James Collins is the Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering & Science and Professor of Biological Engineering at MIT. Jim serves as a director at the MIT Jameel Clinic, a member of the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences & Technology Faculty, a core founding faculty member of the Wyss Institute, and a member of the Broad Institute. Jim is also an elected member of all three national academies. As one of the founders of synthetic biology, Jim has pioneered research by using synthetic biology and AI to develop next-generation diagnostics and therapeutics, particularly for infectious diseases such as Ebola, Zika, COVID-19 and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (superbugs). Jim has received numerous awards and honors including recognition as a Clarivate Citation Laureate. The technologies from his lab have been licensed by over 25 biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies, and he has also co-founded a number of biotech startups.

In this episode,

* Jim talks about his growing up in a technical family and shares his early interest in science. He explains his uncommon decision he made as a high school senior to attend College of the Holy Cross instead of MIT.

* He reflects on his journey from doing neuro-mechanics research to making the big leap into synthetic biology. He highlights his early work on construction of a genetic toggle switch, a foundational project in synthetic biology.

* He talks about his past work on diagnostics for infectious diseases like Ebola and Zika, and shares his recent progress in developing AI-designed antibiotics, including Halicin.

* He expresses his concerns about R&D in antibiotics and explains his motivation for establishing the nonprofit Phare Bio to advance novel antibiotics against superbugs.

* He reflects on his time on President Obama’s bioethics advisory board and his overall views on bioethics.

* He talks about how ChatGPT and social media affects science, and strongly encourages young scientists to focus on becoming true experts rather than pursuing fame as influencers.

* Inspired by his love of team sports, he uses the analogy of an “underdog spirit” to describe his philosophy of embracing failure.

* He loves running, reading and spending his time with his family and friends.

Co-Hosts: Fang Xie and Yossef Baidi

Co-Producers: Fang Xie Yossef Baidi Rui Li

Tim Harris is a molecular biologist, biochemist and geneticist. He is also a science and business leader with over 40 years of experience in a range of molecular research areas. Tim is currently an Operating Partner at SV Health Investors. Outside of SV, he holds a seat on the Board of Directors of Phenome TX in Edinburgh and is a visiting professor at Columbia University.

Before joining SV, Tim served in several senior management positions including Executive VP of Corporate Development at Repertoire Immune Medicines, Executive VP of R&D at Bioverativ (now part of Sanofi-Genzyme), the Senior VP for Precision Medicine at Biogen which followed his role as Senior VP of Translational Medicine also at Biogen, and Senior Vice President of R&D at Sequana/Axys. Tim also served as Chief Technology Officer and Director of the Advanced Technology Program at SAIC-Frederick in Maryland, currently known as Frederick National Laboratory, which operates the National Cancer Institute’s leading center for cancer and AIDS research.

In 1999, Tim founded SGX Pharmaceuticals. He built SGX to more than 130 employees, raised $85M in capital, and generated more than $20M in revenue during his six year tenure as CEO before it was sold to Eli Lilly.

In 2024, Tim published his well regarded memoir, “In Pursuit of Unicorns: A Journey Through 50 Years of Biotechnology”. With first-hand experience of biotech’s evolution over decades, the book highlights the most impactful advances in biotech and gives a compelling, insider view of the breakthroughs that have shaped modern biotechnology. John Maraganore, former CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and a previous guest of The Pulse, has praised it as “a new bible for the history of biotechnology.”

In this episode,

* Tim shares his upbringing in the UK, influenced by his father, a chemist, and his interest in science, sparked by Sir Robert Robinson, a Nobel Laureate.

* He discusses his move from academia to CellTech and his motivation in staying on the industry track. He describes his time at Glaxo as a senior manager and later move to San Diego and join Sequann, a startup applying genetics into drug development.

* He shares the backstory of why he wrote his new book “In Pursuit of Unicorns: A Journey Through 50 Years of Biotechnology”, a first of kind biotech history book, which aims to provide a comprehensive view of biotech history.

* He discusses the current biotech and policy landscape, including concerns about major health decisions being made without strong scientific backing and ongoing challenges around drug pricing and access in the U.S.

* He shares advice for trainees: follow what genuinely interests you, commit deeply (“10,000 hours is real”), and carry forward the “three Ps” — patience, persistence, and practicality.

* He reflects on his transition into venture capital at SV health investors, explaining how science-driven technical due diligence, strong management teams, and company culture shape investment decisions, and why choosing the right people matters most.

* He explores the future of biotech, highlighting AI-driven drug discovery as the next major frontier he would invest in, while also sharing personal interests like his love of carpentry outside of work.

Co-hosts: Malvika Dua and Tanner Baldwin

Producers: Malvika Dua and Fang Xie

Stephanie Oestreich is Managing Director of the Myeloma Investment Fund (MIF), a venture philanthropy fund focused on therapies and technologies for multiple myeloma. She is the chair of the McCloy Alumni Association. She is also a faculty member at MIT, and an advisor at multiple drug development companies and healthcare investment companies.

Previously she worked as International Business Leader at Roche and Novartis. Then she also worked as CBO at Galecto, VP at Mnemo Therapeutics, a Venture Partner at RA Capital, and EVP at Evotec where she built its North American investment arm and started an incubator with Samsara BioCapital.

As a semi-professional violinist, she performs with Philharmonic orchestras in Carnegie Hall and other international venues and conducts workshops with live orchestras.

Stephanie conducted the research for her Ph.D. in biochemistry in the lab of Jack Szostak at Harvard Medical School and obtained an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.

In this episode,

* Stephanie shares about her upbringing in Germany and her early interest in science and medicine.

* She explains her motivation to pursue an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School to better understand drug approvals and funding decisions.

* She describes her transition from academia to biotech industry, highlighting her roles at Novartis as the CEO’s executive assistant and her involvement in various business development activities. She also discusses her move to Roche and details her global marketing role there.

* She credits her experience working in different regions across both Europe and the US and compares cultural differences in biotech across these regions.

* She talks about her leadership role in the MIF and introduces the mission of MIF within the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF).

* As a semi-professional violinist, she reflects the lessons that she learned from performing in symphony orchestras and how that translates to her work in biotech.

Co-Hosts: Yossef Baidi and Fang Xie

Planning: Yossef Baidi and Fang Xie

Post-Production: Yossef Baidi and Fang Xie

Luke Timmerman is a biotech journalist, author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. As an award-winning journalist, Luke has been covering biotech since 2001. He is the founder and editor of Timmerman Report, a leading biotech industry newsletter. He hosts “The Long Run”, a biotech-focused podcast that has featured more than 200 biotech leaders. Luke was named one of the 100 most influential people in biotech in 2015 by Scientific American. He earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin and was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT.

Luke also founded his philanthropic project “Timmerman Traverse”. Through Traverse’s campaigns, the biotech community has been catalyzed to give back more than $13 million to alleviate suffering from cancer, poverty and sickle cell disease.

In this episode,

* Luke shares his childhood growing up on a small family farm in southern Wisconsin and how his early life shaped his career and perspective.

* He explains how he became interested in journalism early on and eventually became the biotech reporter at the Seattle Times in 2001, later covering biotech at Bloomberg and Xconomy.

* He discusses his motivation in launching the Timmerman Report in 2015, which is a subscription-based newsletter, providing in‑depth coverage of biotech startups, innovation, and the broader biotech industry.

* As a successful biotech podcaster, Luke hosts The Long Run podcast (~200 episodes) featuring long-form interviews with biotech leaders.

* He introduces the mission and the progress of the Timmerman Traverse, a philanthropic project inspired by his hobby - hiking and climbing mountains with family and friends. Every year, Luke leads a group of biotech leaders on mountain climbs around the world.

* Luke is also the author of "Hood: Trailblazer of the Genomics Age," a biography of Leroy Hood. The book was called a “must-read” by Forbes, and named one of the 100 Best Indie Books of 2017 by Kirkus Reviews.

Co-Hosts: Fang Xie and Yossef Baidi

Producers: Fang Xie and Yossef Baidi

Dr. Bill Sellers is a physician scientist and a leading cancer researcher who has held major roles across academia and industry, including Core member of the Broad Institute and Professor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. Bill helped pioneer cancer genomics, including the discovery of EGFR mutations in lung cancer and the creation of the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE). Bill was a former VP and Global Head of Oncology at Novartis.

In this episode,

* Bill Sellers shares his path from his upbringing in Massachusetts through Georgetown, UMassMed, UCSF, and into oncology at Dana-Farber.

* He discusses foundational work on tumor suppressors and co-pioneering cancer genomics, including EGFR mutations and the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE).

* He reflects on leading oncology at Novartis, large-scale functional genomics (e.g., PRMT5), and co-developing the CD19 CAR-T.

* After he goes back to academia (joining Broad), he starts focusing on synthetic lethality and pathway overactivation as therapeutic strategies, including his new startup, Delphia Therapeutics.

* He also talks about mentoring style, his lab culture (Insights training), and personal interests like cycling, travel, and cooking.

Executive Producer: Yossef Baidi

Co-Producer: Fang Xie

Co-hosts: Yossef Baidi and Fang Xie

Melissa McCracken is a partner at Nextech Invest, a leading oncology-focused venture capital firm. She is a board member for multiple private and public biotech companies. Melissa is a scientist by training from UCLA with her research on engineered immunity for cancer. She also completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University where she expanded her research in the field of immuno-oncology. Prior to Nextech, Melissa was a senior associate at Third Rock Ventures and helped build and launch Celsius Therapeutics, which is now part of AbbVie.

In this episode,

* Melissa traces her career path: from interning at Amgen in high school and college to pursuing a PhD at UCLA and a postdoc at Stanford working on cancer immunology before making the jump to venture capital.

* She discusses her experience building companies as a senior associate at Third Rock Ventures, where she helped create Celsius Therapeutics, a company focused on discovering therapeutics for oncology and autoimmune disease.

* Melissa shares her experience working in the biotech ecosystem in Europe, when she moved to Switzerland to first work at Nextech Invest as a principal.

* She discusses her role in opening Nextech’s Boston office as a partner and some of the recent advancements in cancer therapeutics that she’s most excited about.

* Melissa talks about her favorite things to do outside of work, such as spending time with her kids and doing yoga.

Co-Hosts: Yossef Baidi and Fang Xie

Planning: Yossef Baidi and Fang Xie

Post-Production: Yossef Baidi, Fang Xie, and Rui Li

Soufiane (Souf) is a synthetic biologist by training from Harvard Medical School. During his PhD, he founded Nucleate, a non-profit biotech organization that represents the largest global community of bio-innovators and offers numerous free entrepreneurship programs for academic trainees.

In this episode,

* Souf shares his background and how he got into research during his undergraduate years before starting his PhD at Harvard where he joined George Church’s lab.

* He describes why he got involved with the Harvard Biotech Club and the various initiatives he led as co-president, including Activate Bio, the predecessor to Nucleate.

* Souf also discusses Nucleate’s growth as an organization and the plans for it in the future now that it has expanded globally.

* Outside of science, Souf enjoys hiking, working out, and cooking.

Co-Hosts: Yossef Baidi and Fang Xie

Planning: Yossef Baidi and Fang Xie

Post-Production: Yossef Baidi and Fang Xie

Dr. John Maraganore, founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and co-founder of City Therapeutics, discusses his journey from a Greek immigrant household to pioneering RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics. He highlights Alnylam’s growth from a startup to a major biotech company, leading to the first FDA-approved RNAi therapy. John shares insights on decision-making, mentorship, and the future of RNA therapies. He also discusses his new ventures, including Corsera Health, focusing on cardiovascular disease prevention using RNAi.

* John shares his upbringing in Chicago, growing up with Greek immigrant parents. He describes his early interest in science and research, leading him to choose a PhD path over an MD. He credits his mother with giving him optimism and his father with fostering a passion for science.

* John explains the challenges of developing small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules and the decade-long effort to create acceptable human therapeutics.

* John reflects on his career and the importance of being unreasonable and persistent in driving progress. He shares his excitement about his new upcoming book, “The Importance of Being Unreasonable,” which will provide insights on leading biotech companies.

* John advises aspiring entrepreneurs to gain industry experience before starting their own companies. He emphasizes the importance of networking and staying in close touch with academic leaders and venture capitalists. He shares his philosophy of giving back to the community and helping young leaders succeed.

Co-Hosts: Jennifer Jiang, Yossef Baidi & Fang Xie

Planning: Yossef Baidi

Post-production: Jennifer Jiang, Fang Xie & Yossef Baidi

Dr. George Church, is a genetics professor at Harvard Medical School and the Wyss Institute. George is a pioneer in synthetic biology and personalized genomics. In 2017, Time magazine named him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In addition to being a scientist, George is also a prolific serial entrepreneur. He has co-founded over 50 biotech startups through his lab at Harvard. George also serves as a Faculty Advisor for the Harvard Biotech Club.

In this episode,

* George shares his career path to become a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Wyss Institute, where his lab focuses on various topics related to synthetic biology.

* George discusses his work on developing genome sequencing methods during his PhD and its impact on the Human Genome Project.

* George discusses the development of genome editing methods and how his lab and other pioneers developed CRISPR systems as a genome editing modality, and eventually co-founded Editas.

* George reflects on his philosophy for conducting research and how he likes to “embrace the outliers” when it comes to science and life in general.

* George shares his insights on entrepreneurship and we discuss how Colossal Biosciences seeks to use de-extinction (e.g., woolly mammoth, dodo bird, dire wolf) to increase Earth’s biodiversity.

* George shares his hobbies, such as his passion for reading and interests he picked up later in life, such as art and photography. Not surprisingly, his favorite movies are Jurassic Park series.

Read George's Book "Regenesis"

Learn more about George Church

Co-Hosts: Yossef Baidi & Fang Xie

Planning: Yossef Baidi

Post-production: Yossef Baidi

Thanks for reading The Pulse Podcast! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Chris Bahl is the Co-founder and CEO of AI Proteins. He also established the Boston Protein Design and Modeling Club (BPDMC), where he serves as Co-organizer. After completing his PhD in biochemistry from Dartmouth, Chris joined David Baker Lab at the University of Washington, where he pioneered the ability to design mini-proteins as a postdoc with the future Nobel Laureate. Chris later joined Institute of Protein Innovation as one of the founding faculty members, with co-appointments at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. In 2021, Chris left academia and co-founded AI Proteins.

In this episode,

* Chris shares his career journey from academic faculty to founder, CSO, and recently CEO of AI Proteins, which is a Boston-based startup with a niche in using AI to design proteins. Over the past 3 years, the company has generated 150 protein drug candidates

* Chris discusses how mini-proteins could transform medicine, agriculture, and beyond. He offers his vision on the future and the trend of AI powered protein design.

* Chris reflects on his own path and offers career advice for academic scientists interested in becoming a startup founder.

* As a self-proclaimed protein geek, Chris credits the vibrant Boston biotech ecosystem with helping him grow into a mature biotech entrepreneur.

About Chris Bahl

Christ Bahl’s TED talk

AI Proteins

BPDMC

Co-Hosts: Fang Xie and Yossef Baidi

Planning: Yossef Baidi

Post-production: Fang Xie