Careers in Discovery

This week on Careers in Discovery, we’re joined by Remi-Martin Laberge, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Arda Therapeutics.

Remi shares his journey from academic research to building companies, the lessons he learned at Unity Biotechnology, and how Arda is using single-cell sequencing and targeted antibodies to eliminate disease-driving cells in chronic conditions.

We talked about the leap from scientist to founder, apply...

In this episode of Careers in Discovery, we’re joined by Markus Gruell, Senior Vice President of Corporate Quality at Autolus, one of the UK’s leading CAR-T therapy pioneers.

Markus takes us behind the scenes of Autolus’ journey from a UCL spinout to a commercial-stage Biopharma company, offering a rare look at how quality underpins every part of the drug development lifecycle. From working across GMP and GCP to collaborating with ...

Our guest this week, Lara Campana is SVP of Research & Translational Science and a co-founder of Resolution Therapeutics, a company developing regenerative macrophage therapies for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. In this episode of Careers in Discovery, Lara shares her journey from medical Biotechnology student in Milan to Biotech executive in the UK, and why she’s been fascinated by macrophages ever since a single line in...

After nearly two decades at GSK, Pascal Lestrate took a leap into Biotech, joining Vicebio as Chief Preclinical Science Officer. In this episode of Careers in Discovery, Pascal shares how the shift from big pharma to early-stage Biotech gave him a chance to return to hands-on science - and start with a blank page.

We explore the pioneering work Vicebio is doing on multi-pathogen respiratory vaccines using molecular clamp technology...

From New Delhi to Kentucky to Biotech founder, Lalit Sharma’s journey into drug discovery has been one of relentless learning and ambition.

In this episode, Lalit shares how his love for chemistry led him from a PhD in organic synthesis to leading cutting-edge drug discovery programs that reached clinical trials. Now the founder and CEO of a stealth-mode company tackling the data gap in AI-driven drug design, he reflects on the les...

In this episode of Careers in Discovery, we’re joined by Jelena Aleksic, a serial entrepreneur, business coach, and director at SparkBio.

Jelena shares her fascinating journey from genetics researcher to founder and start-up builder, including the lessons she learned from creating seven businesses across life sciences, tech, and even live entertainment. She opens up about her transition from academia to entrepreneurship, the import...

After nearly two decades in big pharma, Lars van der Veen made the leap to entrepreneurship, co-founding iOnctura, a clinical-stage Biotech developing low-disruption therapies that target the tumour-stroma crosstalk to improve patient outcomes in cancer.

In this episode of Careers in Discovery, Lars shares his journey from medicinal chemist to Biotech CSO, the lessons he learned building a company from scratch, and why taking the l...

In this episode of Careers in Discovery, Emma is joined by Juozas Gordevicius, founder of VUGENE, a bioinformatics company making complex multi-omics data analysis accessible to scientists across academia and industry.

Juozas joined us to talk about his unconventional journey from computer science into the world of life sciences, how a chance meeting with an epigenetics professor changed his career path, and the story behind foundi...

In this episode of Careers in Discovery, we’re joined by Mirko Buchholz, Co-founder and Managing Director at PerioTrap Pharmaceuticals, a Biotech company on a mission to revolutionize oral health by tackling one of the most widespread and underestimated diseases in the world - periodontitis.

Mirko shares how a passion for chemistry and biology sparked his journey into drug discovery, and how his training in pharmacy gave him the un...

In this episode of Careers in Discovery, Tom meets with Annelise Vuidepot, Chief Technology Officer and UK Site Head at Immunocore, one of the UK’s most successful Biotech companies.

Annelise was there on day one in 2000, when Immunocore spun out from Oxford University, and she’s been at the heart of the company’s pioneering work in T-cell receptor-based therapies ever since. She shares her story of building a new technology from s...

In this episode of Careers in Discovery, Emma is joined by Robert Fletcher, co-founder and CEO of Nanolyx, a company developing sustainable antimicrobial technologies that could help solve one of the world’s biggest challenges: antimicrobial resistance.

Robert shares his unconventional path into Biotech - from working every entry-level job under the sun to returning to school in his thirties to study Biochemistry. Now leading a sta...

In this episode of Careers in Discovery, we’re joined by Søren Bregenholt, CEO of Alligator Bioscience, a company developing tumour-directed immunotherapies to treat aggressive cancers such as pancreatic cancer.

Søren shares his journey from academic immunologist to biotech CEO, including pivotal moments in his career - from his experiences at the Pasteur Institute, to building his Biotech education at Symphogen, to navigating the ...

In this episode of Careers in Discovery, Emma meets with Chelsea Trengrove, CEO & co-founder of Neoclease, a start-up pioneering AI-designed, gene-specific editors that aim to overcome the safety, specificity, and scalability challenges of CRISPR-based therapies.

Chelsea shares how her lifelong fascination with the brain and a PhD in neuroscience evolved into a career at the intersection of deep tech, healthcare, and entreprene...

From a childhood hospital bed to the founding of her own Biotech company, Ulrika Norin’s journey into drug discovery has been anything but conventional. In this episode of Careers in Discovery, we speak with the founder and CEO of Serendo Therapeutics about her mission to transform treatment for autoimmune disease - starting with a breakthrough she made during her PhD.

Ulrika shares how a long-standing fascination with the immune s...

What happens when a scientist trained in immunology finds herself leading biology at a cutting-edge mRNA Biotech? In this episode of Careers in Discovery, we sit down with Manuela Zonca, VP of Biology at NeoVac, to find out.

Manuela shares her fascinating career journey across Europe - from academia in Spain and France to Biotech leadership in the UK - and the lessons she’s learned along the way. She talks about the importance of f...

In this episode of Careers in Discovery, we’re joined by Jostein Dahle, Chief Technology Officer at Blue Wave Therapeutics.

Jostein has spent over two decades in radionuclide therapy, taking discoveries from the lab to patients. Now, he's developing a new treatment for glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive and challenging brain cancers, using targeted radionuclide therapy derived from Norwegian seaweed.

We talk about his journey...

This week on Careers in Discovery, we’re joined by Karin Conde-Knape, Senior Vice President of Global Drug Discovery at Novo Nordisk.

Karin’s career has taken her from a PhD in cardiovascular science to leadership roles in big pharma, business development, and drug discovery. Now, she oversees early-stage research, external innovation, and portfolio strategy at one of the world’s most successful pharmaceutical companies.

We discuss...

This week on Careers in Discovery, we welcome back Dave Hallett, now Chief Scientific Officer at Recursion, following the recent merger with Exscientia.

The last five years have been transformative for Dave, from leading AI-driven drug discovery at Exscientia to navigating one of Biotech’s biggest IPOs and stepping into the CEO role in a challenging market. Now, he’s focused on proving that AI-designed medicines can deliver real im...

This week on Careers in Discovery, Emma sits down with Mikko Turunen, founder and CSO of RNatives, a company pioneering RNA activation for therapeutic use.

Mikko’s journey has taken him from academia to Biotech entrepreneurship, with more than 25 years in gene therapy. He shares the story behind RNatives, the challenges of launching a company in a tough funding climate, and the resilience required to keep going when setbacks arise.