by Excedr
The Biotech Startups Podcast by Excedr features weekly conversations with founders, scientists, and investors driving biotech innovation. Host Jon Chee dives into the challenges of building biotech startups, from pre-seed to IPO. New episodes every Monday and Thursday.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
12/7/2022
Email Addresses
1 available
Phone Numbers
0 available
April 21, 2025
"You have to be curious. You have to enjoy the problems as opposed to view them as problems. You can view them as puzzle pieces that you get to put together, which is a lot of fun." In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Rabia Khan shares the pivotal experiences that shaped her approach to biotech innovation, from her time at BenevolentAI and Sensyne Health to building and leading high-performance teams at the intersection of biology, machine learning, and clinical data. Rabia discusses the challenges of aligning scientists and engineers around a shared language, the importance of integrating platform and program development, and the cultural shifts needed to drive real innovation in drug discovery. She also reflects on the value of curiosity, risk-taking, and the lessons learned from managing major pharma partnerships and scaling teams under intense pressure.
April 17, 2025
“I wish someone had told me when I was starting my PhD to sit down and say, ‘what do I want out of this?’ and [then] write it down. Because, unlike the UK, where PhDs are three years and time bound, in Canada, they are neither time bound nor three years. And so you can meander." In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Rabia Khan, founder and CEO of Serna Bio, joins host Jon Chee to reflect on her unconventional journey through academia, business, and biotech innovation. Rabia shares how her curiosity, resilience, and embracing uncertainty shaped her journey through a PhD in genetics and an MBA. She discusses the emotional challenges of working with animal models, the benefits and limits of business school for scientists, and personal struggles, including her father’s illness. She recounts early setbacks, like rejected consulting jobs, and how a cold email landed her at Meta (now part of Chan Zuckerberg Biohub). Rabia emphasizes “manufacturing serendipity,” differences between founder and employee mindsets, and lessons from her work at BenevolentAI, highlighting the importance of cross-disciplinary communication and challenging industry norms
April 14, 2025
"I was born and raised in a developing country. I was born and raised in Pakistan. And it's very interesting when you're born in a developing country. That's your world. Right? That's all you know." In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, we delve into Rabia Khan's remarkable journey from her childhood in Pakistan to founding Serna Bio, an AI-enabled drug discovery company. Rabia shares how her early experiences in a developing country, her aunt's battle with schizophrenia, and the sequencing of the human genome in 2000 sparked her passion for genetics and healthcare. She recounts how her career options were either medicine or engineering, setting her on a path that would eventually lead to pioneering work at the intersection of AI and biotechnology. Rabia describes her transition to McGill University in Montreal, facing the shock of -40°C weather with only a leather jacket while navigating life as an international student with no support system. Despite these challenges, she pursued dual interests in biology and economics, finding her first research opportunity in a schizophrenia lab where she started by pipetting water and washing dishes.
Matt Pillar
STAT
Andreessen Horowitz, a16z Bio + Health
Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal
Andreessen Horowitz
The Wall Street Journal
Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts
Bloomberg
All-In Podcast, LLC
The Motley Fool
Hubspot Media
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal & Gimlet
Biotech 2050
Peter Attia, MD
Pod Engine is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected with any of the podcasts displayed on this platform. We operate independently as a podcast discovery and analytics service.
All podcast artwork, thumbnails, and content displayed on this page are the property of their respective owners and are protected by applicable copyright laws. This includes, but is not limited to, podcast cover art, episode artwork, show descriptions, episode titles, transcripts, audio snippets, and any other content originating from the podcast creators or their licensors.
We display this content under fair use principles and/or implied license for the purpose of podcast discovery, information, and commentary. We make no claim of ownership over any podcast content, artwork, or related materials shown on this platform. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
While we strive to ensure all content usage is properly authorized, if you are a rights holder and believe your content is being used inappropriately or without proper authorization, please contact us immediately at [email protected] for prompt review and appropriate action, which may include content removal or proper attribution.
By accessing and using this platform, you acknowledge and agree to respect all applicable copyright laws and intellectual property rights of content owners. Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or commercial use of the content displayed on this platform is strictly prohibited.