Ayesda Bio The Podcast: Scientific Innovation and Market Insights

Marine Fretel, Volker Balk
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  • Life Sciences

Demystifying life sciences, healthcare and market research, one episode at a time.

Episodes

  1. 4d ago

    The Special: HG Tokyo Team - Gold Medal Winners of the IGEM Competition 2025

    Listen to the amazing story of the HG Tokyo Team... How a group of Japanese secondary school students, with no prior knowledge of synthetic biology, managed to use the Jabara fruit to develop a solution to tackle hay fever and went on to win a gold medal at the prestigious IGEM 2025 competition. And if their scientific achievement is not impressive enough, discover how they also designed an eco-friendly device to administer their product. Oh... and if scientific and environmental considerations are still not enough to convince you, they also incorporated strong social values into their project by involving a small region of Japan and helping put it in the spotlight. As the new edition of the IGEM competition gets underway, take a moment to reflect on the inspiring and humbling journey of the HG Tokyo Team. Be ready to be impressed! With interviews from:  Linna Sato (Team Leader), Rikuto Egawa (Team Leader), Ryota Kamikura (Team Leader), Jacky Man Leuk Yuen (Academic Consultant). Read the whole story: https://2025.igem.wiki/hg-tokyo/team  Interview & Technical Production: Marine Fretel  Voice Over: Marcus Knapp.  Get in touch if you want to connect with our guests and contributors: podcast@ayesdabio.com  For more information, visit the Ayesda Bio website

    15 min
  2. The Human Behind the Data & West Asia's Digital Healthcare Boom

    Feb 25

    The Human Behind the Data & West Asia's Digital Healthcare Boom

    The Human Behind the Data & West Asia's Digital Healthcare Boom Ever wondered what it takes to recruit rare medical specialists for cutting-edge research or how infection prevention transformed after COVID-19? In this episode of Ayesda Bio: The Podcast, we take you behind the scenes of global healthcare research and patient safety. Marella Fernandes, Senior Project Manager at Ayesda Bio, reveals the art of life sciences research recruitment. Discover why finding the "right respondent" requires strategy, how she manages global teams across time zones, and the powerful moment when data becomes human stories. Anbuselvi Danapalan, Infection Prevention and Control Practitioner, shares her frontline perspective on healthcare transformation in West Asia. From Qatar's Vision 2030 to AI-driven surveillance systems, she explores how the region is building world-class healthcare infrastructure and why investing in people remains critical to success. You'll learn: Why recruiting medical specialists is more complex than you think How COVID-19 permanently changed infection prevention practices The role of technology and digital health in shaping healthcare's future Where West Asia excels in patient safety—and the challenges ahead If you are curious about scientific innovation, this episode offers rare insights from professionals shaping the future of global health. Listen now to discover the people behind the data. Interviewers: Marine Fretel, Marella Fernandes. Voice Over: Marcus Knapp.  Technical Production: Marine Fretel  Get in touch if you want to connect with our guests and contributers: podcast@ayesdabio.com  For more information, visit the Ayesda Bio website

    20 min
  3. Surviving the Biotech Startup & A Look Back at Season One

    Feb 25

    Surviving the Biotech Startup & A Look Back at Season One

    The Reality of Biotech Startups & A Look Back at Season One In this season finale, we tackle the biggest challenges facing biotech entrepreneurs and reflect on an incredible journey of discovery. What is killing promising biotech startups? Drug development expert Tania Del Rivero pulls back the curtain on the biotech startup landscape, revealing why funding is just the beginning of the battle. From misallocated resources to the art of focusing on the right data, Tania shares hard-won insights from mentoring cutting-edge companies through Nucleate Florida. In the second half, hosts Marine and Volker turn the microphone on themselves, sharing candid reflections on producing Season One. From unexpected challenges to proud moments highlighting teenage scientists in Tokyo and neurodiversity champions in the UK, they discuss what it takes to create a podcast at the intersection of insight and innovation. Plus: A preview of Season Two's bold new direction, including conversations with frontline recruiters and an exploration of the tension between speed, regulation, and trust in life sciences. If you are curious about the future of life sciences innovation, this episode delivers both practical wisdom and inspiration for what is next. Interviewers: Marine Fretel, Volker Balk, Marcus Knapp.  Technical Production: Marine Fretel  Get in touch if you want to connect with our guests and contributers: podcast@ayesdabio.com  For more information, visit the Ayesda Bio website

    17 min
  4. When Hospital Call Buttons Fail & Your Research Data Becomes a Weapon

    Feb 25

    When Hospital Call Buttons Fail & Your Research Data Becomes a Weapon

    When Hospital Call Buttons Fail & Your Research Data Becomes a Weapon What happens when an elderly patient lies exposed and forgotten in a hospital corridor for hours? And why is the market research data you collect more dangerous than you think? In this eye-opening episode, we explore two critical intersections of technology and human dignity: The Hidden Dangers in Your Data Neil Hack, Group IT Consultant at Ayesda Bio, reveals why cybersecurity in market research isn't just about protecting files, it's about preventing your opinions from being weaponized. With over 20 years in the field, Neil exposes the underestimated risks that keep him up at night and explains why GDPR is your operational lifeline, not just a legal headache. Rethinking Patient Care, One Click at a Time Dr. Fessel Denk shares the moment that changed everything: witnessing a patient's dignity stripped away by a broken hospital system. The result? Piato—a revolutionary communication platform that's cutting emergency room wait times by 40% and transforming how nurses respond to patient needs. But it's not just about faster response times. It's about making patients' voices the compass for healthcare decisions. WORLD: Breaking news on massive U.S. science funding cuts, the UK's bold move to unify research organizations, and how Greece is using QR code bracelets to revolutionize emergency care. Listen now to discover why the future of both research and healthcare depends on asking better questions and actually listening to the answers. Interviewers: Marine Fretel, Marella Fernandes. Voice Over: Marcus Knapp Technical Production: Marine Fretel  Get in touch if you want to connect with our guests and contributers: podcast@ayesdabio.com  For more information, visit the Ayesda Bio website

    20 min
  5. Ayesda Connect Panel, Heatwaves, & Bio-Engineering Allergies

    Feb 25

    Ayesda Connect Panel, Heatwaves, & Bio-Engineering Allergies

    Quality Control, Climate Change, & The Teenage Bio-Engineers Curing Hay Fever This episode on Ayesda Bio The Podcast, we are obsessed with authenticity and innovation. We are digging into the nitty-gritty of how to verify the experts who shape life-saving data, looking at the harsh realities of our changing climate, and finishing with an incredibly inspiring story from Tokyo, where high school students are bio-engineering a cure for a global nuisance. The market research industry has a data quality problem. Ayesda Bio's Panel Director, Eric Moderni, sits down to explain how Ayesda Connect is fighting back against bots and fake profiles. He reveals their rigorous, multi-stage vetting process, explaining why human connection and regular database purges are essential to ensuring insight companies get the actionable, reliable data they need from verified experts. Marcus covers the latest global news, including the devastating health impacts of severe heatwaves in India and groundbreaking Nobel Prize-winning research on how tattoos might actually interact with our immune systems. We also look at a new study from Harvard linking "forever chemicals" (PFAS) to endocrine disruption in women. Prepare to be inspired. We talk with members of the HG Tokyo Team, a group of high school students who just won a Gold Medal at the prestigious iGEM competition. They break down their ambitious synthetic biology project to cure allergic rhinitis (hay fever). They discuss their process of bio-synthesizing a rare chemical found in the Japanese Jabara fruit and how they even engineered a 100% recyclable, 3D-printed nasal spray to deliver it. Voice Over: Marcus Knapp. Interviews & Technical Production: Marine Fretel  Get in touch if you want to connect with our guests and contributers: podcast@ayesdabio.com  For more information, visit the Ayesda Bio website

    20 min
  6. Neurodiverse Talent, AI Recruiting Bias, & India's Biotech Boom

    Feb 25

    Neurodiverse Talent, AI Recruiting Bias, & India's Biotech Boom

    AI wants your job, but neurodiversity might just save it. Plus, inside India's life sciences explosion. This episode on Ayesda Bio The Podcast, we are looking at the future of innovation, both in how we hire the minds that drive it, and the global markets where it's happening. We are tackling the dangers of AI bots reading your CV and traveling to the frontlines of India's rapidly exploding life sciences ecosystem. First, employability consultant Jenny Lyons drops in to talk about neurodiversity in the workplace. She breaks down the very real dangers of relying on AI for recruitment, explaining how algorithms can actually learn our worst biases, like automatically dismissing certain candidates. Her ultimate advice for job seekers? Ditch the ChatGPT resume and let your authentic, human voice shine through. Next, Marcus catches us up on the week's headlines, from the devastating health impacts of India's heatwaves to the UK public's growing demand for cautious AI integration, plus an incredible original music project created by people living with dementia. Then, we ask if India is the next great superpower in life sciences. We sit down with Senior Research Scientist Anand Mishra to find out how the country is pivoting from generic manufacturing to hardcore innovation, fueled by genomics, cloud computing, AI, and massive government initiatives. Interviewers: Marella Fernandes, Marine Fretel. Voice Over: Marcus Knapp. Technical Production: Marine Fretel  Get in touch if you want to connect with our guests and contributers: podcast@ayesdabio.com  For more information, visit the Ayesda Bio website

    20 min
  7. Heatwaves, Market Research, and the Poetry of DNA

    Feb 25

    Heatwaves, Market Research, and the Poetry of DNA

    What do Heatwaves, Market Research, and Poetry have in common?   We kick things off with a spin around the globe, looking at the health implications of India's scorching heatwaves, the UK's healthy skepticism of AI, and a heart-warming original music project by people living with dementia.   Then, we pull back the curtain on our own day jobs. Ayesda Bio CEO Volker Balk drops by to explain why he traded a 25-year corporate career to build a brand new expert network from scratch. (Spoiler: It involves a very tough wildflower and a mission to bring actual human trust back to market research).   Finally, we get deep, philosophical, and a little bit poetic with Jacky Man Leuk Yuen a biochemist and literal poet. Jackie bridges the gap between the lab bench and the writer's desk, explaining why scientists must use their imagination to understand the microscopic worlds hidden inside us.   Get in touch if you want to connect with our guests and contributers: podcast@ayesdabio.com   Voice Over: Marcus Knapp. Interviews & Technical Production: Marine Fretel  For more information, visit the Ayesda Bio website.

    23 min
  • 7 Episodes

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Demystifying life sciences, healthcare and market research, one episode at a time.

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