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The Bits in Bio Podcast

Robbie Matthews and Vincent Alessi 8 Episodes Oct 12, 2026

Hosts Robbie and Vince explore the hidden machinery of techbio, looking at venture hype, lab experiments, and algorithmic dreams. They aim to reveal what actually works and what fails spectacularly, and the stubborn realities of turning code into biology. Through candid discussions, they examine how startups and research intersect, and why many promising ideas don't pan out. It's a show for anyone curious about the hard truths behind biotech innovation.

Episodes

Systems, Not Models: Generative AI Across the Drug Development Pipeline with Dov Gertz Oct 12, 2026 00:32:16 Dov Gertz, co-founder and CEO of Converge Bio, is building a generative AI lab for the life sciences, with AI systems that plug directly into drug development workflows, from target discovery to antibody design to manufacturing.We discuss why generative AI in biology needs systems rather than single models, where de novo design is overhyped, and how Converge's antibody system layers physics-ba

Biology's Data Problem is a Robotics Problem: Building the Physical AI Scientist with Michelle Lee Jun 24, 2026 00:37:26 Michelle Lee, PhD, is the founder and CEO of Medra, building a Physical AI Scientist platform where robotic agents and reasoning models run, optimize, and learn from wet lab experiments together.We discuss Medra Lab 001, the largest autonomous life sciences lab in the US, built in just 90 days, and the Vision-Language-Lab-Action model that powers it. Michelle breaks down Medra's "data fou

Reinventing Drug Formulation: AI, Automation, and Self-Driving Labs with Pauric Bannigan Apr 22, 2026 00:31:15 Pauric Bannigan, co-founder and CSO of Intrepid Labs, is building one of the first AI-native platforms for drug formulation, combining machine learning, robotics, and experimental science to tackle one of pharma’s most complex bottlenecks.We discuss why drug formulation remains a critical but underexplored step in drug development, and how Intrepid’s “self-driving lab” integrates AI-driven decisio

Building Scientific Superintelligence: AI Science Factories and the Quest to Drug the Undruggable with Molly Gibson Mar 5, 2026 00:36:47 Molly Gibson, Origination Partner at Flagship Pioneering, has co-founded some of the most ambitious AI-native life sciences companies of the last decade, including Generate Biomedicines, Lila Sciences, and most recently Expedition Medicines, where she serves as CEO.We discuss the Flagship model of company origination, how Lila Sciences is building AI Science Factories where AI runs the scientific

Infrastructure for Pharma: Lessons from $2.5B in Research Procurement with Chris Petersen Dec 31, 2025 00:35:12 Chris Petersen, co-founder and CTO of Scientist.com, joins us to share lessons from almost two decades of building the world's leading research services marketplace for pharmaceutical R&D.We discuss pivoting from building a CRO lab to creating a B2E marketplace platform facilitating $2.5B in research procurement, the critical architectural decisions along the way, and deploying AI to streamlin

How AI-Driven Cell Therapy is Rewriting Regeneration with Frank Li Nov 30, 2025 00:36:50 Frank Li, founder and CEO of Stately Bio, joins us to unpack how AI-driven, label-free live-cell imaging is unlocking real-time insight into cell state and redefining what’s possible in regenerative medicine.We discuss his journey from co-founding a mobile payments startup through roles at Palantir, Google Brain, and Calico, to building Stately Bio’s ML imaging platform, and how surprising predict

Redefining the Undruggable Through Proximity with Armand Cognetta Oct 28, 2025 00:36:23 Armand Cognetta, founder and CEO of General Proximity, joins us to explore how proximity medicine is revolutionizing drug discovery by targeting proteins once considered impossible to drug. We discuss the evolution beyond PROTACs, being a solo bio-founder in Y Combinator, and Armand's journey from imposter syndrome to raising $16M and winning a $3M ARPA-H grant.From nearly running out of money

The Future of Federated Learning in Life Sciences with Robin Roehm Sep 23, 2025 00:42:32 Robin Roehm, CEO and co-founder of Apheris, joins us to explore how federated learning is transforming data collaboration in life sciences. We discuss its impact on drug discovery and clinical trials, the balance between IP protection and AI innovation, and Robin’s journey at the crossroads of tech and healthcare.

Multimodal AI Data Architecture in Healthcare with John Axerio-Cilies Aug 21, 2025 00:26:48 Join us for a deep dive into multimodal AI data architecture with John Axerio-Cilies, Chief Data Technology Officer at Tempus AI and former CEO/CTO of Arterys.John shares insights from building the first FDA-cleared deep learning algorithm in healthcare and now leading data integration across imaging, text, and molecular modalities at scale.

The Bits in Bio Podcast

Episodes

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