MantleBio

Hi computational biologists ?? Thinking of transitioning from academia to industry? Here are three qualities I’ve noticed in some of the most successful computational biologists in biotech: 1. Focus on Impact In industry, it’s not about authoring research—it’s about delivering results. Focus on the team’s top priorities, and make sure your efforts are contributing to those results. 2. Prioritize communication and collaboration In academia, you’re often surrounded by other researchers. In biotech, the R&D team might be a small part of the company. Your role includes helping others understand your work, especially in interdisciplinary projects. Develop the ability to communicate your findings to colleagues from diverse backgrounds—both technical and non-technical. 3. Embrace “Good Enough” While academia prizes perfection, industry values efficiency. If you can achieve an 80% solution in 20% of the time, that’s often the best path. Effectively balancing quality with speed is a crucial skill in industry. For those already in industry: What’s your top advice for someone making the switch?

??? ?? Happy Halloween, LinkedIn!????? Is there anything?spookier?than a haunted data warehouse? Or making decisions based on the?ghost?of what was once live data? ?? The data lakehouse was supposed to be the best of both worlds—data lakes?and?data warehouses. But if it’s not implemented carefully, you might end up with a “Frankenstein” design—just as murky as a data lake but as rigid as a warehouse.??? Here are 3 tricks (or treats ?? ) for preventing a “data swampshack”: 1???? Start small It's easy to get caught up in creating the perfect architecture with a long-term rollout plan. But as requirements evolve, conflicting architectures can emerge, turning your lake into a swamp. Begin with an “easy” win and build from there. 2???? Beware the “single source of truth” myth Think about the apps on your phone—do you need to see bank balances and Spotify history in the same dashboard? Not really. A single source of truth sounds ideal but isn’t always practical. Instead, aim for the best solution for each data type rather than one solution that’s “just okay” for everything. 3?? ?? Appoint a data quality owner When everyone’s responsible, no one’s accountable! Make sure there’s a dedicated data quality owner to keep data?reliable?and?actionable. Recognize the importance of this role; it’s a vital job that supports every decision made with your data. ?? Have you ever encountered a data swampshack? Do you have any scary stories to share? #HappyHalloween #DataSwampshack #DataLakehouse #DataLake #DataWarehouse

At last week’s Bits in Bio technology showcase, MantleBio had the only presentation that did not feature LLMs–did we miss a memo? Of course, we’re all using LLMs in daily life. For example, Anna Weber, senior software engineer at Mantle, used ChatGPT to create this image in the style of Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad. The irony of an AI-generated image playfully roasting both us and AI isn’t lost on us! As LLMs move from cutting-edge to commonplace, I expect they will be integrated into most products—including Mantle. Here are a few of my favorite use cases: ??? Familiar interface – LLM chats provide an interface we’re all comfortable with, making tools more accessible for new users. ??? Personalized content – LLMs can adapt explanations to a user’s expertise, helping generate teaching materials for different skill levels and bridging knowledge gaps within teams. ??? Bonus: Virtual reality? – A highlight from the showcase was exploring protein structures in VR using Nanome. Using LLMs to interpret voice commands made VR interactions seamless. Unfortunately, VR is not on Mantle’s roadmap. Thanks to Bits in Bio for organizing, FutureHouse for hosting, and all the presenters for advancing technology! #ai #llm #bioinformatics #biotech

A week has passed since Benchling’s summit, but several of the conversations still have me thinking. ?? ?? Will AI save me? Or replace me? Last week, Benchling released so many AI features I lost count. I loved that the engineering team dedicated time to discussing AI's limitations and risks rather than sweeping them under the rug. Effectively leveraging AI means embracing its limitations and building processes that account for them. For example, Benchling’s new “Flexible Data Entry” feature, in beta, uses AI to convert uploaded files into result tables. Very cool! But how do we know if it makes a mistake? LLMs tend to fail quietly when they encounter ambiguity, and errors will happen. Every team should build error-detection into their workflows. Those who do will be the first to adopt AI successfully. I don’t mean to suggest that human data entry is less than perfect, but perhaps more error detection could benefit teams without AI, too. AI will replace some tasks, but adopting AI also creates a lot of new work to do. ??? ?? How do we unite the wet lab and dry lab? “Modern software can unite the wet and dry labs” said a slide during the keynote. I mostly agree, but the full story is about more than software. Both labs are complex, with years of specialized training required to master each. How do fields that speak different languages communicate and collaborate? In some cases, a scientist can bridge the gap, but creating effective collaboration between the two labs is a skill of its own. Modern software can unite the wet and dry labs, but only with the help of skilled facilitators who can bridge the gap between them. – What do you think? For those who attended #Benchtalk, what discussions have stuck with you?

So much fun to kick off a week in Boston as a mentor and sponsor at HackMIT! It’s been 10 years since I participated in HackMIT. For context, the exciting new technology that year was the Google Cardboard ???? It’s amazing to see how far the the tools have come since then and all the incredible things hackers are building with them. Today’s college students are learning to leverage LLMs (and more) from day one. I think these next few graduating classes will have a tremendous impact on software development and technology. Those of us in industry have a lot to learn from them. Congrats to everyone who competed, I’m looking forward to seeing what you all build next!

We’re excited to share highlights from the 2024 Nucleate Alumni Summit, and we want to thank our sponsors, speakers, and 490 attendees from 14 countries for making it a success! ?? Held from August 27-29, 2024, in the California Redwoods at 1440 Multiversity, the summit brought together a global community to network, share ideas, and build connections for the future of biotech. This event offerd just a glimpse of the dedication and hard work of our student leaders from 41 global chapters, whose daily efforts in building and sustaining a vibrant biotech community have made this celebration truly meaningful. What made the Nucleate Summit so special is that it was completely organized by trainees and volunteers. This effort resulted in 15 Tree Talks covering topics such as “Addressing Unmet Needs with Technology”, “From Seed to Series and Beyond”, and “Women Leading Life Sciences,” 9 keynote speakers sharing their insights, and 237 educational grants awarded to students and trainees, all supported by 24 sponsors who helped make it possible. We’d like to give a special thanks to the leadership team who volunteered their time to pull off this Summit: Shruti Sridhar, Amit Halkhoree, Onkar Date, Chloe Kirk, PhD, Venkat Shashank Vege, Vanessa Alvarez, Ankita Lakhar, Claire Johnson, Jiashi (Cathy) Sun, MBA, Hannah Kittrell, Jake Kastroll, Nelly Tian, Pari B., Julia Nanyi Zhao, PhD, Hannah Dayton, PhD, Lindsey Florek, Ph.D., Isabella A., Priscilla Del Valle, Angela L., Jesse Lee, Zach Cogan, Heer Joisher, Isabella Cardona Barber, Caroline Steingard, PhD, Oliver Dodd, Jei Diwakar Another massive thank you to our generous summit sponsors for believing in our vision and empowering the students in our community: Browne Consulting, AbbVie, Mediso Medical Imaging Systems, Carta, Bakar Labs, Alloy Therapeutics, Inc., Civilization Ventures, Amazon Web Services (AWS), MantleBio, Brex, JLABS, University of California, Santa Cruz Innovation Hub, Chicago Biomedical Consortium, Bayer Co.Lab, SynBioBeta (We will continue the list of HQ and travel grant sponsors in the comment section). And to all the fantastic speakers, thank you for your time, generosity, and willingness to share your insights! Stay up to date with Nucleate and get updates on next year’s summit by subscribing to our newsletter: newsletter.nucleate.org Want to get involved? ??Apply to the 2024-2025 Activator cohort: apply.nucleate.org ??Signup as mentor/expert for the new cohort: mentor.nucleate.org ??Become a member of our leadership team: join.nucleate.org

Nucleate Boston and MantleBio are joining forces for an info session and happy hour event! RSVP here: https://lu.ma/p4os367q Come learn about Nucleate Boston's Activator program and different ways you could get involved. At the same time, make the most of the opportunity to learn about Mantle and all the ways they're revolutionizing biotech research. Catch us together on Wednesday, September 18th at Lamplighter Brewing Co. in Cambridge, MA. Register for other Nucleate Boston info sessions: https://lnkd.in/exEaCVdU Apply for Nucleate Boston 2025 Activator: apply.nucleate.org Join Nucleate leadership: join.nucleate.org