The Biotech Startups Podcast 🧬eMalick Njie, Ph.D - Ecotone - Part 1 | Growing Up in the Gambia | The Unending Book of Neuroscience | Being a Professional Scientist | How to Lose Your MIT Recommendation Letter: 101
Oct 7, 2024
37:51
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Part 1 of 4: Jon Chee hosts our latest guest, eMalick Njie, CEO of Ecotone AI, a company that is looking to use AI to find cures for rare inherited diseases. eMalick is an experienced scientist and entrepreneur who has focused on blending his expertise in neuroscience with his knowledge of AI.
In addition to founding two AI companies, Ecotone and Genetic Intelligence, eMalick received his PhD in Neurobiology and Neuroscience from the University of Florida. His extensive and diverse experience from being a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia university to being the CEO of the AI thinktank NeuroStorm makes our conversation with him one you won’t want to miss.
Join us this week to hear about:
- Growing up with hippie parents in the Gambia
- Being in the first neuroscience class in the country at Northeastern University
- Lessons learned in one on one conversations with a CEO
- Experience working with Dr. Alice Ting while at MIT
- Sticking to his principles and leaving MIT
Please enjoy Jon’s conversation with Dr. eMalick Njie!
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Enriched Notes:
Topics Mentioned:
Ecotone AI: https://ecotone.ai/
Genetic Leap: https://www.genetic-leap.com/
Northeastern University: https://cos.northeastern.edu/behavioral-neuroscience/
Millennium Pharmaceuticals https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeda_Oncology
Eli Lilly Joins Forces with AI Startup Genetic Leap in $409M Deal https://www.geneonline.com/eli-lilly-joins-forces-with-ai-startup-genetic-leap-in-409m-deal-centered-around-rna-targeted-drug-discovery/
Biotech Startup Support: https://www.excedr.com/resources-category/biotech-startup-support
People Mentioned:
Dr. Alice Y. Ting: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-ting-a7689835/
Dr. Wendy Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-smith-80663714/
Dr. Eric Kandel: https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/profile/eric-kandel-md
Dr. David Bruchelt https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-borchelt-42474623/
Dr. Wolfgang Streit: https://neuroscience.ufl.edu/profile/streit-wolfgang/
Timestamps:
00:28 Intro
02:12 Early upbringing in the Gambia, early childhood, and how his unusual hippie parents shaped him into the scientist and entrepreneur he is today
04:32 Following his curiosity to his undergrad program Northeastern University to study the “unending book” of neuroscience
06:51 Being part of the first neuroscience class in the country and starting the trend of working under Nobel Prize winners, and/or those trained by Nobel Laureates
11:17 First exposure to professional scientists while interning at Millennium Pharmaceuticals
14:03 Lessons learned during his humanizing one-on-one conversations with the CEO
17:52 Comparing and contrasting his industry experience with his academia experience
19:58 Getting to MIT after graduating from NEU and working with Dr. Alice Ting
23:24 Dealing with challenging periods in your life and learning to persevere
25:28 Memorable and humbling challenge while working in Dr. Ting’s lab
30:18 “How do you lose your recommendation letter to MIT: 101”
32:38 Choosing to moving on to University of Florida
36:51 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.