BIOECONOMY
We started as a publication about biotechnology, and we’ve become a community about our future.
I started Bioeconomy.XYZ at the beginning of 2020 as a way to connect people and ideas across the internet. I had just ended my job in Washington, DC, and the COVID-19 pandemic was rapidly growing around the world. All of a sudden, I found myself feeling isolated and trapped without enough information about how the SARS-CoV-2 was going to impact my life.
Ironically, I was not alone in my sense of isolation. But as I started recruiting people to contribute their thoughts and their vision to BEXYZ, I started to see the amazing creativity blossoming across the biotechnology community. Authors were writing about biotechnology as an expression of art and creativity, people were sharing their thoughts about their careers and ambitions and having healthy debates about academia, industry, and so many other routes in life. …
PODCAST
How Patrick Boyle went from small-town Alaska to the Head of Biological Engineering at Ginkgo Bioworks, and why he wants to retire on Mars.
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Good morning my friends!
Patrick wants to retire on Mars. Talk about a great line for what you’re goals are in life! In order to get to Mars thought, we need more than just rockets and metal — we need the ability to engineer and sustain life both on the ship and when on the Martian surface. So until we actually start heading to Mars, Patrick spends his time as a leader in the wildly successful synthetic biology company, Ginkgo Bioworks.
Today, we get to sit down and discuss how Patrick grew up in rural Alaska and ended up in Boston as a biological engineer. He’s had a phenomenal career ranging from MIT and Harvard, to startups and working closely with the government on issues related to pandemics and biosecurity. He even says his life from the Yukon River Delta has prepared him for retirement on Mars. …
PODCAST
Have you ever taught the first grade? How about over video conference? Our teachers deserve medals of honor for their service.
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Good morning my friends!
We’re all tired of Zoom meetings, but can you imagine being in 1st grade and trying to learn everything?! Today I get to chat with one of my favorite people, my sister Angie Titus, who is a 1st-grade teacher and is now in the tough place of teaching our future scientists and engineers in the middle of the pandemic.
Angie’s always poured her heart and soul into her teaching, but now she’s working to teach equity and inclusion, group dynamics, how to share, and how to read and do math, all while asking 6-year olds to sit still at a computer screen. …
PODCAST
Ian Simon has worked in Korea, on the Hill, and in the White House, where he bring virology into the policy world
Good morning my friends!
Today I get to have a great conversation with Ian Simon, a virologist turned science policy guru who has worked around the world to improve the way policymakers think about science and technology. Right after finishing grad school, Ian found himself plunging feet first into the world of Korean science, but he approached it with full force.
A whirlwind of time on the Hill and working to support the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) later, we sit down to talk about always taking the opportunity to say yes, and how he ended up an elected official representing 2,000 citizens of Washington, DC. …
PODCAST
She’s worked across continents, industries, and the government to use the life sciences to improve people’s lives.
Good morning my friends!
Today I get to have an awesome conversation with a good friend of mine, Michelle Rozo, about stretching yourself in your career, taking opportunities when they come up, and always finding a way to fun with what you’re doing.
Michelle has had an amazing career. Her passion for science was built from the ground up as a 7-year old studying bugs at summer camp, and now she’s a biotechnology leader working in Washington, DC. If you would have asked her a few decades ago where she would end up, however, she never could have predicted it.
After finishing her PhD at Johns Hopkins, Michelle took a job as a post-doc for the Navy and eventually founder herself managing a clinical trial in Liberia after the Ebola outbreak in 2014–15. She brought the lessons she learned managing diverse teams to Capitol Hill where she worked as a Staffer in the Senate, focused on Pennsylvania healthcare policy. From there, she found herself at the State Department and eventually the Department of Defense as the Principal Director for Biotechnology. …
PODCAST
Rejected from med school twice & now a founder, a physician, & a family Man — w/ Reza Hosseini Ghomi
Trying twice, three times, and sometimes more is more common than you think.
Everyone fears rejection. It stings, it can even hurt, and it’s embarrassing. But is it the end of the world?
Today I get to have an awesome conversation with a great friend of mine, Reza Hosseini Ghomi. If you took a snapshot of Reza’s career, you would rightfully think he is wildly successful. He’s been the co-founder of multiple startups, he’s a practicing doctor, he has a wonderful family and his life is full of friends. What you wouldn’t see is how he was rejected from med school twice after he recovered from cancer early in life.
We all want to be perfect on our first try, but what Reza and I get to talk about is how that’s just not realistic. But it is absolutely not the end of the world if you have to try twice, three times, or more. Not giving up is the key, because when you don’t amazing things can happen. …
PODCAST
The goal, write the human genome from scratch. Now we’re a long way off before biology can do this, but it’s within our grasp.
The biotechnology industry is booming, and synthetic biology is the hottest topic of the decade. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Andrew Hessel and chatting about SynBio and the world of designer viruses. In today’s world, COVID-19 dominates the discussion about viruses, but in reality, there are countless opportunities to use viruses as everything from new cancer therapies to understanding the human genome.
On top of founding a synthetic virus company, Andrew is also the Founder and Chairman of the Genome Project Write, and complementary synthesis project to the human genome. The goal, write the human genome from scratch. Now we’re a long way off before biology can do this, but it’s within our grasp. …
PODCAST
Build your community, and they will help build you.
People ask me all the time if a biotechnology PhD is required to be successful in the industry. Given I’m only half the conversation, I called a good friend, Joe Buccina, and we had a great conversation about careers in the biotechnology industry, and when and how a PhD benefits you. We also talked about when other routes are useful as well. The key take away, as in many of my discussions, is your network is the most powerful thing you have in your toolbox. Build your community, and they will help build you.
Overall, it depends! I know, I know. That’s a hard one, but hopefully, our conversation helps out a bit in the decision process! Either way, Joe’s an amazing guy, and I recommend everyone knows him. …
PODCAST
There are people that you meet throughout your life that just leave an impression. Yong-Bee Lim is one of them.
The DIY biology community is full of amazing people who are driving the entire field of biotechnology forward with pure curiosity. The group that considers themselves involved with community biology come from all walks of life and nearly every industry. DIYBio is it’s often called, is a collection of labs and curious minds that get together to explore the biotech world.
There are people that you meet throughout your life that just leave an impression. Yong-Bee Lim is one of them. I’m excited to share our conversation this week about his work at the intersection of the social sciences, biotechnology, and community biology. …
PODCAST
The founder of the DIYBio movement talks about life, careers, and startups
Today I get to talk to Dr. Ellen Jorgensen, who co-founded the DIYBiology movement, inspired the world through her TED talks, and is now the co-founder of a biotechnology company using microbes as tracking tags. I had the good fortune to get to chat with Ellen and share my approach to life and we bonded over biotechnology, synthetic biology, and traveling to Alaska. One of the common themes I hear a lot is how people find their way into biotech through exploring the world rather than a simple path everyone follows. So listen to Ellen’s story and take in all her great ideas! …
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