EP 180: From a consulting project to a biotech start-up with Leeland Ekstrom of Nashville Bio

This week on The Genetics Podcast, Patrick is joined by Leeland Ekstrom, CEO and co-founder of Nashville Bio. They discuss how Leeland went from being a consultant on a project for Vanderbilt University to a co-founder of a start-up and the unique aspects of NashBio’s clinical and genetic database.Show Notes: 0:00 Intro to The Genetics Podcast00:59 Welcome to Leeland and the origin story of Nashville Bio05:13 Process of setting up NashBio’s genome resource with 250K individuals11:52 How different pharmaceutical companies responded to NashBio’s database and its unique advantages compared to others17:50 Key priorities for applications of the resource beyond target discovery20:19 The process of selecting additional gaps that NashBio’s services can fill versus letting others fill them25:02 Advantages at Vanderbilt Medical Center that facilitated the project and how it can be replicated at other centers30:32 Immediate and long-term impacts of current NIH funding cuts on biotech and academia36:43 NashBio’s current major focuses and future goals39:20 Closing remarksFind out moreNashBio (https://nashbio.com/)Press release: Alliance for Genomic Discovery completes 250,000 whole genomes to accelerate drug discovery (https://www.illumina.com/company/news-center/press-releases/press-release-details.html?newsid=b4b0c901-f8a2-4802-a4ef-b81167e24cfe) Please consider rating and reviewing us on your chosen podcast listening platform! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bp2_wVNSzntTs_zuoizU8bX1dvao4jfj/view?usp=share_link