EP 131: The potential of somatic genomics in drug discovery and development with Jake Rubens

The Genetics Podcast

0:00 Intro

0:40 Jake’s experiences as a serial entrepreneur starting five companies with a basis in genomic science

5:30 Opportunities for research and drug development in the realm of somatic science

9:20 Somatic evolution and how it provides valuable insights into disease mechanisms

12:30 Advantages and disadvantages of studying germline genome-wide association studies (GWAS) versus somatic genomes for target and drug discovery

17:00 How germline and somatic mutations can complement one another when studying conditions like MASH, autoimmune disorders, infectious diseases, and more

21:10 The method behind obtaining and analysing tissue samples

24:00 The importance of high resolution for somatic variation

29:30 “The genetics superhero”: How somatic variations can rescue maladaptive germline mutations

32:00 How to obtain tissue samples of hard-to-reach areas of the body, like the brain

33:00 How somatic genome can increase the scale of DNA data available

36:00 Best practices for scientific entrepreneurship

44:50 Jake’s predictions for the next big breakthroughs in genetics and precision medicine

48:20 Closing remarks

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