Keeping up with the State-of-the-Art in TechBio
Reflections and Recommendations
“Many today are worried about what the next few years will bring. I’d like to focus tonight instead on hope for the future. Demis has demonstrated the power of AI for solving previously intractable problems, and he and John have used it to solve the protein structure prediction problem. This is having a transformative effect on biological research, and will undoubtedly contribute to the development of new medicines. The protein design methods my colleagues and I have created promise new solutions to outstanding challenges facing humanity in health and sustainability. The wondrous diversity in nature provides inspiration for a whole new world of designed proteins to cure disease, degrade plastics and other pollutants, and help us adjust to a changing climate. The advances celebrated by this year’s chemistry prize I am certain will make the world a better place.”
-David Baker, Nobel Prize Banquet
Director of the Institute of Protein Design, University of Washington School of Medicine
Background
2024 was a big year for TechBio.
The highlight for me was the Nobel Prize in Chemistry being awarded to Demis Hassabis (DeepMind), John Jumper (DeepMind), and David Baker (UW Institute for Protein Design) for their work on protein structure prediction and computational protein design.
There’s a lot to be excited about in TechBio in 2025. Here’s how I’m keeping up with all the developments in the field.
Meetups
Motivation
Late last year, I got more involved with Bits in Bio, a nonprofit focused on building a community for people who operate at the intersection of software and biotech, or what has been more recently referred to as “TechBio.” Texas has a huge health and bio presence, anchored by great university systems and life science campuses (Dell Medical in Austin, UTHealth in Houston, and Pegasus Park in Dallas). I've attended the Health Supernova conferences in Dallas for the last two years and have gone to a few meetups in Austin. My conclusion is that people are less interested in traditional "networking" events where the group dynamics center on founders all trying to get face time with the one or two investors who relish holding court.
That's why I'm working on building a thriving TechBio community in Austin by hosting monthly Bits in Bio meetups which are focused on technical topics. I have no prior experience building or leading a group of any kind, so I have invited collaborators to help with the meetups. To my surprise, I've learned that people are more than willing to co-host meetups and lead technical discussions.
Meetups are also my selfish way of tricking smart people into giving me a crash course in whatever topic they are an expert it.
In general, I think the lack of "third places" and the scourge of social media have burned people out and produced a desire in them to be part of more in-person groups—even for discussions on nerdy topics such as spatial transcriptomics.
Going forward
Topics of Interest
Foundation models for TechBio
Lab Automation
De Novo Protein Design
What can this evolve into?
Repository for learning resources to ease the transition from tech into bio
Angel network
There are organizations in Texas, like Capital Factory, that do a great job, but I find that there’s too much variability in the types of businesses that the founders are building. My hope is that there are more TechBio focused organizations since the problem space is so unique.
Writing
Since Fall 2024, I've been contributing to the Bits in Bio newsletter. This has been a forcing function for keeping up with scientific journals and monitoring regular releases of software packages, tools, and ML models in TechBio. My contributions focus on new software releases that serve as useful TechBio tools. When I come across a new paper presenting an interesting development in TechBio related to AI or software, I provide a summary of its highlights and its practical applications.
If you're interested in staying current with Biotech/TechBio news, check it out here and consider subscribing.
Looking Ahead
An overview of Strategy & Tactics for teaching TechBio concepts
GenAI tools I’m using for mobile app development
More articles in the ‘Coding Cells’ series - a technical overview of foundation models in TechBio and the projects I’m building
Thanks for reading, and leave a comment if you have any feedback. Feel free to share this article with whomever you think would be interested.
Special thanks to Sravya Varanasi for reviewing drafts of this article.
Resources & Recommendations
There aren't enough smart people in biology doing something boring
The Virtual Lab: AI Agents Design New SARS-CoV-2 Nanobodies with Experimental Validation