mAcademia - Science, More than Just Academia.
By Elena Itskovich & Ofer Yizhar Barnea
Academia or not? And if not, what else? That is a tough nut to crack. Call us the nutcrackers.
mAcademia - Science, More than Just Academia.Jan 04, 2021
#52 - Designing a career - with Evan Bai from Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Evan is also the founder of Hanwen Interiors, an interior decorating firm specializing in modern, Asian-inspired homes. He helps homeowners find peace and retreat by creating functional and beautiful designs. Hanwen Interiors is also a proud member of the Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce. To help support the LGBTQ+ community, I pledge to donate 10% of our design fees to local LGBTQ+ non-profit organizations.
Evan is also the volunteer leader and co-chair of Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ PRIDE Employee Resource Group (with over 400 members globally), where he leads and oversees company-wide programs that support the career advancement of LGBTQ+ employees and allies.
Elena talked with Evan about his career path to and at Vertex, his new role as interior designer and the parallels between the two. They also discussed how being part of the LGBTQ+ community has affected his career and how he is serving and supporting this community now.
You can find more about Evan:
Website: hanwen-interiors.com
Instagram handle: @hanwen.interiors
LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/evan-bai/
Music credits
Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#51 - Science is exciting no matter where you do it - with Yaniv Erlich from Eleven Therapeutics
Dr. Yaniv Erlich is the co-founder and CEO of Eleven Therapeutics. Prior, he was the CSO of MyHeritage, a consumer genomics company (acquired by Francisco Partners), an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University and a Principal Investigator at the Whitehead Institute, MIT.
We talked with Yaniv about his unique career that led him to leave academia and focus his efforts on building exciting biotech companies. Yaniv shared his insights into academic and non academic career development pathways for scientists, delved into the advantages of building a company in the UK as well as shed some light on how research is done at Eleven Therapeutics.
Tune in and join the discussion in our 'mAcademia podcast' group on Facebook.
Music
Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#50 - Finding new paths paved with proteomics - with Gali Arad and Eran Seger from Protai
Eran Seger is the Co-Founder and CEO of Protai, a fast-growing biotech startup sitting on the intersection of proteomics and machine learning to develop novel therapeutics for a variety of complex diseases. Eran is an experienced technology executive and entrepreneur with a strong technical background and over 15 years of tech leadership positions at the Israeli Intelligence forces and HighTech.
Gali Arad, PhD is a Computational Biologist and the first employee of Protai, a drug discovery startup combining AI and proteomics to create intelligence-driven pharma. She is an end-to-end computational biology scientist, with broad experience in systems biology, data analysis, hands-on technological practice, and clinical samples handling. In her current role, Gali leads the scientific research, focused on target discovery and prioritization, and the collection and curation of Protai’s data warehouse. She holds a Ph.D from Tel Aviv University, applying mass-spectrometry-based proteomics to study cancer heterogeneity. Her findings were published in top-tier scientific journals and emphasized the added value of clinical proteomics in the study of cancer.
Music:
Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#49 - North Star of innovation - with Dov Moran, Grove Ventures Managing Partner
Dov Moran, Managing Partner of Grove Ventures, is one of the most prominent Israeli hi-tech leaders in the world. Dov is an investor, inventor, and entrepreneur, who is best known as the inventor of the USB flash drive. He founded M-Systems, acquired by SanDisk for $US 1.6 billion in 2006. He also served as the chairman of Tower Semiconductors, a developer and manufacturer of semiconductors and integrated circuits, in which he led a massive overhaul. Under Moran’s guidance, the company achieved a notable turnaround and became an enormous success. It was acquired by Intel in 2022 for 5.4 billion.
We talked about innovation, entrepreneurship, out of the box thinking and much more. We also mentioned Dov's first book ‘100 Doors - An Introduction to Entrepreneurship’ that was published in 2016 and included insights from his untraditional path.
Music:
Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#48 - Life updates with Elena Itskovich and Ofer Yizhar Barnea
Over two years have past since we started this podcast. We learned a lot! We also applied some key take home messages to our own lives and careers. Today we share our progress with you!
#47 - Corrie Painter - When life gives you lemons you create a platform to advance science
Corrie Painter is the Deputy Director of Count Me In and is a research scientist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. A trained cancer researcher with a Ph.D. in biochemistry, she completed her postdoctoral work in cancer immunology, focusing on melanoma. In 2010, Painter was diagnosed with angiosarcoma. She has combined her cancer advocacy and scientific background to engage with patients in order to build and carry out patient-partnered genomics studies. She is also the co-founder of Angiosarcoma Awareness Inc.
We talked with Corrie about her brave and determined journey, about how scientists can lead work of impact and change, about personal strengths, determination and appreciation of life. This is an inspirational conversation, demonstrating how much good can come out of adversity, how much impact can be achieved, when nothing else seems acceptable. Don't miss this conversation.
Music:
Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#46 - Prof. Ronit Sachi-Fainaro is leading a multidisciplinary moonshot against cacner
Running a team of diverse skills, and having them talk, learn, innovate and grow together while driving scientific breakthroughs? This is exactly what happens at the Satchi-Fainaro laboratory.
Ronit Satchi-Fainaro is a full Professor at Tel Aviv University, where she is head of the Cancer Research & Nanomedicine Laboratory, Director of Tel Aviv University Cancer Biology Research Center, Director of the TAU Kahn 3D BioPrinting Initiative, and holds the Kurt and Herman Lion Chair in Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies. She serves on the Board of Directors of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University, and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery, the Israel Cancer Association, the University of Lisbon, the Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron - Institut de Recerca (VHIR), The Rothschild and Fulbright Fellowships Committees, several VCs, and editorial boards of scientific journals.
Her multidisciplinary research laboratory focuses on basic research elucidating the mechanisms underlying the switch from cancer dormancy leading to the discovery of new molecular targets to interrupt tumor-host interactions. Her approach is followed by the design of highly selective targeting molecules integrating biology, chemistry, medicine, data science, engineering and nanotechnology to selectively guide drugs into pathological sites. Throughout, she has maintained an interest in understanding the biological rationale for the design of nanomedicines suitable for transfer into clinical testing. She has published more than 150 manuscripts, 13 book chapters, edited two books, is named inventor on 60 patents, some of which were licensed to Pharmaceutical and Biotech companies, and has delivered over 500 lectures worldwide. She founded three spin-off companies and is actively engaged in translational research with several industry partners and in science outreach.
Music - Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Lice
#45 - Transdisciplinary curiosity - with Joe Brew from Hyfe
Joe Brew is a data scientist with a background in public health. Joe has worked in infectious disease control surveillance, monitoring, and case-finding in places ranging from Nepal to Mozambique to Florida, USA (where he is from).
He now focuses on building Hyfe, an artificial intelligence company which aims to improve respiratory health, remote patient monitoring, and diagnostics by detecting and quantifying cough from ambient noise.
We talked about transdisciplinary research, science entrepreneurship, dedication and enthusiasm, impact and goals. Don't miss this!
Hyfe - Hyfe Cough Tracker | Stay on top of your health by tracking your cough (hyfeapp.com)
Music credits:
Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#44 - Science founder - Gil Blander from InsideTracker
Dr. Gil Blander is internationally recognized for his research in the basic biology of aging and translating research discoveries into new ways of detecting and preventing age-related conditions. He leads a team of biology, nutrition & exercise physiology experts, and data scientists at InsideTracker, and has been featured in CNN Money, The New York Times, Forbes, Financial Times, The Boston Globe to name a few.
Dr. Gil Blander received a Ph.D. in biology from the Weizmann Institute of Science and completed his Post Doctoral fellowship at MIT, before going on to found InsideTracker. InsideTracker was founded in 2009 by top scientists from acclaimed universities in the fields of aging, genetics, and biology, InsideTracker is a truly personalized nutrition and performance system. Our mission is to help people add years to their lives and life to their years by optimizing their bodies from the inside out. By analyzing your body’s data, we can give you a crystal clear picture of what's going on inside you along with a science-backed action plan for improving your health and becoming your best self.
We talked about how he founded InsideTracker, who helped him along the way, how to innovate, why he founded ScienceAbroad and much more.
InsideTracker - Optimize wellness and performance through blood tests, nutrition and science. (insidetracker.com)
Music credits:
Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#43 - Building cloud storage solutions - with Or Ordentlich and Omri Palmon from Weka.io
Or Ordentlich, PhD is an associate professor at the School of Computer Science and Engineering in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is also an Algorithms Architect at Weka.io. His research is mostly focused on information theory, and its applications to modern problems in communication, compression and data science. Omri Palmon, PhD is the founder and COO of Weka.io, with a PhD in computer science from Stanford.
We talked about innovation, product development, the difference between solving problems for research and product development and so much more!
Want to continue the conversation? Join our mAcademia Group on facebook. Music credits: Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#42 - AI technology is changing pathology for precision oncology - with Ori Zelichov from Nucleai
We talked about product development, the company evolution to match market needs, the 'mom' dilemma and so much more.
Want to continue the conversation? Join our mAcademia Group on facebook.
Music credits: Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#41 - Business development in health care - with Yuile Klerman
Yulie Klerman solves puzzles of the complex healthcare ecosystem, helping health tech companies crystalize product/market fit and develop a go-to-market strategy for their innovative solutions. Yulie is a VP of Business Development at Rhino Health, an end-to-end Federated Learning and Privacy Preservation platform facilitating privacy-centric data collaboration. In her previous role, she launched a Health Data Connectivity Platform for the safe and effective incorporation of health, consumer, and digital data at Liveramp. Yulie is obsessed with data democratization, interoperability, and privacy.
We talked about how to develop a career starting with a science degree and get proficient in business, how to start in one country and move to a different one, how to start in one area and move to a different one. We talked about passion, curiosity and passion to what you do.
Want to continue the conversation? Join our mAcademia Group on facebook.
Music:
Music credits: Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#40 - Research in engineering and engineering a product - Gavi Feuer is creating medical devices
Gavi Feuer’s life pursuit is to incorporate new and developing technologies into medical devices. As Engineering Director and Co-founder of Rafael Medical Devices, he takes surgical procedures to the next level in order to improve safety, efficacy, cost, and efficiency.
After receiving his Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from Cooper Union, Gavi earned his Ph.D. from SUNY Downstate studying bone tissue and the human skeleton as mechanical systems.
With his knowledge in both engineering and biomechanical systems, he spent the next years in the orthopedic device industry, first working with Monogram Orthopedics, a startup focused on surgical robotics and additively manufactured implants, then AM Surgical, a manufacturer of endoscopic surgical equipment. He currently leads engineering and product development efforts at Rafael Medical Devices, a new venture in the surgical device industry.
Music:
Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#39 Plant science in academia and industry - with Assaf Zemach
Dr. Assaf Zemach spent seven years as a professor at Tel Aviv university before he moved back to the US and joined Rinati skin as Head of Metabolic Engineering. We talked about Assaf's career as both a PI and scientist in industry, about the difficult task of navigating two careers and raising children abroad, about the differences and similarities of leading research in academia and industry, and much more.
Music credits: Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#38 A focus on IP - with Rachel Diamant from Emendo Bio
Rachel Diamant co-founded Emendo Biotherapeutics in 2016 with a group of friends. Emendo is a next generation gene editing company developing genetic medicines for severe genetic diseases. Rachel completed biotech engineering studies from the Technion (Israel) in 2000 and MSc in Neuroscience from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2004. She is a serial entrepreneur in biotech and has been working in the field of IP strategy for over a decade.
We talked about the role IP has in building a company and how it can be used to develop interesting products. We talked about the culture at Emendo and how career development based on skills can be extended throughout the years.
Music:
Music credits: Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#37 - Prof. Karen Avraham on (tenure) track
Prof. Karen B. Avraham, professor at the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine and Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University in Israel. She and her team lead the effort in the discovery of disease genes and the use of models for therapy, with an emphasis on precision medicine. Her laboratory of neural and sensory genomics focuses on deafness and developmental epileptic encephalopathies.
Karen takes great pride in the 135 undergraduate, MSc, PhD, MD-PhD students and post-docs she has mentored, both from Israel and abroad, and 60 junior faculty she has helped recruit to the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University. She also works as a coordinator in research efforts for neurological diseases, as co-director of the Aufzien Family Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease and of the Taube-Koret Global Collaboration in Neurodegenerative Diseases. She founded and directs the Biomed@TAU Research Hubs, whose mission is to gather together scientists and foster collaboration from across Tel Aviv University and affiliated hospitals who share overlapping research interests (https://en-biomed.tau.ac.il/)
Music:
Music credits: Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#36 - A scientist enabling impact and innovation - with Dov Shamir
Dov is the Senior Manager of Entrepreneurship at Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP), the commercialization office of the Mount Sinai Health System. He leads MSIP’s newly established Elementa Labs, an incubator program that strategically positions external health care and biotechnology startup companies for the next stage in their development.
As an experienced scientist and entrepreneur, Dov supports founders by providing mentorship and guidance to develop their platforms and helps position their companies to the ecosystem for future growth and success.
The thoughts and opinions expressed in this episode reflect those of the speaker, and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Mount Sinai Health System.
Music credits:
Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#35 Ohad Manor - Keeps growing
Ohad was trained as a computational scientist and is grateful to be able to apply these skills to improve patients' lives and outcomes. He lives in Seattle with his wife and two kids. Ohad is the Head of Computational Biology and Data Science at Century Tx and a Scientific Advisor for Drop Bio. When he's not working or thinking about science and data, he likes to spend time with his family enjoying what Seattle and the PNW has to offer, or zone out with some yoga or rock climbing for a mind-body workout.
Home | Century Therapeutics (centurytx.com)
(26) Ohad Manor, PhD | LinkedIn
Music credit:
Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#34 Translating scientific thinking and biochem 101 with Daniel Fried
Dr. Fried has created a unique initiative to bring high-level science to kids, especially those in elementary school. The program, called Biochemistry Literacy for Kids, uses molecular modeling tools and a unique philosophy of teaching to exceed typical expectations for learning. Elementary school students in the program learn in-depth about topics like protein folding and organic chemistry mechanisms. Several schools around the US have begun using the curriculum as a part of their standard courses, including elementary, junior high, and high schools. Around 500 homeschool families from around the world also use the curriculum as a part of their studies.
We talked about his journey to established this platform, the challenges and pitfalls as well as the strengths and promises. Thinking about making a project come true? This episode is for you!
Daniel Fried is an assistant professor of chemistry at Saint Peter's University in Jersey City. Dr. Fried grew up in New York's Hudson valley and attended SUNY Binghamton. In 2011, he completed a Ph.D. in Chemistry at Yale University in the laboratory of Alanna Schepartz. He then worked as a postdoc at the Weizmann Institute of Science in the laboratory of Ed Bayer.
Website: https://biochemistryliteracyforkids.com/
Music credit:
Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Rebroadcast #14 - Joanne Kamens
Summertime ... a short break this week, and we had decided to bring you a rebroadcast of one of our favorite episodes - Joanne Kamens, PhD, former CEO of Addgene, and an experienced researcher and leader in biotech and pharma.
Take the time to re-listen and rethink the point Joanne make all through the interview
Enjoy
#33 - Mental performance with Gily Meir
To continue the conversation , please join our group on facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/macademiacast
Please rate and review our podcast on the different podcast to support this effort.
Episode music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#32 - Katie Langin is communicating Science Careers
Katie Langin, PhD, is the associate editor for the Careers section of Science. Her professional roots are in academia, as she holds a Ph.D. in ecology and spent years as a grad student and postdoc, studying the ecology and evolution of birds. Her first taste of journalism was at National Geographic, where she joined the daily news team as an AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellow—an experience that widened her view of possible career options in front of her. She served as a news intern at Science before joining the Careers news team as a staff reporter and editor in 2018. She’s based in Fort Collins, Colorado and enjoying a career that taps into her interests, values and goals.
Katie Langin | Science | AAAS (sciencemag.org): https://www.sciencemag.org/author/katie-langin Personal website -
https://www.katielangin.com/ Science Careers - https://www.sciencemag.org/careers
Katie mentioned:
https://www.aaas.org/programs/mass-media-fellowship
https://www.npr.org/2017/08/24/537735624/friends-of-joes-big-idea-fojbis
To continue the conversation , please join our group on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/macademiacast
Please rate and review our podcast on the different podcast to support this effort.
Episode music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#31 - Job positions in Biotech - an overview with Elina Lavit
Elina gives a panoramic view on career trajectories in the pharma and biotech industries. We focus on possible entry level positions and how to develop your career.
Elina is an experienced biomed Leader with 17+ years of increasing responsibility and accountability in strategic roles. Elina worked in various therapeutic areas and has experience in Pharmaceutical development from research to global commercialization; Digital Health, Diagnostics, project and product manager - and more!
To continue the conversation , please join our group on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/macademiacast
Episode music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#30 - The scientist-entrepreneur-investor - Omri Amirav-Drory is looking for magic
Omri had a successful Ph.D. in biochemistry at Tel-Aviv University, followed by ... naturally ... a postdoc. During his postdoc in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Stanford University school of medicine, he realized, ACADEMIA IS NOT FOR ME. He followed this lead, founded a company in the realm of tech-bio, sold a company, and hadn't stopped getting involved and leading idea-into-success stories on the investment side. Omri believes in the Scientist - CEO / Scientist - Entrepreneur, and as an investor supports researchers in bringing academia's magic to market.
Omri Amirav-Drory is a venture partner at NFX Bio. Omri founded Genome Compiler, which developed software for genetic engineers and molecular and synthetic biologists, and led it to a successful acquisition by Twist Bioscience. Currently, he is the head of NFX Bio, a fund dedicated to Scientist-Founders that supports them in learning how to be entrepreneurs, focusing on innovation in healing, feeding and providing for people.
The fund: https://www.nfx.com/bio/
Episode music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#29 Designing a career path - Adi Lavi is leveraging opportunities
Dr. Adi Lavi is a bioinformatics and fermentation scientist that decided to explore a career path in biotech, San Francisco. Adi shared how to find a job quickly using LinkedIn, how he builds his career trajectory, what helped him being prepared to make his company transitions and his take on training in academia towards being a PI or industry, ohh ... and he had done this during a global pandemic.
Join our mAcademia Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/macademiacast
Share your thoughts with us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mAcademiaP
Episode music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#28 Special ONE year anniversary - your questions with Estherina Trachtenberg
In this special one year anniversary episode, Estherina Trachtenberg is learning more about Ofer and Lena, mAcademia podcast hosts! Join this fun conversation about the podcast, science and careers.
Join our mAcademia Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/macademiacast
Share your thoughts with us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mAcademiaP
Episode music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#27 Scientific freedom and independence - Sahar Gelfman
#26 Two passions, one life-time - Christian Tidona is driving innovation with the BioMed X institute
Dr. Christian Tidona is a biotech entrepreneur, an angel investor, and the founder of BioMed X Institute in Heidelberg, Germany. He is also a molecular biologist, educated in the academic hallways like many of us. When he found out he is passionate about both science and entrepreneurship to the same extent, he started a lifelong journey of carving out career paths that drive innovation. He founded the BioMed X Institute - where academic talent and the needs of the pharma industry meet, thrive, and create scientific discoveries that drive applied innovation. Christian's story is one of not settling with the dealt cards, but rather bringing forward a new, innovative deck of cards and changing the rules of the game.
BioMed X website BioMed X Institute
Christian Tidona on Twitter (21) Christian Tidona (@tidona) / Twitter
BioMed X on Twitter (21) BioMed X Institute (@BioMed_X) / Twitter
Episode music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#25 Now you see it now you don't - Dr. Elisabeth Bik is spotting scientific image manipulations
Dr. Elisabeth Bik is an independent Science Integrity Consultant. She is also an image sleuth, investigating independently into image manipulations in scientific publications and publically publishing her findings. Dr. Bik is a microbiologist that worked in the public sector in the Netherlands, was a research associate at Stanford University, and as a scientific editorial director at uBiome, a microbiome startup before opening her consultancy.
We touched base on her transition from academia to industry and what it means to be an independent, self-employed, consultant in the world of science. We talked about keeping scientific integrity and values, challenges in academia, and how to keep an eye for misconduct.
Elisabeth's Twitter account (highly recommended) - Elisabeth Bik (@MicrobiomDigest)
Science Integrity Digest blog - Science Integrity Digest – A blog about science integrity, by Elisabeth Bik, for Harbers-Bik LLC. Support my work at Patreon.com/elisabethbik
Episode music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#24 Bonus LIVE episode - Amir Nakar, can academics network online too?
Amir is an interdisciplinary scientist, doing his PhD at the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology in Jena, Germany. His work on using spectroscopy to diagnose drug-resistant bacteria brings together biology, chemistry, engineering, and computer science.
We talked with Amir about the critical role online networking has in career development. We shared stories of connections through networking that led to some exciting opportunities, gave tips for efficient networking on LinkedIn and other platforms, and generally just had a very fun chat.
You can reach out to Amir on LinkedIn or Twitter:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nakar_a
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amir-nakar/
Episode music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#23 NASA postdoc - Linda Rubinstein is doing science out of this world
NASA Postdoctoral Program Opportunities: npp.usra.edu/opportunities/
Episode music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod
Link: incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama
License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#22 “What is the physiological relevance?" - Oded Rechavi on academia and outreach
Prof. Oded Rechavi, professor at the Department of Neurobiology at Tel Aviv University. His lab challenges basic dogmas regarding inheritance and evolution, using simple powerful genetic model organisms.
Oded is very active over social media, mostly Twitter, and brings the new media twist towards communicating science and the life of a scientist. Among other things, he organized the first Twitter scientific conference "WOODSTOCK.BIO" He brings great fresh views on the new era of social communication and its integration and value to academics.
He is the recipient of many breakthroughs and prestigious awards including the first BLAVATNIK AWARDS FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS in Israel and he is the first laureate of the Schmidt Futures $2.5M award, which is awarded to exceptional people and helps them achieve more for others by applying advanced science and technology thoughtfully and by working together across fields.
Oded's lab website https://www.odedrechavilab.com/
Oded Twitter: Oded Rechavi 🦉 (@OdedRechavi)
Music by: Funkorama Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#21 What to do when you are passionate about fermentation - Tal Zeltzer
Tal has a Ph.D. in Biotech and Food engineering, but that is only part of a long story that landed her as Phytolon co-founder and acting CTO. Tal brings a fresh look at career planning for a scientific track, where she had asked herself all the required questions, drew a path to fit her answer, and walked it with pride.
At Phytolon she brings all her savvy scientific thinking and desire for execution and plays a critical role in the company's growth.
Phytolon utilizes current scientific advancements to bring biotechnology-based, natural, high-quality food-colorants to the market in a cost-effective manner for the benefit of better human health and environmental sustainability. The company was founded in 2018 as a startup leveraging a proprietary, fermentation-based technology for the production of plant-based food colors.
Episode music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#20 Anat Bohme-Cagan - Policy making in the service of the public
Anat Bohme-Cagan finished her Ph.D. in neuroscience at Tel Aviv University. Yet, even though she is very passionate about science, she realized an academic path is not for her. An ad on the radio, yes, radio, brought her to a new path towards the Israeli ministry of health. She is now a multidisciplinary policymaker in the field of medical technologies and regulation at the Israeli ministry of health and an avid advocate for collaborative multifaceted work. Do Ph.D.s have what it takes to make it in policy? You bet ya!
We mentioned:
- Tzoarim program - https://govextra.gov.il/civil-service-commission/tzoarim/Home
- Mimshak, a program for PhDs in the Israeli government - https://www.mimshak.org.il/
Join the discussion at our "mAcademia Group" on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @mAcademia.
Episode music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#19 To give a proper advice and consult is a science done by Kim Staats
With an extensive scientific background in neurodegeneration, and especially in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Kim is driven to move safe and effective therapies to people with ALS or with other rare diseases across the globe. After two postdocs in academia, Kim set out to provide science consultancy to biotech, academia, and patient organizations. In addition, as a career coach, she feels strongly about inspiring and empowering academic scientists to obtain the careers that they want, either within or beyond academia.
Kim has worked on a short film about ALS called The First Color: https://www.instagram.com/the_first_color_movie/
Kim is in the midst of setting up an online platform for (academic) career development: http://kimu.info/
More updates about this platform are to follow!
Episode music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
*Extra sounds provided by baby Emmanuelle Sophia, sorry for the interference!
#18 Orly Levitan is keeping in touch with both worlds
Orly Levitan is the Chief Scientific of a cool startup called HyGIeacare Inc. While being in charge of the growing company's scientific program, she maintained her affiliation with Rutgers University. Post leaving her full-time research professor appointment with the university, she also co-created the curriculum and course work of the Project Management Consortium (PMC) of the Cheeky Scientist Association (CSA). In this episode, we talk about her transition to industry, keeping in touch with where you scientifically “came from”, and her love for teaching and mentoring.
Hygieacare - https://hygieacare.com/for-physicians/publications/
CSA in general - https://cheekyscientist.com/,
CSA Project Management (PMC) program - https://cheekyscientist.com/career-programs/project-management-consortium/
Photo credit - Tess Scheflan https://tess-scheflan.squarespace.com/
Music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#17 Building innovation - Maria Blekher
www.yu.edu/innovation-lab
Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#16 A story of perseverance - Natalie Yivgi-Ohana is changing the world of mitochondrial disease.
Natalie Yivgi-Ohana, PhD, started a postdoc in Canada, yet decided to come back after just two and a half months, realizing it is not working for her and her family. For some, this could be the end of their scientific careers, but not for Natalie. After a short postdoc at Weizmann Institute, Natalie thought of an ingenious idea that changed her life and has the potential to save many children around the world. In this episode she shares her story, the story of Minovia.
EPISODE IS IN ENGLISH
Episode music: "Dream Catcher", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#15 "Tinder" for scientists - Beatrice Zatroska introducing great minds, one to another
Beatrice brings her worldwide experience in business and getting great technology into the real world by creating applications. Her current mission is to make great minds interact, get to know each other, and eventually work together.
SmartTribe, her latest venture, enables networking between individuals in academia and industry, building their mutual networks that empower scientists.
Some useful links:
https://smarttribe.io/community/ https://smarttribe.io/category/from-scientist-to-executive/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5kZtSwLWks#action=share
Episode Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#14 In the service of science and scientists - Joanne Kamens running a non-profit
Joanne Kamens runs every molecular biologist's favorite non-profit organization, Addgene. They distribute 90,657 plasmids on behalf of 4,366 labs from around the world and to more than 100 countries. Joanne made the journey from an academic research training, through long years of applying her skills in the biotech industry, and now running a non-profit aimed at making research and discovery more streamlined. She shares excellent insights on MUST DO step in the career planning phase of young PhDs and postdocs, shares here views on both the academic and non-academic worlds.
Aside from the audio interview, Joanne had created a lot of additional content in order to empower career planning with young scientists, all in the links below
https://info.addgene.org/career-topic-page
Joanne is also a mentor in many aspects to young and even more established scientists. Links to blogs on Mentoring Group Curricula
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-should-we-talk-7-months-good-mentoring-joanne-kamens-phd
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/kicking-off-conversation-more-resources-mentoring-joanne-kamens-phd
In the realm of social activism, Joanne tackles ED&I and help an organization implement proper policies
https://www.labmanager.com/business-management/achieving-equity-for-women-in-stem-23135
https://scismic.com/blog/breaking-the-cycle-of-inequity
https://crosstalk.cell.com/blog/what-makes-work-great https://youtu.be/MjAPwu6GJAo Gender in Science, Science in Gender
Episode Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#13 Welcome to season 2
Just before releasing some of our newest interviews, Lena and Ofer share what they had learned thus far and where they want to expand in the upcoming season of mAcademia. We are excited to bring new stories, new bridges being formed, and great insights to career planning for the academic researcher. Enjoy :-) Episode music - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#12 Translate this ... research done to impact - Dvir Aran
Dvir went against the mainstream route of academia and choose a postdoc that had opened him up towards truly "translational research". From a postdoc under a world-leading figure in this emerging concept to leading a data science research team in one of the largest medical insurance companies in the US, and from there to lead a new lab at the Technion in Israel. Dvir shares his view that a researcher's career path is not choosing between two sides of the coin, you could, and maybe should, experience both.
For the Aran lab @ Technion website - https://aran-lab.com/
For the Atul Butte lab @ UCSF https://buttelab.ucsf.edu/
THE EPISODE IS IN ENGLISH
Episode music: "Dream Catcher", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#11 From hard core science to hi tech lead - Yoni Bhonker researched success
Yoni Bhonker was a talented PhD student, and as one, he asked important questions, about his work at lab of course, but moreover, about his career path. Yoni took his acquired skill school from a PhD in human genetics, all the way into tech and acts as a product manager at Contentsquare ... yes he is in tech. We got to go with Yoni through his course of decision making and more important his course of pursuing his career ambitions. Yoni had given us a glimpse at to a long reach transition from life science in academia to software in Hi-Tech private sector. get your notebooks out cause Yoni will provide many tips and pointers to start your career quest.
EPISODE IS IN ENGLISH
Episode music: "Dream Catcher", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#10 (Hebrew) From behind the bench to in front of a classroom - Yair Pozniak teaches with passion
Being a good scientist isn't enough to cut it as a good teacher, in order to stand in front of a classroom of teenagers you need to WANT to be there with everything you got. Yair Pozniak took the leap from benchtop to teaching a high school science class. He had shared with us the internal dilemmas he faced early on, how he sought advice, devised a plan, and acted upon it on the course of several years. Warning, you would either want to go back to high school or go teach after hearing Yair's passion for this.
Yair website www.ypscience.com
Tzachi Bar's blog http://www.haayal.co.il/story_3290?fbclid=IwAR3YMiw420pBYQXa8H5APeecAXxpCVJDVnStFcuaacNGQE8hZx7YsflPw4M
EPISODE IS IN HEBREW
Episode music: "Dream Catcher", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#9 (Hebrew) Ben Gurion university of the Negev is leading a Change - Prof. Dan Blumberg
EPISODE IS IN HEBREW
* We had some sound issues so the volume is a bit low, bear with us you won't regret it *
Episode music: "Dream Catcher", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#8 Making impact through making policy - Gabriela Monsalve
Gabriella went through 15 years at the bench with every intention to become a PI in academia. She looked for the impact the coincide with her core values. From being in charge of the MIND course at UCSF, she is now acting as Assistant Dean for Postdoctoral Scholars at UCSF, a world leading biomedical research institute with over 1100 postdocs and many more grad students. How did her PhD prepare her for this career? What is policymaking? and of course how her job affects the training of many many others in academia for both careers in academia, and much more, beyond it.
EPISODE IS IN ENGLISH
https://postdocs.ucsf.edu/leadership
https://mind.ucsf.edu/mind-course-content
Episode music: "Dream Catcher", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#7 From clinical psychologist to product manager to founder - she did it all - Adi Zief-Balteriski, Ph.D.
Adi states that making a positive impact on people’s lives has been her life-long passion. She spent the past few years building products to increase people’s well-being and positive experiences. She has been advising startups in well-being sphere and recently founded her first startup MyKumbaya.
During the episode, we mentioned these:
Adi's start up with Chen Levanon - www.mykumbaya.com
Adi's email for further questions - Adi@mykumbaya.com
Megagon Labs - megagon.ai
Adi recommends following Lenny Rachitsky on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky ; medium.com/@lennysan
Adi also recommends following Nir Eyal and reading his book, 'Hooked': linkedin.com/in/nireyal
Book: www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products-ebook/dp/B00LMGLXTS
EPISODE IS IN ENGLISH
Episode music: "Dream Catcher", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#6 (Hebrew) Taking science into orbit and back - Yair Glick, Ph.D.
Yair had started early on and had a very successful Ph.D. experience. Yair was drawn towards the private sector, translating his scientific skills to industry requirements while enhancing his toolkit along the way. Yair is the Director of Research at SpacePharma. Yes ... Space ... Pharma. Listen in to learn more about the transition and what it is like going to space. 3... 2... 1... lift-off!
EPISODE IS IN HEBREW
Episode music: "Dream Catcher", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#5 Teach them to bake, scientifically - Thomas Teffri‑Chambelland
Thomas Teffri‑Chambelland is a biologist by academic training, a former science teacher, and today one of the world leaders in bread baking. He is bringing new concepts into baking. As a specialist in natural fermentations, he has been putting biology at the service of baking for almost 20 years to try to popularize the biological phenomena at work in the making of bread.
The international school website https://ecoleinternationaledeboulangerie.fr/en/index.php
The school Instagram (be strong) https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/ecoleinternationaledeboulangerie/?hl=es-la
Previous books https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Teffri-Chambelland/e/B07H1JPGXK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
EPISODE IS IN ENGLISH
Episode music: "Dream Catcher", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
#4 (Hebrew) From bench top to being on-top-of-things - Efrat Tal
Efrat Tal, PhD was done with the academia after her PhD in Molceular Human Genetics at Tel-Aviv University at 2018. Since than she expanded her skill set, to become a project manager at ATVIO. She shared her drive to explore the non-academical route and what exactly does a project manager and specifically what they do at ATVIO.
EPISODE IS IN HEBREW
Episode music: "Dream Catcher", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/