🧬 Rafael Rosengarten - Part 2 | From Marine Biology to Synthetic Biology | Building Biofuel Tools at JBEI | When Academic Labs Embrace Entrepreneurship

The Biotech Startups Podcast

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Part 2 of 4: My guest today is Rafael Rosengarten, CEO and Co-Founder of Genialis, the RNA biomarker company. Genialis is reimagining biomarkers for every target, drug, and patient using a combination of precision oncology, RNA, and AI.

Rafael, a biomedical research veteran, combines academic excellence with industry innovation. A Dartmouth graduate with a Yale doctorate, he conducted postdoctoral research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he co-invented the j5 DNA assembly tool. As co-founder of the Alliance for AI in Healthcare, he advocates for responsible AI integration in medicine, drawing from his extensive background in evolution, immunology, bioengineering, and genetics.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

• Rafael's graduate studies at Yale, where mentors fostered his independent research approach
• His diverse marine biology and genomics projects, preparing him for synthetic biology
• Rafael's transition to the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) for synthetic biology and biofuels research
• The collaborative environment at JBEI, including access to cutting-edge technology and bioinformatics tool development
• Rafael's insights on choosing the right lab environment and the growing acceptance of entrepreneurship in academia
  

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Find Our Guest, Rafael Rosengarten, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rrosengarten/

https://www.genialis.com/

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee

https://www.excedr.com

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Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:

Yale https://www.yale.edu/

Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) https://www.jbei.org/

Next-Generation Sequencing https://www.excedr.com/blog/next-generation-sequencing-101

How to Spin Out of Academia & Into a Startup https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-spin-out-of-academia-and-into-a-startup

What Should Investors & Founders Expect From Each Other

https://www.excedr.com/resources/investor-founder-expectations

How to Fund an R&D Startup https://www.excedr.com/resources/rd-startup-funding-first-steps

People Mentioned:

Stephen Dellaporta https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-dellaporta-442aa611/

Leo Buss https://eeb.yale.edu/people/faculty/leo-buss

Barbara McClintock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_McClintock

Christopher Mason https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-mason-4972a119/

Jonathan Rothberg https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanrothberg/

Jay Keasling https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-keasling-6783754/

Nathan Hillson https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-hillson-73702915/

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

02:56 - Rafael's experience with his graduate advisors and diverse research projects

07:45 - Comparison of grad school experience to company building and board members

08:59 - Discussion about Jonathan Rothberg and sequencing developments at Yale

10:06 - Rafael's transition from Yale to the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI)

12:46 - The importance of showing up and making connections in person

16:39 - The value of face-to-face interactions in business and collaboration

20:19 - Challenges in the biotech market and the need for in-person networking

23:11 - Rafael's work at JBEI in synthetic biology and tool development

28:22 - Key takeaways from Rafael's experience at JBEI

30:25 - The importance of entrepreneurship in academia and industry

33:55 - Outro

The 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 company—from pre-seed to IPO.