Somatic Genomics: A Revolution in Biology with Jacob Rubens

Jacob Rubens is having quite a career.  Studying at  MIT in the Synthetic Biology Center with Professor Tim Lu, he invented gene circuits that allow engineered cells to do novel analog, digital, and hybrid computations, enabling the emerging field of “intelligent” cell therapies. In 2017, he was honored in Forbes 30 under 30 and, in 2021, in Business Insider’s list of 12 young serial entrepreneurs building the next generation of biotech. He has co-founded Kaleidoscope Biosciences, Sana Biotechnology, and the focus of today’s interview, Quotient Therapeutics.To understand what Quotient is up to, we must go back to basic biology and remember what are somatic genomics.  Germline mutations are changes to your DNA inherited from the egg and sperm cells during conception. Somatic mutations are changes to your DNA that happen after conception to cells other than the egg and sperm. These somatic mutations can lead to genetic conditions that affect your health. In truth, our bodies contain not one but trillions of divergent genomes, the sum of which we can call our “somatic genome.” Quotient Therapeutic studies this library of variant genomes that contains vastly more genetic information than we ever thought possible. In today’s show, Rubens says that the rise of somatic genomics offers a revolution in biology and that his company has a step up on those now getting excited about the field, including $100 million being invested by the NIH in this area of genomics.”This is some of the coolest science I have seen in my career,” says Rubens.   "The somatic genome is a revolutionary alternative view of what is going on in every cell.  All 30 trillion cells in our bodies have a distinct sequence of DNA. Two cells sitting next to each other may differ by thousands of base pairs.”Rubens says this new biology will lead to many new targets for drug discovery as well as biomarkers for diagnostics. How far has the company developed their platform—where are they at today?  Which disease areas are they pursuing for new drugs? Is the company itself pursuing drug development?  Join us as we explore somatic genomics in our series, “The New Biology.”

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