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The SynBioBeta Podcast

Latest episodes

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4 snips
Feb 2, 2021 • 39min

How nature co-design is changing the narrative - with Massimo Portincaso

Today John Cumbers talks with Massimo Portincaso, managing director and partner at BCG. John will be talking to Massimo about what nature co-design, how we're shifting from global supply chains to global value chains, what distributed biological manufacturing is, and more.. Massimo Portincaso co-leads the Deep Tech Mission, BCG’s unit focused on the deep tech approach to innovation, emerging technologies, and the new rules of engagement for all actors in the innovation space. He is also the Chairman of Hello Tomorrow, an organization dedicated to unlocking the power of deep tech to solve the toughest global challenges. You can keep up with Massimo through his newsletter, The Antidisciplinarian, which covers happenings at the intersection of matter, computation, sensing, creativity, and ethics. Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make it to our SynBioBeta events! Click here for more information.
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Nov 25, 2020 • 30min

Where brands and biology meet - with Karl Schmieder

Today John Cumbers talks with Karl Schmieder the founder of messagingLAB, a strategy and consulting firm that helps biotechnology and synthetic biology companies create and execute strategies to drive the industry forward. Connect with Karl: @karlschmieder Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make it to SynBioBeta Brand and Biology event December 2nd & 3rd! Click here for more information.
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Aug 26, 2020 • 1h 20min

Does eating animals cause pandemics? - with Ryan Bethencourt of Wild Earth

Today John Cumbers talks with Ryan Bethencourt, founder and CEO of Wild Earth. John will be talking to Ryan about the state of COVID and questions like "Does eating animals cause pandemics?" Recorded live on: March 15th, 2020 To watch the video component: https://www.facebook.com/SynBioBeta/videos/199598178035525/ Connect with Ryan: @RyanBethencourt Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make it to SynBioBeta 2020 this September 29 - October 1! Click here for more information.
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Aug 12, 2020 • 59min

How DNA synthesis is powering the fourth manufacturing revolution - with Emily Leproust

Today John Cumbers talks with Emily Leproust, Entrepreneur and CEO of Twist Bioscience. John will be talking to Emily about why she founded Twist, the many industries that will be disrupted by DNA technology, and how Twist is building a company culture for growth diversity and excellence. Emily is the co founder and the CEO of Twist Bioscience, an early pioneer in high throughput synthesis and sequencing of DNA. Emily is disrupting the process of gene synthesis to enable the exponential growth of synthetic biology applications in many fields, including medicine, DNA, data storage, agriculture biology, and industrial chemicals.   Connect with Emily.: @EmilyLeproust Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make it to SynBioBeta 2020 this September 29 - October 1! Click here for more information.
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Aug 5, 2020 • 1h 14min

How protein engineering is the killer app for biology - with John Nichols

Today John Cumbers talks with John Nicols, President and CEO of Codexis, a leading protein engineering company here in Silicon Valley. I’ll be talking with John about “How protein engineering is the killer app for biology.” Specifically, I’ll talk with John about the amazing pedigree and origins of Codexis, how companies like Codexis are changing the way the biopharma industry does business, and John’s vision for how protein engineering is going to impact our daily lives. Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make it to SynBioBeta 2020 this September 29 - October 1! Click here for more information.
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Sep 10, 2019 • 52min

How an artist becomes an investor and advisor to the world’s greatest technology companies - with D.A. Wallach

Today John Cumbers talks with D.A. Wallach, recording artist and emerging tech investor. John will be talking to D.A. about his journey from performing artist to investor in emerging tech, how his unique background informs his investment thesis, and what opportunities he’s most excited about in synthetic biology these days.   D.A. Wallach is a recording artist, songwriter, and investor. While an undergraduate at Harvard, he was discovered by Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. As a solo artist, D.A. is signed by Harvest Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records, and he is the former artist-in-residence at Spotify, a company where he was an early investor. Beyond music, D.A. invests in and advises several start-up technology companies, including Synthego, Glypse Bio, Beam Therapeutics, SpaceX, Ripple. Forbes selected D.A. as one of its 30 Under 30, and Fast Company named him one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business. In 2015, he launched Inevitable Ventures, an investment partnership with multibillionaire Ron Burkle that supports radical entrepreneurs in areas including health care, life sciences, and financial technologies. He is also an advisor to The Dreamers Fund, a partnership with actor Will Smith.   Connect with D.A.: @dawallach Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make it to SynBioBeta 2019 this October 1-3! Click here for more information.
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Sep 4, 2019 • 38min

How this household name is beating climate change — and making great products - with Tom Dierking of P&G

Today John Cumbers talks with Tom Dierking, design director of transformational platform technologies at Procter & Gamble. John will be talking to Tom about his passion for transforming the consumer experience, Procter & Gamble’s revolutionary line of water-free products, and where he sees synthetic biology impacting the way that consumer brands do business.   Tom Dierking is the global design director of innovation capability at Procter & Gamble (P&G). He’s a passionate advocate of design and has been driving multidisciplinary innovation for over 20 years. In leading innovation at one of the world’s top brands, Tom’s work touches the lives of millions of us. Tom is especially focused on design-inspired innovation and bringing new experiences to consumers. Tom works with Procter & Gamble’s senior leadership, leveraging design thinking on brands and company strategy initiatives, and delivering design-inspired changes to improve operations across the company. Thanks to Procter & Gamble (@ProcterGamble) for making this episode possible. Connect with Tom Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make it to SynBioBeta 2019 this October 1-3! Click here for more information.
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Aug 27, 2019 • 47min

The Mycelium Revolution: How a mushroom can make food, plastic, and more - with Eben Bayer of Ecovative

For the pictures John and Eben reference check out our website article (https://synbiobeta.com/synbiobeta-podcast-the-mycelium-revolution/)   Today John Cumbers talks with Eben Bayer, CEO and Co-Founder of the biomaterials company Ecovative. He’ll be talking with Eben about: Why mycelium is an ideal host not just for biochemical production but also biomaterials structuring.Eben’s conception of “bio adaptation”, and the relationship of synthetic biology to “the good life.”What emerging products and markets he is most excited about these days, be it plastics, plant-based foods, or even the scaffolding for growing organs.   Ecovative is a world-leading biomaterials company that is adapting natural processes to create sustainable materials. Eben has evangelized a strategy of bio-adaptation around the world, including presentations at TED Global, PopTech, and Davos. Ecovative has been recognized as a Tech Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, for its potential impact on climate change by the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge, the EPA Environmental Quality Award, and the Buckminster Fuller Challenge for socially responsible design.   Thanks to Ecovative (@ecovative) for making this episode possible.   Connect with Eben: @ebanbayer Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make it to SynBioBeta 2019 this October 1-3! Click here for more information.
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Aug 20, 2019 • 34min

How to spot a synthetic biology unicorn - with Ali Tamaseb of DCVC

Today John Cumbers talks with Ali Tamaseb, an investor at the venture firm DCVC. John will be talking to Ali about his technical strategy for finding super-founders, emerging challenges for founders, particularly in synthetic biology, and what emerging market he is most excited about these days.   Ali is an entrepreneur, a previous startup founder, and a highly technical academic researcher. Ali has walked in the shoes of the scientist-turned-entrepreneur, and has first-hand experience with the challenges they face. At DCVC, he works on a broad spectrum of areas ranging from computational health and bio to cybersecurity. Ali received his Biomedical Engineering degree from Imperial College London, and he also graduated from the SIGM program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He did research in the fields of neuroscience and human-computer interaction. Ali was an honoree of the British Alumni Award, and Imperial College President’s Medal for Outstanding Achievement. His work has been featured in BBC, Guardian, Forbes, The Telegraph, TEDx, and others.   Thanks to DCVC (@DCVC) for making this episode possible.   Connect with Ali: @alitamaseb Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make it to SynBioBeta 2019 this October 1-3! Click here for more information.
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Aug 13, 2019 • 40min

Building India's synthetic biology industry - with Santanu Dasgupta of RIL

Today John Cumbers talks with Dr. Santanu Dasgupta, Senior Vice President and Head of Biology at Reliance Industries Limited. John will be talking to Santanu about why algae is a great engineering platform, Reliance’s role in India’s arts, culture, and urban renewal, and the challenges to building the synthetic biology community in India   Santanu has more than 25 years in biotechnology research experience in various leadership roles. He has led many breakthrough global agriculture biotechnology programs, and has contributed to the discovery of numerous plant traits. He’s the author of several peer-reviewed papers and is the inventor of more than twenty US patents in the area of pathogen resistance in plants, drought tolerance, gene expression, and improved algae. Santanu has also contributed papers in over 100 National and international meetings and symposium.   Thanks to Reliance for making this episode possible.   Connect with Santanu: https://in.linkedin.com/in/santanudasgupta Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make it to SynBioBeta 2019 this October 1-3! Click here for more information.

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