DTA Science

DTA Science

Down to a Science highlights practitioners across science, technology, and business to understand their personal insights and how their work impacts our world. What are they working on? Why does it matter? And what does it take to put new ideas into practice? Technical enough to dig in. Informal enough to follow a good tangent. For curious scientists and practitioners figuring out what’s next; for the field and for themselves. More info at DTAScience.com Presented by Galang AI

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    Fighting Infections with Genomics and AI: Precision Medicine with Dr. Niamh O'Hara | Ep. 7

    Down to a Science is presented by Galang AI. The views expressed by guests are their own, and guest participation does not constitute endorsement of Galang AI or its products or services. In Episode 7, Dr. Niamh O'Hara, CEO and co-founder of Biotia, joins Kevin G. Libuit to talk about bringing precision medicine to infectious disease. Many infections are still diagnosed by growing a sample in a petri dish, a method that dates back to the 1800s. Niamh explains how Biotia uses DNA sequencing and machine learning to identify infections that culture can miss. Kevin and Niamh discuss her path from PhD to founder through Cornell Tech's Runway Startup Postdoc Program, why culture-negative infections and chronic UTIs can leave patients on rounds of blind antibiotics, and what it took to build and validate a clinical lab in New York. They also get into why Biotia relies on predictable machine learning models that regulators can trust, the long road from an approved test to insurance coverage, and why paying for pathogen surveillance remains so hard. They close aboard the International Space Station, where Niamh's work with NASA has identified microbes that appear to be adapting to spaceflight, and how diagnostics built for space could help remote clinics on Earth. Show Notes: https://dtascience.com/episodes/episode-7 Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: 2ABVRZT155WBCFJX Chapters 00:00 Why regulated diagnostics need predictable AI 00:34 Meet Dr. Niamh O'Hara 02:11 From PhD to founder through Cornell Tech 07:49 Why a PhD is good startup training 09:38 Biotia's mission: precision medicine for infections 11:27 When the petri dish comes back negative 12:26 Chronic UTIs and patients left behind 14:40 How sequencing finds what culture misses 16:33 Building a clinical lab in New York 19:32 How Biotia uses machine learning 22:27 Not the scary AI: same input, same output 24:29 From approved test to insurance coverage 28:25 Why insurers want studies in specific patients 30:10 Expanding to prosthetic joint infections 31:42 Steelmanning the insurers 34:55 Clinical proof from culture-negative patients 37:45 Biosurveillance: who pays for it? 44:32 Why wastewater sequencing matters 46:35 What's the moat? 47:50 Patent and publish: IP vs. open science 49:18 Competitors on Earth, collaborators in space 51:18 Diagnosing astronauts during spaceflight 54:34 Space diagnostics for remote clinics on Earth 57:48 Taking Biotia international 1:00:04 Where to follow Niamh and Biotia

  2. Oct 26

    Episode 06: Bioinformatics in the Age of AI with Dr. Tommy Tang

    Down to a Science is presented by Galang AI. The views expressed by guests are their own, and guest participation does not constitute endorsement of Galang AI or its products or services. In Episode 6, Dr. Ming "Tommy" Tang, a wet-lab biologist turned computational biologist and the founder of the blog Diving into Genetics and Genomics, joins Kevin G. Libuit to talk about what makes a good bioinformatician in the age of AI. Drawing on fourteen years in the field and near-daily use of AI coding agents, Tommy argues that writing the code is no longer the hard part: framing the right biological question is. Kevin and Tommy discuss why AI will answer confidently even when it is wrong, why foundations like the command line still matter, and how Tommy decides when to use an agent and when to rely on an established pipeline. They also get into keeping AI-assisted analysis reproducible as models change, turning AI-built scripts into tools wet-lab scientists can use, and how Tommy would teach bioinformatics today without letting key skills atrophy. They close on where AI can and can't change drug development, from sparse biological data and the limits of animal models to why clinical trials may be the real bottleneck. Show Notes: https://dtascience.com/episodes/episode-6 Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: 2ABVRZT155WBCFJX Chapters 00:00 Embrace AI and learn by doing 00:47 Meet Tommy Tang 03:13 Bioinformatics vs. the AI hype 05:10 Framing the right biological question 06:54 AI answers confidently, even when wrong 08:37 How AI amplifies experience 10:27 Why domain expertise still wins 13:11 Foundations for junior bioinformaticians 14:00 Why the command line still matters 18:42 AI is the hammer: define the problem first 20:15 Probabilistic vs. deterministic work 21:20 When to use agents vs. established pipelines 23:15 AI as a thinking partner 27:19 Sharing AI skills across a team 29:13 Reproducibility when models keep changing 31:14 Building tools for wet-lab scientists 32:52 Teaching bioinformatics with AI 35:56 Skills that atrophy without practice 37:13 Who is accountable for AI output 39:06 The entry-level dilemma 44:52 Which step of drug development can AI change? 48:40 Sparse data and the virtual cell 52:55 The limits of animal models 56:33 Clinical trials: the real bottleneck 1:00:32 Where to follow Tommy

  3. Oct 19

    Episode 05: Practical Paths into Applied AI with Brandon Galang

    Down to a Science is presented by Galang AI. The views expressed by guests are their own, and guest participation does not constitute endorsement of Galang AI or its products or services. Despite the shared surname, Brandon has no relation to Galang AI. In Episode 5, Brandon Galang, GTM Engineer at Vercel and author of the Substack Leverage Loops, joins Kevin G. Libuit to talk about why being technical no longer depends on writing code. Drawing on a path from industrial engineering to product management at Intel, Amazon, and Wonder, Brandon argues that engineering is really the ability to keep iterating toward a solution. Kevin and Brandon discuss how long-form writing and Amazon's press release FAQ shaped Brandon's thinking, why working well with agents takes something like "theory of mind," and why Brandon would rather overload an agent's context window than under-explain. They also debate whether "taste" is a useful idea in the age of AI, how to break out of the new mean when everyone can build, and how Brandon found a side door into Vercel when every job posting draws hundreds of applicants. They close on the hidden cost of shipping too many tools, how Brandon decides which AI tools are worth learning, and how universities might prepare students for an AI-shaped workforce. Show Notes: https://dtascience.com/episodes/episode-5 Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: 2ABVRZT155WBCFJX Chapters 00:00 Engineers iterate toward solutions 00:31 Meet Brandon Galang 02:08 Why long-form writing 05:15 Amazon's press release FAQ 07:52 Writing with AI 10:02 Technical vs. non-technical 11:05 What it means to be an engineer 13:51 From product manager to working with agents 15:11 Theory of mind for agents 18:11 Memento and the narrow world of agents 21:18 Personal agents and persistent context 23:35 Choosing an AI platform 25:25 Taste vs. convergence 30:08 Breaking out of the mean 35:03 Finding the side door to Vercel 37:00 Getting a hiring manager's attention 43:49 AI rewards tinkerers and generalists 47:58 The cost of shipping tools 50:26 Keeping up: the video game controller model 53:22 Find the bottleneck 55:20 Preparing students for an AI workforce 1:00:57 Where to follow Brandon

  4. Oct 12

    Episode 04: The Three Eras of Real-World Data with Dr. Sandeep Pawar

    Down to a Science is presented by Galang AI. The views expressed by guests are their own, and guest participation does not constitute endorsement of Galang AI or its products or services.In Episode 4, Dr. Sandeep Pawar, VP and General Manager of Life Sciences at Manifold, joins Kevin G. Libuit to break down how real-world data has evolved across three eras: from claims data, to clinical data from electronic health records, to today's multimodal data spanning genomics, imaging, and wearables. He explains why the infrastructure for sharing and analyzing that data hasn't kept pace.Kevin and Sandeep discuss trusted research environments and why the conversation is shifting to "trusted execution environments" for AI. They also cover bringing your own tools to the data, deterministic versus probabilistic AI in regulated research, and why so many AI pilots built on clean data fall apart at scale. They close on why frontier AI labs are moving into life sciences, the value of wearable data, and who should be trusted with sensitive patient data.Show Notes: https://dtascience.com/episodes/episode-4Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: 2ABVRZT155WBCFJXChapters00:00 Trusted research environments00:31 Meet Dr. Sandeep Pawar02:00 Real-world data, defined04:59 Era one: claims data10:33 Era two: clinical data from EHRs14:17 How clinical data shapes drug development17:10 Why pharma wasn't ready for the data19:30 Era three: multimodal data22:04 Making sense of a mountain of data24:45 Trusted research environments, explained27:57 Bring your own tools29:24 From trusted research to trusted execution31:13 Deterministic vs. probabilistic AI35:45 Forward-deployed engineers and why AI pilots stall40:10 AI implementation beyond biotech44:27 Why frontier AI labs want into life sciences47:19 Follow the money: GLP-1s vs. AI labs49:04 What AI can't digitize: the wet lab51:12 Wearables and the value of data52:29 Can you trust frontier labs with your data?55:36 Where to follow Sandeep and Manifold

  5. Oct 5

    Episode 03: Fostering Biotech’s Next Generation with Dr. Tshaka Cunningham.

    Down to a Science is presented by Galang AI. The views expressed by guests are their own, and guest participation does not constitute endorsement of Galang AI or its products or services. In Episode 3, molecular biologist, biotech entrepreneur, and educator Dr. Tshaka Cunningham joins Kevin G. Libuit to explore how early exposure, mentorship, and hands-on training can help build the biotech workforce. He shares how his grandmother’s laboratory, his mother’s creativity, and his great-grandmother’s commitment to service shaped his life—and why seeing Black scientists in leadership helped him imagine his own path. The conversation follows his journey through pharmaceutical research, academia, government, and biotech entrepreneurship, including his work developing molecular diagnostics for behavioral health at Polaris Genomics. Kevin and Dr. Cunningham discuss LIFT-VA, Future Kings, GEMS, and Athari BioSciences; creating opportunities for students and instructors; and teaching scientists to work in teams, communicate, and defend their ideas. They close with Dr. Cunningham’s perspective on AI in drug discovery and why he encourages scientists to stay “above the AI layer” as the creative force behind their work. Show Notes: https://dtascience.com/episodes/episode-3 Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: 2ABVRZT155WBCFJX Chapters 00:00 The human spark behind scientific creativity 00:34 Meet Dr. Tshaka Cunningham 02:16 A childhood in his grandmother’s lab 06:35 Three generations of science, art, and service 10:09 Finding a path through curiosity and representation 14:11 Mentorship and Black pioneers in science 19:44 Choosing a scientific career 24:20 Learning drug discovery at Bristol Myers Squibb 25:37 How an idea becomes a medicine 29:50 From Rockefeller to government science 33:08 Connecting academia, industry, and government 38:19 From federal service to biotech entrepreneurship 41:56 Molecular diagnostics for behavioral health 44:50 Building the biotech workforce through LIFT-VA 49:09 Industry partnerships and training future leaders 51:38 Expanding early-career scientists’ options 53:37 Teamwork, capstones, and communicating science 56:00 Preparing scientists for AI 59:15 Creativity and staying above the AI layer 1:03:53 AI’s potential in drug discovery 1:05:45 Closing reflections on service

  6. Sep 28

    Episode 02: AI Adoption for Public Health

    Down to a Science is presented by Galang AI. The views expressed by guests are their own, and guest participation does not constitute endorsement of Galang AI or its products or services.In this episode, Dr. Luke Short, Director of the Dallas County Public Health Laboratory, joins Kevin G. Libuit to explore AI adoption in public health. From reviewing standard operating procedures to building spreadsheets and scripts that can be inspected and validated, Luke shares practical ways AI can support laboratory teams while keeping human judgment and accountability at the center.We discuss his journey from chemistry to public health leadership, privacy in regulated environments, workforce capacity, and why learning to use new technology can start with something as simple as cooking. We also explore Jevons paradox, the changing demand for software, and Luke’s nuanced take on the “iPad generation.”Show Notes: https://dtascience.com/episodes/episode-2Music licensed through Soundstripe.Code: 2ABVRZT155WBCFJX

    Episode 02: AI Adoption for Public Health

  7. Sep 11

    Episode 1: Pathogen Genomics, AI, and Biosecurity with David Aanensen

    Down to a Science is presented by Galang AI. The views expressed by guests are their own, and guest participation does not constitute endorsement of Galang AI or its products or services. In this episode, David Aanensen shares his journey from neuroscience and web development to leading innovations in pathogen genomics and public health surveillance. We explore how technology, visualization, and AI are transforming infectious disease monitoring and the importance of data sovereignty.

  • 7 Episodes

About

Down to a Science highlights practitioners across science, technology, and business to understand their personal insights and how their work impacts our world. What are they working on? Why does it matter? And what does it take to put new ideas into practice? Technical enough to dig in. Informal enough to follow a good tangent. For curious scientists and practitioners figuring out what’s next; for the field and for themselves. More info at DTAScience.com Presented by Galang AI

Information

  • Creator
    DTA Science
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    7
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © DTA Science
  • Show Website
    DTA Science

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