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Part 2 of 4.Â
My guest for this weekâs episode is Quin Wills, CSO and Co-Founder of Ochre Bio, a pioneering biotechnology company developing RNA therapies for chronic liver diseases. Using a combination of genomic deep phenotyping, precision RNA medicine, and testing in live human donor livers, Ochre is developing therapies for liver health challenges ranging from increasing donor liver supply to reducing cirrhosis complications.
In addition to his work at Ochre, Quin is also a highly accomplished academic with a medical degree from Witwatersrand University and doctoral degrees from Cambridge and Oxford in computational biology, mathematics, and statistical genomics.Â
Along with his academic accomplishments, Quin also co-founded SimuGen and has worked at the University College London, the Mayo Clinic, and Novo Nordisk before he went on to co-found Ochre Bio. Quin's diverse experiences offer a wealth of insights that everyone can draw inspiration from.
Join us this week and hear about Quinâs:- Early interest for bioinformatics and genomics
- Pursuit of dual degrees in Computational Mathematics and Biology at Oxford University at Cambridge, respectively
- Exploration of single-cell genomics, RNA, and gene regulation
- Experience founding SimuGen during his graduate studies
Please enjoy my conversation with Quin Wills.
Find Our Guest, Quin Wills, at these links:Â https://www.linkedin.com/in/quinwills/https://www.ochre-bio.com/
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:Â https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncheehttps://www.excedr.com
Timestamps:00:28 Intro01:52 Pursuing dual masters at Oxford and Cambridge in computational biology and mathematics05:16 Quinâs experience at Oxford studying genomics06:22 Studying single-cell genomics and gene regulation09:16 Academiaâs early views on entrepreneurship and spinning out a startup11:19 Founding SimuGen as a graduate student, balancing studies with entrepreneurship13:04 SimuGenâs approach to drug development, the lessons learned from a lack of product-market fit14:35 Common mistakes of a first-time scientific founder16:21 Lessons learned from 1st wave of bioinformatics, the importance of having a clear vision18:19 The value of understanding complex systems and learning by doing19:05 Outro
Social & WebsiteLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@excedr Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excedr_inc Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcedrInc Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excedr TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@excedr Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/Â
Enriched Notes:
Topics Mentioned:Oxford University https://www.ox.ac.uk/University of Cambridge https://www.cam.ac.uk/Bioinformatics & Computational Biology https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-is-bioinformatics-and-computational-biologySingle-Cell Genomics https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13059-016-0960-xSingle-Cell Epigenomics https://www.excedr.com/blog/single-cell-epigenomicsGene Regulation https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Gene-RegulationSpinning Out of Academia https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-spin-out-of-academia-and-into-a-startupProduct-Market Fit in the Life Sciences https://www.universitylabpartners.org/blog/understanding-product-market-fitCommon Mistakes of First-Time Founders & Biotechs https://www.excedr.com/blog/common-business-mistakesThe Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business
and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science companyâfrom pre-seed to IPO.
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