BIO CONversations

Episode 1

David J. Whelan, the Chief Executive Officer of BioscienceLA sits down with Stephanie Hsieh. Executive Director, Los Angeles - Biocom California at the BIO Convention 2022 in San Diego. They discuss starting their respective roles in the middle of a global pandemic, the growth opportunities for life sciences in the LA region, and how new initiatives like Grow LA Bio are supporting that growth.

Episode 2

David J. Whelan, the Chief Executive Officer of BioscienceLA sits down with Lori Lindburg Senior Vice President, Innovation & Inclusion California Life Sciences, and Stephanie Allen, PhD Director, Innovation Services California Life Sciences at the BIO Convention 2022 in San Diego. They discuss workforce development, entrepreneurship training, and DEI opportunities in life sciences. The upshot: there is a lot more we can do to support the industry’s growth!

Episode 3

David J. Whelan, the Chief Executive Officer of BioscienceLA sits down with Daniela Castanotto, PhD – Director, Strategy, Commercial R&D, Research and Business Development – City of Hope (COH) at the BIO Convention 2022 in San Diego. Not only is COH one of BioscienceLA’s Founding Sponsors, but it is also an NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center with deep research and translational expertise. They discuss cell and gene therapy, biomanufacturing, and new opportunities for strengthening innovation and access in the region.

Episode 4

David J. Whelan, the Chief Executive Officer of BioscienceLA chats with Tomi Alapaattikoski, Co-Founder of Brinter, at the BIO Convention 2022 in San Diego. Brinter, has recently opened up its US offices in Los Angeles. Tomi shares his thoughts on the future of just-in-time bioprinting and why LA is the best place to grow biotech companies. Shout-out to our shared MBA alma mater UCLA Anderson School!

Episode 5

David J. Whelan, the Chief Executive Officer of BioscienceLA chats with Rohit Shukla, Larta Institute Founder & CEO and BioscienceLA Board Member. Dave & Rohit have been collaborating to inspire and lead innovation in the LA life sciences ecosystem for years, so every conversation is a continued dialogue on the work that they and their communities have been doing. At #BIO2022, they discussed their work together on Heal.LA, iHub2, GrowLABio, and LA28 initiatives, along with what makes LA different – especially its diversity of population, industries, and technologies.

Episode 6

David J. Whelan, the Chief Executive Officer of BioscienceLA sits down with Jake Hostetler, Head of Business Development for Korea-based BIOGRAPHENE, which is pioneering graphene-based nano-medicines. The two Pennsylvania natives talk about why LA is a great environment for a flow of people, ideas, and capital to grow life sciences companies, especially between SoCal and Asia.

Episode 7

David J. Whelan, the Chief Executive Officer of BioscienceLA sits down with Jim Cooper, Co-Founder & Chief Science Officer of Braid Theory, one of the most innovative, creative, and scrappy biotech synthetic biology programs in the LA region. They discuss opportunities for ocean biology, climate innovation, biomanufacturing, and maritime digital health – and that’s just in the first few minutes!