bio/acc Podcast

Shriya Bhat, Harvard BCI
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Aug 7, 2025 • 1h 13min

The Future of Biotech Won’t Be Funded by VCs — YC Founder James Sinka

In this episode, I talk to James Sinka, a YC 3-time founder who believes that biotech on-chain will be the next revolution in funding for academic projects. We discuss the challenges of being a deep-tech founder, the intersection of AI & medicine, and some of the key lessons founders need to learn along the way.
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Jul 22, 2025 • 39min

YC Biotech Founder Wants to End All Rare Disease - Ethan Perlstein (Ep. 11)

In this episode, I talk to Ethan Perlstein, a YC biotech founder who wants to make better drugs and financial incentives for curing rare diseases. We discuss the post-academic collapse in science careers, the financial abandonment of most rare diseases, and how crypto and AI could revolutionize drug development.
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Jun 19, 2025 • 44min

The Ethics of Human Germline Editing with Francoise Baylis

In this episode, I speak with Professor Francoise Baylis, a renowned Canadian bioethicist whose work lies at the intersection of applied ethics, health policy, and practice. We talk about the ethics of research on human embryos -- at what date the line should be drawn -- and whether it practically and morally makes sense to allow for human germline editing.
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14 snips
May 19, 2025 • 40min

George Church -- The Godfather of Synthetic Biology, CRISPR, and De-Extinction (Ep. 10)

George Church, a pioneer of human genome sequencing and co-inventor of CRISPR, dives into the future of synthetic biology. He discusses groundbreaking innovations like multiplex gene editing and virus-proof cells. The conversation shifts to AI’s role in drug discovery and the lessons learned from 23andMe’s challenges. Church also reflects on strategies for improving human longevity and the rapid advancements in genome sequencing technologies, offering a glimpse into the ethical and economic implications of these revolutionary scientific developments.
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May 11, 2025 • 31min

The Mind-Bending Science of Staying Alive -- Carl Zimmer on Aging, AGI, and Brain Organoids (Ep. 9)

In this episode, I speak with award-winning NYT science writer Carl Zimmer (“Life’s Edge”, “She Has Her Mother’s Laugh”) on the verbs of biology—homeostasis, life being organized rebellion against entropy, and whether brain organoids might wake up while we’re not looking.
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May 5, 2025 • 44min

Jamie Metzl - Will Humanity Survive Gene Editing and AI? (Ep. 8)

In this episode, I talk with Jamie Metzl — geopolitical futurist, former WHO advisor, and author of Superconvergence — about the future of gene editing, AGI, and the existential risks no one is talking about. We cover CRISPR will rewrite evolution and society, and why AGI is a myth (and what we're really building).
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Mar 30, 2025 • 52min

Aubrey de Grey on Immortality, Longevity Research, and How to Live for 200 Years (Ep. 7)

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Aubrey de Grey, a leading researcher in the longevity space and co-founder of the SENS Research Foundation, known for his groundbreaking work in developing therapies that reverse DNA damage at the cellular level. We talk about the latest breakthroughs in aging science, what aging research looks like in a post-AGI world, and the challenges facing the longevity movement.
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Mar 10, 2025 • 34min

Robert Langer: Founding Moderna and Publishing Over 1500 Research Papers (Ep. 6)

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Robert Langer, co-founder of Moderna and PI of the world’s largest biomedical engineering lab at MIT. We talk about his background, how to raise money for biotech ventures, and whether innovation can be born from the lab.
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Mar 3, 2025 • 30min

The Man Who Used Gene Editing On Babies - He Jiankui (Ep. 5)

In this episode, I talk with Dr. He Jiankui, a gene editing pioneer who used CRISPR/Cas technology to edit the infamous twin babies Lulu and Nana. We talk about his goals, ethics behind the technology, and the potential for a utopian and dystopian future.
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Feb 12, 2025 • 48min

Immune-Based Therapies with Dr. Victor Nizet (Ep. 4)

Dr. Victor Nizet, Professor of Pediatrics and Vice Chair for Basic Research at UC San Diego details some of the innovative approaches being used in his lab to fight infectious disease, namely, host-targeted immune based therapies. We discuss many of the major problems in infectious disease, including antibiotic resistance, novel drug mechanisms, and the challenges of developing sepsis therapies (and how the Nizet Lab is working to combat them). 

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