Episode 118

🧬 Oguzhan Atay - Part 1 | From Small-Town Turkey to Stanford PhD | Solving Cell Cycle Mysteries | Building a Biotech During a Global Pandemic

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.

The Biotech Startups Podcast · Excedr

February 10, 20251h 0m

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Show Notes

🧬 The Biotech Startups Podcast, brought to you by Excedr—empowering life science startups with founder-friendly equipment leasing to fast-track R&D and drive commercialization success.

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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

If you enjoy The Biotech Startups Podcast, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with your friends. Thanks for listening!

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Find Our Guest, Oguzhan Atay, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/oatay/

https://billiontoone.com/

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee

https://www.excedr.com

Excedr Socials & Website

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Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/

Enriched Notes:

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/

Jacques Fresco https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/people/082222/in-memoriam-jacques-fresco

Max Delbruck https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Delbr%C3%BCck

Linus Pauling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Pauling

J. Robert Oppenheimer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Robert_Oppenheimer

Timestamps:

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

The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.

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