Kitch Wilson

Stem cell modeler of human biology. CEO/cofounder @rosebudbiosci (YC W22). MD/PhD @Duke @Stanford. Ex-Molecular Pathologist. Dad and artist.

[Kitch Wilson @KitchenerWilson]

Exciting news today in melanoma. What steps would be needed to develop a personalized Multiple Myeloma vaccine? Or is it not possible because of biology (immune escape, lack of neoantigens, etc)? Asking for a friend.

[owl @owl_posting]

Why haven't organoids solved all of drug discovery?
(5.8k words, 26 minutes)

here, i try to answer a question that i imagine has been on peoples minds for awhile. first essay of a three part series over organoids, because this subject is complicated

https://t.co/b25zgVlt2M

[Peachy Keenan @KeenanPeachy]

After getting awarded the Medal of Honor, Maverick agreed to run Top Gun, taking Iceman's old job.

But he hates not flying, so he decides to retire and sail around the world with Penny.

But then he learns that pilots are getting replaced by AI piloted drones. After all, every plane shot down in Iran cost a hundred million dollars. Drones are cheaper, expendable, no lengthy training required. Dog fighting is going the way of the calvalry and the cannon ball, anyway.

The Admiral tells Maverick that Top Gun is transitioning to drone pilot training--this will be the last class of recruits. They need him to use the new recruits to train the AI to replace them. They need Maverick to teach the machine everything he knows.

But, in the final battle, the experimental AI drones will fail -- because they aren't human and will never, ever have the need for speed.

Maverick will save the mission and also save Top Gun itself by proving that no machine can replace a human fighter pilot.

He and Penny finally sail around the world -- but he does install an AI captain on the boat so he and Penny can relax. After all, he doesn't know anything about sailing.

THE END

[Kitch Wilson @KitchenerWilson]

@JackChambersGB Every born/raised ex-Santa Barbaran who's moved away from our quiet little paradise is convinced we'll return for good before we die. This gives us peace while out in the big noisy world.

[Biocom @Biocom]

Our member @rosebudbiosci is rethinking how rare disease drugs are discovered by starting where biology is most predictive, in human systems. Learn how their approach to disease modeling is helping generate more relevant data earlier in development by reading the full Member Spotlight: https://t.co/RmKbvKHKRk

#RareDiseaseAwareness

[Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News @GENbio]

iXCells and Rosebud Biosciences Partner on Organoid-Based Rare Disease Models

#Organoids are an important component of translational research, particularly for evaluating #drugtoxicity and tissue-specific responses
@iXCells @rosebudbiosci
#rarediseases
https://t.co/HPKhsnxYtA

[Kitch Wilson @KitchenerWilson]

The combination of stalled SBIR reauthorization at the federal level, and VC resistance to new entrant early stage biotech funding, is a giant clusterf*ck for American healthcare. Full stop.

[Kitch Wilson @KitchenerWilson]

@bryan_johnson @bryan_johnson My company @rosebudbiosci can create mini-Bryan hearts, kidneys, livers, and soon brains from your iPSCs.

[Crémieux @cremieuxrecueil]

Nvidia's market cap now exceeds that of all of big pharma combined.

[Kitch Wilson @KitchenerWilson]

Correct

[alex rubinsteyn @iskander]

I think this was part of the implicit premise of the first incarnation of Hammer Lab at Mount Sinai, about a dozen of us with math/CS backgrounds ditched tech for biomedicine.

And we got humbled hard: most of what we did flopped & techies don't understand experimental design.

[Vijay Ganesh @VGaneshMDPhD]

Excited to report our study in @NEJM on the discovery of deletions in a long noncoding RNA gene 🧬 (𝘊���𝘈𝘚𝘌𝘙𝘙) as the cause of a newly defined human neurodevelopmental disorder 🧠. 🧵1/10 https://t.co/a0V99Xqjaw

[Kitch Wilson @KitchenerWilson]

Cardiovascular disease still #1 killer in the US and yet…..

[Yair Einhorn @yaireinhorn]

6/According to @NatureBiotech’s excellent 📊 we can see that VC funding varies according the different therapeutic areas. While #Cancer still vastly dominates venture capital funding, other areas like #obesity, #neurology, #immunology & #AI can also get oversubscribed rounds $XBI

[Andrew Pannu @andrewpannu]

Gene therapy landscape

Pulled together 42 companies and charted the preclinical and clinical assets of each, segmented by approach and vector

Some takeaways:

[Kitch Wilson @KitchenerWilson]

@dr_alphalyrae Yep, was into abstract art before I was a scientist

[Suleman "Suli" Ali @sulemanali]

I've been blown away by the progress of medicine over the past decade

And one startup doing gene therapy really got my attention

You may be asking "What's gene therapy?"

Gene therapy uses genes to treat diseases

If you've got a genetic disease like Parkinson's, cancer, heart disease, etc., gene therapy can help in correcting it - straight Sci-fi shit

However gene therapy is a fairly recent field, but also fast-growing:
- until 2017 the FDA had approved 2 gene therapies
- in 2022 alone 3 therapies were approved

But that doesn't seem like that many. Why haven't we gotten 100's of gene therapies yet?

Because it can take years or even decades to find cures for certain diseases using traditional methods. And 90% of clinical trials fail, leading to wasted time and resources.

A company called Rosebud Biosciences is seeking to change that

@rosebudbiosci has developed an innovative approach for screening drugs and their effectiveness for children with rare diseases

Children account for 50% of all people with genetic diseases, and only 5% of genetic diseases have approved gene therapies.

Rosebud is seeking to find solutions for the other 95%

And how they do this is mind-blowing

In their lab they use stem cells to grow 1000s of "micro-organs" (mini organs) that have the target gene mutations they want to treat

This allows for testing a large number of therapies across these organs and seeing which ones work, saving a ton of time and money, while also leading to better probability of getting through clinical trials

More gene therapies getting through clinical trials quickly = more diseases that can be treated

Gene therapy as a whole seems to be having a breakthrough moment and I'm excited to see how this space continues to grow!

[Kitch Wilson @KitchenerWilson]

Wow

[The Stanford Daily @StanfordDaily]

BREAKING: STANFORD PRESIDENT MARC TESSIER-LAVIGNE RESIGNS

https://t.co/xoY0y1WqlJ

[Kitch Wilson @KitchenerWilson]

@eperlste Heart and liver organoids so much easier than brain

[Kitch Wilson @KitchenerWilson]

“Fraudulent” vs. the normal messiness of scientific discovery. Stunning if the former proves to be the case here.

[Kitch Wilson @KitchenerWilson]

So incredibly proud of my wife, @PoornimaParam. Those of you who know her personal story since cofounding @tracegenomics, its ups and downs and twists and turns, can appreciate the smarts, courage, and dogged determination that have led to this moment. Well deserved, my love.

[Trace Genomics @tracegenomics]

The Board of Trace Genomics is pleased to announce the promotion of Poornima Parameswaran, Ph.D. to Chief Executive Officer & President. Please join us as we extend our congratulations!
Read the full announcement: https://t.co/uI4EPkgFAq

[Oscar J. Abilez @oscarabilez]

Presenting collaborative work done @StanfordCVI with @firstage5 of @BMENunt, @KitchenerWilson of @rosebudbiosci, and our colleagues during #KSOrganoids23 #KSStemcell23