🧬 eMalick Njie, Ph.D - Ecotone - Part 3 | Founding an AI-Powered Biotech | Overcoming Challenges & Personal Sacrifices | Importance of Team Alignment | Combining AI, Genetics, & Population Studies

The Biotech Startups Podcast

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Part 3 of 4: Jon Chee hosts our latest guest, eMalick Njie, CEO of Ecotone AI, a healthcare company that is using AI to find cures for inherited diseases. eMalick is an experienced scientist and entrepreneur who has focused on blending his expertise in neuroscience with his knowledge of AI.

In addition to founding two AI companies, Ecotone and Genetic Intelligence, eMalick received his PhD in Neurobiology and Neuroscience from the University of Florida. His extensive and diverse experience from being a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia university to being the CEO of the AI thinktank NeuroStorm makes our conversation with him one you won’t want to miss.

Join us this week to hear about:

• Founding Genetic Intelligence and its mission to combine AI and genetics
• Challenges of founding a company, personal sacrifices, and breakthroughs leading to NSF recognition
• How company culture and leadership shifts led eMalick to leave Genetic Intelligence
• The importance of building teams aligned with the original vision
• Discovering population genetics through AI and the birth of Ecotone

Please enjoy Jon’s conversation with Dr. eMalick Njie!

Subscribe to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-biotech-startups-podcast/id1679591994

Find Our Guest, Barbara Alcaraz Silva, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emalick-njie-ph-d-ab82348/

https://ecotone.ai/

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee

https://www.excedr.com

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Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:

Genetic Intelligence (now Genetic Leap): https://www.genetic-leap.com/

Neurostorm: https://www.linkedin.com/company/neurostorm-inc/

Ecotone AI: https://ecotone.ai/

OpenAI: https://openai.com/

National Science Foundation (NSF): https://www.nsf.gov/

McKinsey & Company: https://www.mckinsey.com/

Columbia University: https://www.columbia.edu/

Andreessen Horowitz: https://a16z.com/

Population Genetics: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/population-genetics/

C. Elegans Research: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20086/

AI’s Impact in Genetic Research: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10856672/

Biotech Startup Support: https://www.excedr.com/resources-category/biotech-startup-support

Understanding Tech Transfer: https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-is-tech-transfer

IP & Patents in Biotech: https://www.excedr.com/resources/intellectual-property-rights-for-biotechs

People Mentioned:

Bertrand Adanve, PhD: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bertrandadanve/

Nathan Clark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-clark-4b850134/

Timestamps:

00:28 Introduction

01:58 Founding Genetic Intelligence

03:23 Early struggles, learning from challenges, and staying lean

08:32 The universal approximator and the role of AI at Genetic Intelligence

11:56 Early adoption of AI and growing momentum

16:30 AI and paradigm shifts

18:00 Scaling and growing a team, and the pitfalls of doing so

28:38 Building culture and hiring for vision

33:38 Launching think-tank Neurostorm and learning from failure

37:09 Transition to independent research

44:11 Discovering population genetics through AI

47:30 The birth of Ecotone and AI transformers

51:54 Outro

The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.