Stephanie Culler PhD - Cancer & the Gut Biome - Co-founder of VC-Backed Persephone Microbiome

The loss of two grandmothers to cancer propelled the daughter of an entrepreneurial family, Stephanie Culler, to a Ph.D. at Caltech and eventually to founding Persephone Microbiome. The VC-funded startup seeks to use gut bacteria to increase the success of cancer therapies. Persephone is also launching a probiotic for infants. Fascinating chat with a brilliant and articulate scientific founder. Highlights: ·       Sal Daher Introduces Stephanie Culler, Ph.D. Co-Founder of Persephone Microbiome ·       Persephone's Business Model Is to Partner with Big Pharma to Develop Products Based on Its Platform ·       A Probiotic for Babies and Infants Is Coming in Early 2024 ·       Results from the Largest Study in the US of Infant Gut Microbiome Were Unsettling ·       Causes of Insufficiencies in the Gut Biome of Babies ·       "Upwards of 80% of cells of our immune system is in our gut." ·       "...if you have a good microbiome, you're much more likely to respond to treatment." ·       "We are wet lab and in silico." ·       How Persephone Got Funded ·       The Importance of Enrolling Populations Previously Under-represented in Studies ·       The Promise of Population-Scale Data Sets ·       Scanning Large Patient Populations Unencumbered by Animal Studies ·       Why You Should Help This Podcast Get Found ·       Stephanie Culler, Ph.D.'s Entrepreneurial Journey ·       Entrepreneurial Family that Lost Two Grandmothers to Cancer ·       Sal's Appreciation of Articulate Chemical Engineers Like Stephanie ·       Stephanie's Experience at Y Combinator ·       How Stephanie Culler Connected with Leen Kawas ·       Stephanie's Parting Thoughts on Biotech Winter Topics: biotech, robotics / AI, venture funding, discovering entrepreneurship