The lighter side
Memes
If you can't laugh at the industry you love, you're not paying close enough attention.
I'm also grateful for all of the friends I've made along the way — many of whom are depicted in the memes below.
AGBT 2025: He Who Controls the Sequence Controls the Future
AGBT 2025, Orlando. The full cast assembled: Illumina rolling out its latest spatial transcriptomics magic, Roche arriving with a new sequencer, Ultima Genomics, Bruker, Element Biosciences, Twist, and PacBio — plus DeciBio holding down the intelligence layer. After a few challenging years for the tools sector, the 2025 rebound felt earned. 'He who controls the sequence controls the future.' The parties were good too. The spice must flow.
Sequence to Survive
Following Illumina's announcements at IGF, we benchmarked select sequencing companies against their F1 alter egos. Who has pole position, who's fighting for points, and who's still in the pit lane? The framework came out of a quick survey and discussions with conference attendees — the parallels were uncomfortably accurate. Nobody wanted to be the Haas. We are due for a refresh!
The Last Supper of AGBT 2022
An alleged clandestine meeting of industry executives debating AGBT 2022 sponsorship status — rendered in fresco. Featuring Agilent, Illumina, Bruker, NEB, DNAScript, Element Biosciences, Resolve Biosciences, Miroculus, IDT, Twist Bioscience, 10x Genomics, Bionano Genomics, and PacBio. T-14 days to the conference. The drama was real.
Molly — Get Ready for the Beach Off!
AGBT is the genomics industry's annual pilgrimage to Orlando — where every sequencing platform brings its A-game and the competition is anything but subtle. We thought the vibe deserved some Barbieland energy. The beach off is real. It's just fought with flow cells.
Pharma, Precision Medicine, and the Jealous Kid in the Corner
Fresh from AGBT20: Pharma gets all the credit for the precision medicine revolution. Dx and tools do most of the work. The jealous kid in the corner knows. This conviction has only gotten stronger since. Spoiler: the jealous kid built the test that found the drug target.
Avengers: Age of COVID-19
COVID-19 assembled an unlikely roster of diagnostics heroes. Zoe McDougall, Trevor Martin, Francis DeSouza (Thor/Illumina), Marc Casper (Iron Man/ThermoFisher), Severin Schwan (Hulk/Roche), Brian Kim (Captain America/LGC), Julia Cheek (Black Widow/EverlyWell), and John Bishop (Hawkeye) — all suiting up at a moment when the diagnostics industry was thrust to the center of the world stage. Streaming now from the comfort of your home. No post-credits scene. We were all living it.
Element Biosciences: A Film by Foresite Capital
Element Biosciences was hosting a live webcast to reveal details on their new sequencer. Molly He, Jim Tananbaum, and Michael Previte on the bill — with Foresite Capital in the producer credits. The movie poster format was the only format that did the moment justice. The AVITI ended up being a genuine contender in the short-read market. Rotten Tomatoes score: pending. Box office: impressive.
PMWC #10YearChallenge
PMWC's 10th anniversary landed at the same time the Dolly Parton #10YearChallenge went viral. Too good to pass up! Featuring Tal Behar, Allison Ballmer, Dawn Barry, Rebecca Brandes, James Hadfield, Randy Scott, Mike Snyder, Ashley Van Zeeland, Feng Zhang — and yes, yours truly too. Some argue not much has changed in personalized medicine over the decade... I would beg to differ!