🧬 Rafael Rosengarten - Part 3 | Leveraging AI in Precision Medicine | How Predictive Biomarkers Transform Oncology | Lessons from Scaling a Startup

The Biotech Startups Podcast

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Part 3 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 move to Baylor College of Medicine and Houston’s vibrant medical community
• Innovations in molecular cloning and synthetic biology tools at Baylor
• Bridging biology and AI through collaborations with University of Ljubljana researchers
• Founding Genialis and shifting its focus to predictive biomarker development
• Lessons from biotech pivots that shaped Genialis as a leader in precision oncology

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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:

Baylor College of Medicine: https://www.bcm.edu/

University of Ljubljana: https://www.uni-lj.si/en/university

Genialis: https://www.genialis.com/

Lab Equipment List, Synthetic Biology Research: https://www.excedr.com/blog/lab-equipment-list-for-synthetic-biology-research

How to Bootstrap Your Biotech Startup & Scale: https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-bootstrap-biotech-startup

When & How to Pivot a Biotech Startup: https://www.excedr.com/blog/when-how-to-pivot-a-biotech-startup

Biotech Startup Support Resources: https://www.excedr.com/resources-category/biotech-startup-support

The Role of Machine Learning in Biotech: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/machine-learning-biotech-fundamentals-divya-ramamoorthy-blhte/

Predictive Biomarkers in Oncology: https://oncologypro.esmo.org/education-library/esmo-books/esmo-handbooks/translational-research/predictive-biomarkers

AI and Omics Analysis in Cancer Research: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2020.588221/full

Collaborative Biotech Partnerships: https://www.excedr.com/blog/how-biotech-partnerships-support-research

People Mentioned:

Gad Shaulsky: https://www.bcm.edu/people-search/gad-shaulsky-30425

Adam Kuspa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-kuspa-23bab836/

Blaž Zupan: https://www.bcm.edu/people-search/blaz-zupan-33768

Marinka Zitnik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinkaz/

Miha Štajdohar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mstajdohar/?originalSubdomain=si

Laura Benjamin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-e-benjamin-04299b34/
Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:11 Rafael’s move to Houston and postdoc at Baylor College of Medicine

04:09 Collaborating with mentors and early breakthroughs in molecular cloning

07:01 Joining the Gulf Coast Consortium and blending bench science with computational tools

09:44 Transformative partnership with AI pioneers from the University of Ljubljana

13:30 How early machine learning tools shaped Rafael’s career and perspective

17:04 Founding Genialis and the early challenges of pivoting its focus

19:59 Learning from failures and how they shaped Genialis’ mission

23:21 The role of predictive biomarkers in oncology and their real-world impact

27:59 Lessons learned from biotech pivots and navigating the startup world

31:16 Outro

The Biotech Startups Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so