Dose of Discovery

Decades of curiosity and determination helped Katalin Karikó turn overlooked research into a technology that changed the course of a pandemic. The mRNA pioneer and Nobel laureate joins Søren and AJ to discuss how she navigated demotion and threats of deportation to find peace and joy in the lab.Kati grew up in Hungary before leaving with her family to start a new life in the US – smuggling money hidden in her daughter’s teddy bear as she left.She faced a language barrier and intense career headwinds

What can cone snail venom teach us about peptides and new medicines?Anne Conibear joins Søren and AJ to explain how small chemical changes can affect protein and peptide behavior in the cell.A lockdown project investigating cone snail venom gave Anne the opportunity to explore how these slow-moving predators use potent peptide toxins to paralyze their prey and how small modifications can make those toxins even more effective.She also discusses how scientists build and study proteins in the lab and

CRISPR pioneer Erik Sontheimer joins hosts Søren and AJ to discuss how curiosity-driven research revealed a powerful genome editing technology.Their conversation looks at the landmark research that revealed how CRISPR could target DNA and the scientific discoveries that have turned it into a revolutionary research tool. Erik looks back at the “Wild West” years of early CRISPR research, the unexpected discoveries that pushed the field forward, and his decision to co-found Intellia Therapeutics.He

It may seem obvious, but not all drugs are manufacturable. Getting an exciting new treatment from the lab to patients is only possible if the molecule or substance itself is scalable.In this episode of Dose of Discovery, hosts Søren and AJ speak to Cheng Yi Chen, chief technology officer at Asymchem, about the chemistry, scaling up, and decision making behind moving a drug from clinical trials to commercial supply.Cheng Yi shares the story of cancer drug adagrasib and the urgent supply challenge he