🧬Barry Ticho - Stoke Therapeutics - Part 1 | From Family of Physicians to Vision-Driven Scientist | Barry’s MD-PhD Journey | Leadership Through Critical Thinking & Resilience | The Journey From Academia to Industry
Part 1 of 4: Jon Chee hosts Barry Ticho, Founder of Verve Therapeutics and Chief Medical Officer at Stoke Therapeutics, a biotech company addressing the underlying cause of severe diseases by upregulating protein expression with RNA-based medicines.
With an MD-PhD from the University of Chicago and extensive experience across academia and industry, Barry brings over two decades of expertise in clinical development. His journey includes roles as Head of Development at Moderna, Head of External R&D Innovation at Pfizer, and VP of Clinical Development at Biogen, where he's been instrumental in advancing numerous therapeutic programs across multiple disease areas.
Barry's unique perspective spanning academic medicine and biotechnology innovation makes his insights invaluable for aspiring leaders in the field.
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Part 1 of 4: Jon Chee hosts Barry Ticho, Founder of Verve Therapeutics and Chief Medical Officer at Stoke Therapeutics, a biotech company addressing the underlying cause of severe diseases by upregulating protein expression with RNA-based medicines.
With an MD-PhD from the University of Chicago and extensive experience across academia and industry, Barry brings over two decades of expertise in clinical development. His journey includes roles as Head of Development at Moderna, Head of External R&D Innovation at Pfizer, and VP of Clinical Development at Biogen, where he's been instrumental in advancing numerous therapeutic programs across multiple disease areas.
Barry's unique perspective spanning academic medicine and biotechnology innovation makes his insights invaluable for aspiring leaders in the field.
Join us this week to hear about:
- Barry's upbringing as one of five boys in a family of physicians
- A transformative moment watching a child regain sight that crystallized his career path
- His foundational experiences at Haverford College where he discovered his passion for biology
- His journey through the MD-PhD program at the University of Chicago
- How education, critical thinking, and resilience shaped his leadership approach
Please enjoy Jon’s conversation with Barry Ticho.
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Enriched Notes:
Topics Mentioned:
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
03:04 Barry's background and introduction
03:37 Growing up in a family of Holocaust survivor physicians
05:29 Four out of five brothers choosing medicine
07:14 Early exposure to ophthalmology and patient care
09:27 The transformative moment: witnessing a child regain sight
12:45 Choosing Haverford and discovering biology
14:06 Early laboratory experiences and liberal arts education
19:05 The path to University of Chicago's MD-PhD program
22:13 First research experiences with RNA and transcription
23:55 Graduate school years: freedom and scientific method
30:15 Mentorship style and thesis advisor's influence
33:05 Leadership lessons from graduate training
36:28 Outro