Where Startup Thinking Meets Scientific Research in Oncology with Dr. Alicia Zhou (Part 1)

What does it really take to build something new in healthcare?

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Alicia Zhou, CEO at Cancer Research Institute. Alicia began her career as a bench scientist before moving into industry, where she spent nearly a decade as Chief Science Officer at Color, helping scale one of the Bay Area’s leading genomics companies.

This is part one of our conversation, where we focus on the intersection of biology and technology. Alicia shares what she was able to bring from the startup world into scientific research and how speed and flexibility can be leveraged to create real impact.

We also discuss the shift from hypothesis-driven to data-driven biology, and why even the most promising scientific innovation doesn’t automatically translate into a viable product.

If you’re building within healthcare, this conversation offers a rare look at what it really takes.

Covered in this episode:

• The intersection of science and technology.
• How startup thinking applies to healthcare.
• A startup’s only real advantage.
• The hidden skill to look for when building a team (beyond competency).
• How the CRI Discovery Engine is changing how cancer immunotherapies are developed.

If you got value from this episode of Beyond the Chart, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you don’t miss the next one.

LEARN MORE

DeepScribe - https://www.deepscribe.ai/

CONNECT

Dr. Alicia Zhou on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-zhou-phd-03950610

Matthew Ko on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/komatthew/

LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6IQlU4UeNKLLM4Y1lPTaOV?si=33679e9eb2294adf

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-the-chart-exploring-the-ai-frontier-for-oncology/id1832485207

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@deepscribeinc.5623