Episode 14: Chuan He

Chuan He: Philosophies on the Wall Between Academia and Industry

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Substack, and YouTube

Chuan He is a world-renowned epigeneticist, a Wolf Prize laureate, and a recent inductee of the National Academy of Sciences. Chuan’s lab at the University of Chicago has spun out numerous companies including Ellis Bio (DNA methylation detection technologies) and Aferna Bio (plant biology). His discovery of the first RNA demethylase introduced a new layer of transcriptional regulation, and his subsequent work resulted in epigenetic based tools for detecting biomarkers of cancer, created super-crops that are more productive and resistant to drought, identified novel therapeutic targets, and enabled countless other discoveries in epitranscriptomics.

In this episode:

• Chuan talks about his experience growing up in China and his dreams of becoming a scientist.

• Chuan describes his pathway to tenure at the University of Chicago and shares advice for those wanting to follow in his footsteps.

• Chuan explains why his discovery of the first RNA demethylase (FTO) was so important, and why the rise of epitranscriptomics has been such an exciting journey.

• Chuan shares some advice for trainees and expounds upon his philosophy towards the separation between academia and industry

This episode was hosted and edited by Tanner Baldwin and produced by Fang Xie.