🧬 Barbara Alcaraz Silva - J.P. Morgan - Part 2 | Mentorship & Research at the Beckman Laser Institute | An Entrepreneurial PhD Experience | Exploring Stem Cell Biology in London | Navigating Networking & Postdoc Opportunities

The Biotech Startups Podcast

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Part 2 of 4.

My guest for this week’s episode is Barbara Alcaraz Silva, Executive Director of Early Stage Life Sciences and Healthcare, Startup Banking at J.P. Morgan. She is also a former scientist-entrepreneur whose graduate studies focused on Telomeres and DNA Repair. Barbara has worked with many startups, including co-founding her own company, BioChron. While at the Manos Accelerator, she worked as an advisor for Biotech and Medtech companies, providing mentorship in business, fundraising, and capital, and offering guidance to startup companies. Additionally, Barbara worked as a Senior Investment Fellow at Life Science Angels, investing in up-and-coming biotechs and managing investor relationships.

After her time at Life Science Angels, Barbara became the Director of Early-Stage West Coast Life Science and Healthcare banking at SVB and is currently the Executive Director of Early Stage Life Sciences and Healthcare, Startup Banking at J.P. Morgan, where she is leading the national life sciences and healthcare practice. Barbara’s dedication to building a strong community in the biotech space and her expertise in science, management, and investing make her conversation one that founders don’t want to miss.

Join us this week and hear about:

• Barbara’s academic journey and graduate school lab experience at UC Irvine
• Her insights from her time at the Beckman Laser Institute and her groundbreaking research on DNA repair using lasers
• Her international fellowship at King's College London, where she explored stem cell biology
• How her transition to entrepreneurship was shaped by navigating different lab environments and overcoming funding challenges

Please enjoy my conversation with Barbara Alcaraz Silva.

Find Our Guest, Barbara Alcaraz Silva, at these links:

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

https://www.jpmorgan.com/global

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:

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

https://www.excedr.com

Social & Website

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@excedr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excedr_inc

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcedrInc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excedr

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@excedr

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

Enriched Notes

Topics Mentioned:

UC Irvine: https://uci.edu/

Minority Science Program: https://msp.bio.uci.edu/

What Is Molecular Biology? https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-is-molecular-biology

Lab Equipment List for Synthetic Biology: https://www.excedr.com/blog/lab-equipment-list-for-synthetic-biology-research

Types of Equipment Used in Molecular Biology Research: https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-type-of-equipment-is-used-in-molecular-biology-research

National Autonomous University of Mexico: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Autonomous_University_of_Mexico

Beckman Laser Institute https://www.bli.uci.edu/

King’s College London https://www.kcl.ac.uk/

Guy's Hospital https://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/guys-hospital

People Mentioned:

Fiona Watts https://www.linkedin.com/in/fiona-watt-a45a44b5/?originalSubdomain=uk

John Murnane https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-murnane-b57340179/

Timestamps:

00:28 Intro

01:59 Episode starts, applying to grad school

06:07 Starting at the Beckman Laser Institute

12:18 Barbara’s first time managing a team during her PhD

16:24 Fellowship at King’s College London, postdoc experience at UCSF

19:31 Barbara shares her outreach efforts for postdoc positions and responses she received

23:46 Barbara discusses her experience at UCSF and the differences in lab culture

26:36 Outro

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