Please enjoy my conversation with James Evans.

Find Our Guest, James Evans, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesgevans/
https://phenovista.com/

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
https://www.excedr.com

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/
 
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:14 Episode start
03:38 Non-academic ways of learning resilience, problem solving, and a rebellious nature
06:00 The Belgian lab that lit a fire of inspiration and interest in biology
09:52 Hands-on, functional university experience, the importance of getting research exposure
11:32 Going to Edinburgh for his PhD, differences in experience and nurturing new talent
14:29 Cutting edge molecular biology, choosing to go overseas from Edinburgh to Harvard
17:11 The reason for wanting to switch to the Whitehead Institute, a passion for imaging
19:53 Collaborations with industry, leveraging imaging for computational systems biology
22:30 Helping grad students, common sense approaches to finding quick, reliable answers to questions
26:26 Outro

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:
Kickflip https://www.wikihow.com/Kickflip-on-a-Skateboard
UK A-Levels https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-level
Erasmus Program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus_Programme
Coventry University https://www.coventry.ac.uk/
Mouth Pipetting https://incubator.rockefeller.edu/origins-of-the-pipette-why-todays-scientists-dont-need-to-use-their-mouths/
Transfection https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfection
Whitehead Institute https://wi.mit.edu/
Computational Systems Biology http://catalog.mit.edu/interdisciplinary/graduate-programs/computational-systems-biology/
High Content Screening https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-content_screening

People Mentioned:
Alan McNeilly https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-mcneilly-a497a025/?originalSubdomain=uk
Pamela Brown https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamela-brown-a8140a1a/?originalSubdomain=uk
Paul Matsudaira https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-matsudaira/
Sanjoy Ray https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjoy-ray-1236051/

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.