🧬 Oguzhan Atay - Part 1 | From Small-Town Turkey to Stanford PhD | Solving Cell Cycle Mysteries | Building a Biotech During a Global Pandemic
February 10, 2025
Part 1 of 2: Our guest today is Oguzhan Atay, Co-founder & CEO of BillionToOne. BillionToOne is a precision diagnostics company that quantifies biology to create powerful molecular diagnostics. They work to improve disease detection by counting molecules with their proprietary molecular counting platform. They place patients at the forefront of everything they do and are currently applying their proprietary technology to non-invasive prenatal screening and liquid biopsy.
Oguzhan holds a Ph.D. from Stanford in Systems Biology, where he implemented machine learning algorithms and mathematical models to solve specific problems in cellular biology and developed a data-driven mathematical framework to simplify the analysis of complex biological networks. He also has a degree in Molecular Biology from Princeton, as well as minors in Computer Science, Physics, and Applied Mathematics.
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Part 1 of 2: Our guest today is Oguzhan Atay, Co-founder & CEO of BillionToOne. BillionToOne is a precision diagnostics company that quantifies biology to create powerful molecular diagnostics. They work to improve disease detection by counting molecules with their proprietary molecular counting platform. They place patients at the forefront of everything they do and are currently applying their proprietary technology to non-invasive prenatal screening and liquid biopsy.
Oguzhan holds a Ph.D. from Stanford in Systems Biology, where he implemented machine learning algorithms and mathematical models to solve specific problems in cellular biology and developed a data-driven mathematical framework to simplify the analysis of complex biological networks. He also has a degree in Molecular Biology from Princeton, as well as minors in Computer Science, Physics, and Applied Mathematics.
Oguzhan not only combines deep technical expertise with visionary leadership, but he also has an incredibly inspirational immigrant journey, which makes this series a must-listen for first-time founders, scientists, and industry leaders alike.
In this episode, you'll hear about:
- Oguzhan's upbringing in a small Turkish town
- His early passion for science, deciding to become a scientist at just 10 years old
- Oguzhan's experience in Turkey's rigorous education system
- His transition to studying at Princeton
- Oguzhan's PhD journey at Stanford
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Find Our Guest, Oguzhan Atay, at these links:
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:
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Topics Mentioned:
Princeton https://www.princeton.edu/
Stanford https://www.stanford.edu/
BillionToOne https://billiontoone.com/
Common Mistakes Biotechs Make & How to Avoid Them https://www.excedr.com/blog/common-business-mistakes
How to Fund an R&D Startup https://www.excedr.com/resources/rd-startup-funding-first-steps
Guide to the Venture Capitalist Decision https://www.excedr.com/resources/guide-to-the-venture-capitalist-decision-making-process
People Mentioned:
Jan Skotheim https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-skotheim-5157a426a/
Daniel Fisher https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-fisher-5466812a/
Max Delbruck https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Delbr%C3%BCck
Linus Pauling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Pauling
00:00 - Intro
05:41 - Oguzhan's upbringing in Turkey and his parents' emphasis on education
10:22 - Competitive nature of the Turkish education system
15:18 - Oguzhan's decision to attend Princeton for undergraduate studies
21:28 - Integrated science program at Princeton and interdisciplinary approach
26:57 - Oguzhan's experience at the University of Oxford
32:20 - Choosing Stanford for PhD studies
38:21 - Oguzhan's PhD research at Stanford in cell cycle control
43:24 - The importance of resilience in scientific research and entrepreneurship
48:54 - BillionToOne's challenges and creative solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic
55:47 - How overcoming challenges led to unprecedented growth for BillionToOne
59:41 - Outro
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