The Genetics Podcast

In this episode Patrick is joined by Marco Quarta, Co-founder and CEO of Rubedo Life Sciences, and previously Director of Bioengineering in Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University. Since childhood Marco had the dream of ‘curing’ ageing and his work at Rubedo focuses on understanding cell senescence, with the goal of developing novel therapies for age-linked diseases. Join Marco and Patrick as they discuss his transition from academia to founding multiple companies, why not all senescent cells are equal, and how understanding the processes behind cell ageing could help extend human healthspan.

In this episode, we’re joined by Martin Borch Jensen, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Gordian Biotechnology and President of Norn Group, a non-profit dedicated to accelerating research and development of therapies targeting the biology of ageing. Patrick and Martin discuss the phenomenon known as the “ageing problem,” how understanding biological age could crack the code on age-related diseases, and the challenges of building a company in a field with no business model blueprint.

In this episode, we’re joined by Tony Cox, CEO of UK Biocentre. After spending more than 20 years at The Wellcome Sanger Institute, where he worked on the Human Genome Project, Tony moved to UK Biocentre in January 2020 – just before the world was turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization pivoted to play a key role in the UK’s response effort, and under Tony’s leadership the center sequenced 33 million DNA samples in just two years. Patrick and Tony discussed receiving a phone call from the UK government, scaling from sequencing 1,000 to 100,000 samples per day, and how to manage producing five tonnes of cardboard waste on a daily basis.

This week, we welcome Dr. Mike Gaziano, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center (MAVERIC). Mike is also one of two Principal Investigators of the Million Veteran Program - a national research project in the US looking at how genes, lifestyle, military experiences, and exposures affect health and wellness in veterans. This is a huge undertaking, as Mike describes this project as “the largest health system-based mega-biobank in the world". Join Patrick and Dr. Mike for a discussion on the Million Veteran Program’s research, its integration of extensive data from veterans, and its role in shaping the future of personalized medicine for the veteran community.

This week, we’re joined by Scott Weiss, the Professor of Medicine at Harvard University, Associate Director of the Channing Division of Network Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and former Scientific Director at Partners HealthCare Personalized Medicine at Mass General Brigham. Patrick and Scott discuss the challenges of integrating large-scale, longitudinal multi-omic profiling into healthcare settings, demonstrating the value of preventative initiatives to health insurance providers, and why, at 78, Scott isn’t planning on retiring from genetics anytime soon.

This week Patrick is joined by Austin Argentieri, Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School, Affiliate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and Research Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital. Austin’s work focuses on the proteomics of aging and how proteomic signatures are highly predictive for estimating biological age. From the potential of therapeutic applications, to why no “fountain of youth” genes have yet been identified, he and Patrick discuss the heritability of aging and how proteomics can help identify risk of age-related disease.

In this episode, we’re joined by Daniel O’Connor, Director of Regulatory Policy and Early Access at The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Daniel previously spent almost 18 years at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and over his career has specialized in improving and incentivizing pathways to rare disease treatment development. Join Patrick and Daniel as they discuss orphan drug designation, the importance of international collaboration, and how unlocking new regulatory approaches to preventative medicine can help change the future of rare and ultra-rare conditions.

Join us as we welcome back Dr. Veera Rajagopal, a discovery scientist at Regeneron with an interest in human genetics and drug target discovery in neuroscience and psychiatry. If you’re a regular listener of The Genetics Podcast, you are likely familiar with Dr. Veera’s annual round-up episodes. This year, we are excited to announce quarterly episodes with Dr. Veera, where he and Patrick walk you through the latest developments in genetics, drug discovery, and precision medicine throughout the year. This quarter’s episode will dive into the discovery of a recurrent de novo mutation in a noncoding region linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, the role of RAB32 in Parkinson's disease (PD), insights into monogenic conditions like systemic lupus erythematosus, and new perspectives on Alzheimer's genetics. Tune in now, and don’t forget to check out Veera’s substack, GWAS Stories, and his Twitter, @doctorveera.

Guest Jakob Steinfeldt from Pheiron discusses using machine learning for early disease detection, challenges in drug development like identifying at-risk patients, the need for specific data in clinical trials, and building a collaborative approach with patients. He reflects on starting Pheiron, focusing on precision medicine, and future goals.

Dr. Andrea Gropman discusses the impact of genetics on modern medical practice, from diagnosis to treatment. Topics include insurance coverage for genetic testing, advancements in neuroimaging technologies, newborn screening programs, and improvements in treatment options for genetic-based diseases. Exciting advancements in the field and insights on groundbreaking technological innovations are also highlighted.