🧬 Rabia Khan - Serna Bio: Bridging Science & Tech—PhDs, MBAs, & Biotech Innovation (Part 2/4)

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In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Rabia Khan, founder and CEO of Serna Bio, joins host Jon Chee to reflect on her unconventional journey through academia, business, and biotech innovation. Rabia shares how her curiosity, resilience, and embracing uncertainty shaped her journey through a PhD in genetics and an MBA. She discusses the emotional challenges of working with animal models, the benefits and limits of business school for scientists, and personal struggles, including her father’s illness.

She recounts early setbacks, like rejected consulting jobs, and how a cold email landed her at Meta (now part of Chan Zuckerberg Biohub). Rabia emphasizes “manufacturing serendipity,” differences between founder and employee mindsets, and lessons from her work at BenevolentAI, highlighting the importance of cross-disciplinary communication and challenging industry norms.

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

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PSL162R2s0zOwU5913Zv4

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebiotechstartupspodcast 

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabiatkhan/ 

Website: https://www.serna.bio/ 

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/ 

Website: https://www.excedr.com

Website: https://flow.page/kyojin 

Case in Point (book): https://caseinterview.com/case-in-point

SWOT Analysis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis

CRISPR Technology: https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/CRISPR

iPSC (Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_pluripotent_stem_cell

GWAS (Genome-Wide Association Studies): https://www.nature.com/articles/s43586-021-00056-9

Ensembl: https://www.ensembl.org/index.html 

The concept of the “druggable genome”: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioinformatics/articles/10.3389/fbinf.2022.958378/full

Francis Crick Institute: https://www.crick.ac.uk/

BenevolentAI: https://www.benevolent.com/

Meta (Acquired by Chan Zuckerberg Biohub): https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/23/chan-zuckerberg-initiative-meta/ 

GSK (GlaxoSmithKline): https://www.gsk.com/

Thermo Fisher Scientific: https://www.thermofisher.com/

Sensyne Health: https://www.sensyne.com/

Sam Molyneux: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sammolyneux

Amy Molyneux: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amymolyneux/ 

Jackie Hunter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjackiehunter/ 

00:00 Intro

00:49 Rabia’s PhD Experience and Challenges

06:07 Comparing PhD Systems in Canada vs. UK

08:21 MBA Insights and Frameworks

14:28 Personal Adversity and Career Impact

17:05 Coping with Family Illness and Career Decisions

21:26 First Job at Meta and Serendipity

30:00 Postdoc at Francis Crick Institute

35:10 Joining BenevolentAI and Early Experiences

39:24 Challenges in Drug Discovery and Druggable Genome

43:41 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.