The Fancy Labcoat Guild welcomes Dr. Louis Metzger. He's a top-tier protein biochemist (just one of his many specialties!) who's got his Ph.D. from Duke, worked on his Postdoc at UCSF, and at Novartis as an investigator. Louis is a real renaissance man, who does everything from running a Biotech thinktank, a consultancy, a mentor at IndieBio, an advisor for numerous scientific companies. He's a writer, a scientist, an entrepreneur, and a profound thinker. Join us for a deep dive into everything from Ph.D. life, to protein biochemistry to some discussions on the ethics of patents.
Louis Metzger believes that the precise engineering of biology will enable a coming revolution in how humans live, work, and interact with our planet. Inspired by his undergraduate research in the computational modeling of protein-small molecule interactions, Louis earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Duke University, where his work lay at the intersection of enzymology, lipid biochemistry, and bacterial membrane biogenesis. He subsequently performed postdoctoral research at UCSF, where he employed protein X-ray crystallography to study enzymes’ structures and functions. Louis then joined Novartis (2012-18), where he developed technologies in protein chemistry and contributing to therapeutic projects in multiple disease areas. In addition to founding and leading an antibacterial discovery team in Novartis's Infectious Diseases Program, Louis served on an outward-facing Novartis search and evaluation task force, a role that sparked his enthusiasm for the San Francisco Bay Area’s vibrant biotechnology ecosystem. From 2018-20, he served as Chief Scientific Officer of Tierra Biosciences, where he helped to build an automated, cell-free “in vitro protein printing” platform. He is Co-Founder and CEO of Deep Views Inc., which advises deep tech companies and their investors through the management and technical consulting. Deep Views helps build transformative new technologies and apply existing science to new business cases in life sciences tools, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.
Louis is an avid student of history and is interested in how societies’ Hallin’s Spheres shift as a result of unforeseen events. He co-leads Biocaptivate, a think-tank/salon, to examine and influence the culture(s) of biological science. He passionately advocates reforming educational methods and structures, especially in the sciences.
Episode Breakdown:
0:00-14:00 Beginnings, Childhood and Scientific Influence
14:00-1:00:14 – The Trials and Tribulations of a Ph.D. (and lots of proteins).
1:00:14- 1:18:18 - What’s a Postdoc and what is “Einstein” in the modern world?
1:18:18- 1:52:40 - Commercialization, Patents, Open Science and The Ethics of Scientific Discovery,
1:52:40-2:06:20 Build your Scientific Utopia!
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This episode is sponsored by Sci Find–the scientific collaboration network (www.scifind.net)