School of Physics Seminar - Prof. Guna Rajagopal

In the last few decades, we have seen significant investments in biomedical R&D in the public and private sector. This has led to many scientific and technological advances (mainly from academia), such as CRISPR genome editing, genome sequencing and Generative AI etc. that has led to the identification of novel biological modalities and genomic variants that could be translated to new biomarkers of disease and a deeper understanding of disease biology, risk and progression.  Furthermore, the fusion of many engineering disciplines, biology, and medicine, allows using engineering principles to solve problems in biology and medicine, ushering in a new era of technological breakthroughs for sensing and manipulating molecules, cells, tissues, and organs.  We will see new discoveries from the bench that via the biotech industry, translate to the bedside. However, the transition from bench to bedside is long, very costly and there is a very low probability of success. While the high cost is considered the primary driving force in searching for other non-classical approaches to drug development, the recent (current) pandemic has revealed the importance of innovation as the best strategy to meet this challenge. This talk will address some of the challenges and the opportunities they present to venture investment to accelerate innovation in drug R&D, by rethinking our current operating model and meet the tremendous unmet needs of patients.