The Biotech Startups Podcast 🧬 Boy Scout Values & Refugee Resilience: Building Biotech Leadership | Samir Khleif (Part 1/4)
Aug 4, 2025
34:49
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"Education was the highest value in our family. It was not even a question—it was the core."
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Samir Khleif—Founder and CEO of Georgiamune—shares how his upbringing as a Middle Eastern refugee, in a family where education was everything, laid the foundation for his pioneering work in oncology and immunotherapy.
Khleif recounts how formative experiences with his physicist father and the Boy Scouts instilled discipline, fairness, and a sense of adventure, shaping his leadership approach and fueling his journey from humble beginnings and early entry into medical school to spearheading innovative treatments that reprogram immune responses against cancer and autoimmune disease.
Key topics covered:
- Education as Liberation: Early inspiration from family values and education fueling lifelong ambition
- From Refuge to Purpose: Refugee experiences and a love for science transformed adversity into impact
- Leadership Through Action: Building leadership muscles for biotech by starting organizations from scratch
- Character Under Pressure: Childhood adversity and scouting forged core values of logic, discipline, and fairness
- The Healer's Evolution: A journey from clinical oncology to biotech pioneer and global health leadership
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Subscribe to the Podcast:
Find our guest, Samir Khleif, at these links:
Website: http://www.georgiamune.com/
Find our host, Jon Chee, at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
Learn more about Excedr:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/
Website: https://www.excedr.com
Intro & Outro Songs Created by OkKyojin, Owned by Excedr:
Website: https://flow.page/kyojin
Resources & Articles:
Skeel's Handbook of Cancer Therapy: https://books.google.com/books/about/Skeel_s_Handbook_of_Cancer_Therapy.html?id=3ZjlsgEACAAJ
(WHO) Global Cancer Statistics Report 2024: https://www.who.int/news/item/01-02-2024-global-cancer-burden-growing--amidst-mounting-need-for-services
Entrepreneur Middle East article: https://www.entrepreneur.com/en-ae/leadership/healing-horizons-georgiamune-founder-dr-samir-khleif-aims/485491
Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:
Georgiamune: https://www.georgiamune.com/
National Cancer Institute: https://www.cancer.gov/
Georgia Cancer Center: https://www.augusta.edu/cancer/
Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy: https://www.parkerici.org/
Arab Global Scholars Program: https://www.qf.org.qa/arab-global-scholars
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
04:18 Welcome and Introduction of Guest
04:25 Early Family Life & Formative Influences
07:43 Parental and Boy Scouts’ Impact on Character
08:23 Lessons in Work Ethic and Fairness
10:56 Growing Up as a Refugee: Perspective & Values
13:45 Early Entry into Medical School
16:09 Founding Student Organizations
18:51 Transition from Clinical Practice to Leadership Roles
25:21 Exploring Immunology and Cancer Research
29:46 Founding Georgiamune: Motivation and Vision
33:40 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.