Speaking of Mol Bio

The value of community—Your microbiome

Fermented foods have been around for thousands of years but are experiencing a resurgence in recent years. Join us to learn about this topic from an expert working to understand the health benefits of fermented foods and then make them scalable and reproducible.

Therapeutic nucleic acids—A CDMO’s view on mRNA

The COVID pandemic and subsequent SARS-CoV-2 vaccines catapulted mRNA technology into mainstream consciousness and proved the potential of mRNA as a therapeutic modality. Join us to meet Dr. Christian Cobaugh, co-founder and CEO of Vernal Biosciences. Christian is passionate about mRNA medicines and is working to make them available and reliable for preclinical discovery and beyond.

A molecular thermometer for the future

There are all sorts of molecular tests to tell if you’re infected with something specific, but what do you use when you’re not sure what you might have? You might use a thermometer as a first step, but wouldn’t it be nice if that thermometer was a bit more high tech?

In this episode we meet Dr. Nick Meyerson, CEO and co-founder of Darwin Biosciences, whose team is working to develop the “molecular thermometer of the future.” We hear about how this physicist transitioned into molecular biology and then latched onto saliva as a sample of choice to detect an early molecular indicator of infection.

Directed evolution—A PETase project

We all know plastic bottles are an environmental concern, but what are we going to do about it? Well, Dr. Elizabeth (Izzy) Bell, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is working to address this problem by engineering enzymes to help degrade specific polymers. Join us to hear how it’s done and what the future holds.

Communication | Scientific marketing in the century of the biotech revolution

Scientific communication is a skill that requires both technical knowledge and creativity, and molecular biology is everywhere, not just in the lab. Meet an entrepreneur that runs a scientific marketing agency and hear just how important the knowledge of molecular biology is to what they do.

Food Science | Cheers to molecular biology

Join Steve, Gabriel, and Kelly Tretter, a microbiologist with over 30 years of brewing experience, as they explore the molecular intricacies of brewing. From quality control to molecular testing techniques, gain a deeper understanding of the science behind the suds—and perhaps even crave another pint!

Food Health and Safety | Unsung heroes of food and health safety

The safety of our food supply and the people who work to ensure it are critically important but often taken for granted. Join us to learn about the unsung heroes—both people and molecular methods—that deliver food health and safety.

CRO | Molecular Biology for hire—The CRO experience

What do CROs do, and how important is molecular biology to them in supporting their customer’s projects? Join us to meet Saboor Hekmaty, Director of Laboratory Operations at Avrok Biosciences, who answers these questions, and more.

Transcriptomics | High-throughput transcriptomics and AI for drug discovery

We kick off Season 2 with a great conversation featuring an entrepreneur using high-throughput transcriptomics and AI to innovate drug discovery. Join us to learn how miniaturization and automation are generating astoundingly large transcriptomics data sets and how generative AI methods are being applied to link the structure and activity of small molecules with RNA fingerprints.

Sneak a peek at what’s to come in Season 2 of this series. Steve dishes on what changes to expect, as well as what constants persist as the series evolves. Discover which topics we have in store for you in our upcoming episodes by watching this trailer.

Single-cell | A look into the fruit bowl of biology

In this episode of Speaking of Mol Bio, we speak with Dr. Mandovi Chatterjee about single cell analysis. Dr. Chatterjee is the Director of Single Cell Core at Harvard University Medical School. She has spent her career at the exploring and mastering a wide variety of single-cell methods. In conversation with Dr. Chatterjee, our hosts dive into the more technical aspects of this ever-evolving field. We also learn an interesting analogy to better understand the difference between bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing.

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Multi-omics I The intersection of biology and technology

In this episode, our hosts speak with Dr. Ben Sun about multi-omics and the role AI and machine learning are playing in this space for biomarker discovery and disease prediction. Dr. Sun shares his insights from being both a clinician and research scientist, and the conversation delves into some really interesting aspects of using AI, including the consideration of the carbon footprint needed to train an algorithm. 

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Multi-omics | The molecular biology of plants in space

Join us as we talk with Dr. Stan Roux from the University of Texas at Austin. Driven by his fascination with plants, Dr. Roux’s research on signal transduction explores how environmental stimuli shape growth behavior. Discover his unlikely career path and his groundbreaking collaborations with NASA, conducting experiments to understand the impact of gravity on plant development. Explore the captivating world of plants and their untapped potential, as we delve into this engaging conversation.

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CRISPR | An insider’s perspective on CRISPR

Dr. Doris Beylkin provides valuable insights and expert advice on CRISPR cell engineering, including experimental design, troubleshooting, common applications, and the evolution of CRISPR and gene editing.

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Exosomes | The early realization of the exosome’s potential

Dr. Johan Skog, Chief Scientific Officer at Exosome Diagnostics talks exosome history, innovation, and the first approved diagnostic tool.

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Exosomes | Exploring the body’s extracellular delivery system

Listen to an engaging chat on exosomes with Jim West, CEO of Clara Biotech, as we explore their use in diagnostics and therapeutics.

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Multi-omics | Investigating the body’s internet

An exciting conversation with Steve Williams, CMO at SomaLogic, as he discusses the potential of proteomics for personalized medicine.

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Multi-omics | The importance of science in data science

Join us for a conversation on multiomics with Chris Whelan of Johnson & Johnson, as he explains the basics and the potential for treating diseases.

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CRISPR | Making the world better

Join us for Speaking of Mol Bio's debut episode with Synthego's Travis Hardcastle exploring CRISPR cell engineering: gene editing, bioproduction automation, and personalized medicine.

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Welcome to Speaking of Mol Bio! Join our hosts as we explore the latest advancements in molecular biology, including CRISPR, single-cell analysis, and more. Get ready to dive into the cutting-edge research and speak with leading experts in the field.

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