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

The Biotech Startups Podcast

Content provided by Jon Chee. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Jon Chee or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

4M ago 32:09

MP3•Episode home

🧬 The Biotech Startups Podcast, brought to you by Excedr—empowering life science startups with founder-friendly equipment leasing to fast-track R&D and drive commercialization success.

🔬 Know someone in need of lab equipment? Join Excedr’s referral program: Give your friends $1,000 and earn $1,000 for every qualified referral! 💸

🔗 Get your unique referral link here: refer.excedr.com/ZTHETY.

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

If you enjoy The Biotech Startups Podcast, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with your friends. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-biotech-startups-podcast/id1679591994

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

Excedr Socials & Website

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@excedr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excedr_inc

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcedrInc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excedr

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@excedr

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 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.

150 episodes

#Science #Biology #Business #Jon Chee #Biotech Startups #Biotech #Startup #Excedr #Life Sciences #Entrepreneur #Founders #Culture