Katherine Stueland’s early advocacy—raising money for genetic disease research as a child—shaped her belief that genomic insight can change lives. As CEO of GeneDx, she has refocused the company on high-need conditions, tripled sequencing capacity, delivered more than 750,000 exomes and genomes, and returned the company to profitability. She highlights the power of combining sequencing with the Infinity database and champions newborn screening, all guided by a core principle: genomic access should reach every family.

Produced and hosted by Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD

Audio mixed and mastered by David Mosely

Brought to you by Inside Precision Medicine (SAGE Publishing)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Rahul Gupta, MD, MPH, stepped down in January 2025 as Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, he closed a historic chapter as the first physician and first immigrant to serve as America’s “drug czar.” He steered national drug policy toward a public-health approach, advancing harm reduction, expanding naloxone access, and reframing addiction as a treatable condition amid the deadliest years of the fentanyl crisis. Now, as President of GATC Health, Gupta is channeling his experience into biotechnology and AI, seeking to accelerate drug discovery and use data-driven tools to outpace the slow machinery of government.

Produced and hosted by Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD

Audio mixed and mastered by David Mosely

Brought to you by Inside Precision Medicine (SAGE Publishing)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you work in biotech, the name Langer likely rings a bell. Robert Langer—the MIT legend behind Moderna and dozens of biotech startups—has become synonymous with innovation. Now, a new Langer is stepping forward. Michael Langer, Robert’s son, represents a new generation of investors rethinking biotech in the age of AI and data. Rather than chasing hype, he’s applying lessons from a lifetime around scientists to build a more disciplined, informed investment philosophy. As co-founder of T.Rx Capital, he’s helping shape the next phase of tech-enabled biotech—and exploring what truly drives success in precision medicine.

Produced and hosted by Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD

Audio mixed and mastered by David Mosely

Brought to you by Inside Precision Medicine (SAGE Publishing)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a rare genetic mutation left baby KJ without any treatment options, scientists and regulators confronted a profound ethical question: should medicine move fast enough to save a single child? For geneticist Vanessa Almendro-Navarro, PhD, KJ’s case represented both an urgent humanitarian mission and a glimpse into the future of personalized medicine. In this interview, she explains how her team created a bespoke gene-editing therapy for KJ, what it reveals about the rise of one-patient medicines, and how unprecedented collaboration is reshaping the boundaries of science and ethics.

Produced and hosted by Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD

Audio mixed and mastered by David Mosely

Brought to you by Inside Precision Medicine (SAGE Publishing)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shana Kelley, PhD, embraces bold, science-fiction-like challenges, such as developing real-time technologies to monitor immune activity—work that demands cross-disciplinary expertise, flexible funding, and visionary leadership. As a Professor at Northwestern University and President of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago, she advances “instrumented tissues” to precisely measure biological processes, sharing her passion and insights on innovation in this episode of Behind the Breakthroughs.

Produced and hosted by Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD

Audio mixed and mastered by David Mosely

Brought to you by Inside Precision Medicine (SAGE Publishing)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mara Aspinall has long been a leader in precision medicine, championing diagnostics as vital to better treatments and saving lives. She built Genzyme Genetics into the nation’s top testing business, later acquired by LabCorp for $1 billion, and led Ventana (now Roche Tissue Diagnostics) in pioneering companion diagnostics. As co-founder of BlueStone Venture Partners and partner at Illumina Ventures, she continues shaping the field. She also publishes the Diagnostics Year in Review, serves on multiple boards, and co-founded ASU’s School of Biomedical Diagnostics. This episode explores both her vision for testing and her journey to becoming a transformative leader.

Produced and hosted by Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD

Audio mixed and mastered by David Mosely

Brought to you by Inside Precision Medicine (SAGE Publishing)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David R. Liu, PhD, Harvard and Broad Institute professor, invented base and prime editing—gene editing tools now in 20+ clinical trials with early wins against sickle cell, leukemia, and more. Founder of Editas, Beam, and Prime Medicine, and winner of the 2025 Breakthrough Prize, Liu joins Behind The Breakthroughs to share how chemistry and evolution are driving the next wave of medicine.

Produced and hosted by Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD

Audio mixed and mastered by David Mosely

Brought to you by Inside Precision Medicine (SAGE Publishing)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Janice Chen, PhD, helped transform CRISPR from a lab discovery into a life-saving tool. As co-founder of Mammoth Biosciences with Jennifer Doudna, Trevor Martin, and Lucas Harrington, she’s driven efforts to harness CRISPR for human health and diagnostics. On Behind the Breakthroughs, Chen shares how she’s turning a once-theoretical gene editor into a medical revolution.

Produced and hosted by Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD

Audio mixed and mastered by David Mosely

Brought to you by Inside Precision Medicine (SAGE Publishing)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With recent safety setbacks in gene therapy underscoring the risks of genetic medicine, Amber Salzman, PhD, is charting a different course. After 25 years in big pharma, she now leads Epicrispr, where their Gene Expression Modulation System (GEMS) fine-tunes gene activity to tackle diseases too complex for traditional gene replacement, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy. On Behind the Breakthroughs, Salzman shares how epigenomic modulation could open new frontiers in treatment.

Produced and hosted by Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD

Audio mixed and mastered by David Mosely

Brought to you by Inside Precision Medicine (SAGE Publishing)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Think Good Will Hunting—but in biology. Mike Previte, PhD, once at Illumina and now CTO and co-founder of Element Biosciences, is building tools to move beyond DNA and RNA sequencing toward a true 5D view of life. On Behind the Breakthroughs, he explains how technologies like AVITI 24 could unlock predictive precision medicine by revealing how cells behave across time and space.

Produced and hosted by Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD

Audio mixed and mastered by David Mosely

Brought to you by Inside Precision Medicine (SAGE Publishing)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.