Prof. Luke O’Neill on the intersection of academia and health tech

The gap between academic research and business is shrinking. Notable scientific technologies are shifting from receiving grants to venture capital funding. From massive frauds (*cough* Theranos) to incredible successes like Moderna, deep science is gaining traction amongst the world’s top investors. According to Statista research published in early 2020, the value of venture capital invested in the life sciences industry reached 22.4 billion dollars in 2019, almost doubling from the figure in 2014. As scientific advances become more commercializable, this figure will only increase. With an eye on the future within the space, Carlos and one of our newest interns, David, are joined by Luke O’Neill, a Fellow at the Royal Society, a Professor of Immunology at Trinity College Dublin, and the co-founder of recently acquired Inflazome. They talk about which areas of science may be overhyped, share their mutual love for Star Trek, and dig into topics from Professor O’Neill’s newly published book which tackles life’s biggest questions like, “Do we have control over our lives?” Listen in to find out whether or not we do. Links: 1) Never mind the B#ll*cks, Here’s the Science - https://www.bookstation.ie/product/never-mind-the-bllcks-heres-the-science/ 2) Inflazome - https://inflazome.com/press-release-21-sep-2020.html 3) Prof. Luke O’Neill - https://twitter.com/laoneill111 4) Carlos Espinal - twitter.com/cee 4) Seedcamp - https://seedcamp.com/