Cell Your Idea

In this episode, we’re joined by Pablo Hofbauer, co-founder of HeartBeat.bio and a leading innovator in self-organizing cardiac organoids, known as cardioids. Pablo shares his journey into biotechnology and explores how cardioids are transforming cardiac drug discovery. We discuss their applications in studying genetic mutations, the significant advantages they offer over traditional 2D models, and their potential to inform future therapies. Pablo also provides insights into the complex process of commercializing scientific research, covering topics from patent strategies to funding challenges. Additionally, he highlights the impact of AI and robotics in enhancing research at HeartBeat.bio. This episode offers an exciting insight into heart health and the evolving landscape of biotech innovation.

Timestamps

00:00:49 Introduction to Pablo 

00:02:45 What are cardioids? 

00:03:59 The Role of Personalised Medicine

00:05:14 Mutations Studies using CRISPR Genetic Engineering 

00:08:03 Traditional 2D models vs 3D models of the Heart Chamber 

00:13:04 Cell therapy: Pig Heart Transplanted 

00:15:06 Future Potential Therapies

00:17:52 Challenges in Commercialisation of Research

00:19:10 Intellectual Property - Patents

00:20:20 Securing funding - Scientific Pitching 

00:21:55 Company Partnerships - Robotics

00:23:32 Hitting Milestones 

00:26:03 Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

00:27:35 Advice for Aspiring Scientists 

00:28:38 Fun Fact

This episode explores the topic of metabolism! We discuss biochemical processes, common myths surrounding metabolism and recent scientific findings. The conversation also touches on the rise of drugs like “Ozempic”, initially developed for diabetes but now used for weight loss. We also explain the science behind fasting and its impact on cellular health and longevity. This should be of interest to those curious about novel approaches and technology in the field of metabolism.

Timestamp

00:00:15 Introduction to Metabolism

00:02:45 Debunking Common Myths

00:08:53 Weight Loss Drugs

00:12:37 Fasting and Cellular Biology

00:20:46 Conclusion of Discussion

00:21:38 Fun Fact

References

- Review with a summary table of all rapamycin clinical trials up to date (Konopka et al., 2023).

- Caloric Restriction and Aging: Studies in Mice and Monkeys (Anderson et al., 2009).

- Cellular mechanisms of Fasting (Mihaylova et al., 2018).

- Fasting enhances stem cell function (Imada et al., 2024)

- Periodic diet mimics fasting and promotes multi-system regeneration (Brandhorst et al., 2015)

Our first guest is Prof Jason Rihel, joins us as we discuss sleep. We start off with circadian rhythms, highlighting seasonal affective disorder (winter depression), then continue into understanding the science of sleep, touching on modulation by substances like alcohol, caffeine and cannabis, and then we focus on sleep disorders and diseases related to sleep such as insomnia and Alzheimer’s disease, respectively! 

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Introduction to Prof Jason Rihel’s Academic Background 

00:04:15 Circadian rhythms in zebrafish vs humans 

00:05:28 Blind Cavefish, do they have circadian clocks?

00:10:15 Seasonal affective disorder - how light affects humans

00:13:20 Breaking down the sleep stages

00:17:20 What happens to you when you lose sleep?

00:18:58 Alcohol and Caffeine on Sleep

00:22:00 CBD and THC on Sleep 

00:26:54 Insomnia 

00:29:43 Melatonin

00:34:24 Sleep and Neurodegenerative Diseases

00:40:20 Influence of genetics on Sleep  

00:43:35 Genetic Enigma - Superhumans?

00:45:13 Naps

00:46:56 Sleep Hygiene 

00:52:06 Fun fact 

Elephant seal diving research paper: Jessica M. Kendall-Bar et al. , Brain activity of diving seals reveals short sleep cycles at depth. Science 380,260-265(2023). DOI:10.1126/science.adf0566

In our debut episode, we kick off our podcast journey with a chat about our academic escapades and how they led us to create Cell Your Idea. We discuss our journey into science and research on neurodegenerative disorders. We reveal what it's like to build a startup that tackles Parkinson's diagnostics as a student in London, including all the challenges and the importance of translating scientific findings into real-world applications. We draw on our student experiences to set the stage for exciting biotech tales to come!

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:00:59) UCL and neuroscience

(00:03:34) Alzheimer's Disease research

(00:16:00) Entrepreneurship experience

(00:28:38) Career paths from biosciences

(00:40:17) Reflections on academia