The Genetics Podcast

Join Patrick as he welcomes Dr. Matt Nelson, an influential voice in the field of genetics and drug development. Matt is currently the Vice President of Genetics and Genomics at Deerfield Discovery, as well as the CEO of Genscience. Prior to his current roles, Matt spent 15 years at GlaskoSmithKline (GSK) as a Principal Scientific Investigator and the Head of Genetics. Tune in for an interesting discussion on how genetic data has shaped drug discovery and development over the past decade, and what is needed for the next great leap forward.

In this episode we welcome Dr. Wendy Chung, Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr Chung has dedicated much of her career to uncovering the role of genetics in both rare and common diseases, and translating these findings into healthcare. Beyond her incredible science, Wendy has helped shape policy frameworks that govern the world of genetic medicine, and is now leading the pioneering GUARDIAN Study which has provided whole genome screening to >8,000 babies. Join us as we delve into the insights and experiences of a true pioneer in the field of genetics and medicine.

Dr. Alex Bick, an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt, dives deep into clonal hematopoiesis, linking it to aging, cancer, and heart disease. He discusses groundbreaking findings from the Framingham Heart Study, revealing how clonal expansion can predict health risks. Bick also examines the significance of integrating genomic data into healthcare and highlights discoveries regarding the APOL1 gene's role in kidney disease, showcasing the impact of large-scale studies like the Million Veteran Project.

In the second instalment of our annual round-up episode, we welcome back Dr. Veera Rajagopal to cover the biggest stories in genetics and precision medicine of the last 12 months.

In this annual round-up episode, we welcome back Dr. Veera Rajagopal to cover some of the biggest stories in genetics and precision medicine from 2023! Veera is a scientist at Regeneron with an interest in human genetics and drug target discovery in neuroscience and psychiatry. He is a prolific writer as well, both on his substack, GWAS Stories, and on twitter, @doctorveera. Join us as Patrick and Veera cover the highlights of 2023, from Veera’s personal achievements to the approval of Casgevy and understanding the impacts of studying rare variants for drug development!

In this episode of The Genetics Podcast, we welcome Dr. Jason, founder and CEO of Empress Therapeutics, a Flagship Pioneering company.

This week on The Genetics Podcast Patrick is joined by David Ochoa, Platform Coordinator at Open Targets. They discuss how the Open Targets platform is enabling game-changing collaboration between academic research and big pharma. Working with partners including Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech and Pfizer, Open Targets powers collaboration between some of the world’s biggest drug development pioneers and most renowned academic institutions with the goal of accelerating production of effective drug treatments.

In this episode of The Genetics Podcast, we welcome Dr. James Field, founder and CEO of LabGenius. Join us as we delve into LabGenius' cutting-edge approach that utilises machine learning, artificial intelligence, and sophisticated robotics to advance antibody discovery and drug development. As a bonus, learn about James’ path from scientist to CEO, and how he created LabGenius.

On this episode of The Genetics Podcast we welcome Dr. Barbara Kraatz Fortini, Associate Professor of Genetics at Keck Graduate Institute (KGI). Tune in to learn about Barbara's research on non-coding variants in colorectal cancer and the interplay between genetics and the environment on lifetime cancer risk. As the Program Director for the MS in Human Genetics and Genomic Data Analytics at KGI, Barbara also shares her insights in genomics education for future scientists, physicians, researchers, and counsellors. You don’t want to miss this riveting episode!

This week, we’re re-sharing one of our favorite episodes from the early days of The Genetics Podcast - one that many newer listeners may not have heard! Tune in as Professor Sir Rory Collins, Founder and Chief Executive of the UK Biobank, talks to us about the origins and evolution of this world-changing project that has catalysed a wave of new discoveries by levelling the playing field in data access. In this inspiring conversation, Professor Sir Rory Collins describes the ‘’If you build it, they will come get it” attitude of the UK Biobank. He believes that the pioneering and collaborative nature of UK Biobank means that the biggest impacts are yet to come. The conversation finishes with details on their COVID-19 work (as of 2020), which involved members from the original 500,000 strong UK Biobank cohort, as well as family members of these participants.