Finding the cheat codes to cell identity
From Absolute Gene-ius by Jordan Ruggieri, Lisa Crawford
April 15, 2026 · 33 min · Season 4 · Episode 6
About this episode
Fiona Connolly discusses the impact of deterministic programming of iPSCs on disease modeling and drug discovery.
Fiona Connolly, formerly with bit.bio, joins Absolute Gene-ius to explore how deterministic programming of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is transforming disease modeling and drug discovery. She explains how genetic “cheat codes,” automation, and digital PCR are driving consistent, scalable production of highly defined human cell types.
People in this episode
Hosts: Jordan Ruggieri, Lisa Crawford
Guest: Fiona Connolly
Topics covered
- cell identity
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- disease modeling
- drug discovery
- genetic programming
Keywords
- cell identity
- iPSCs
- disease modeling
- drug discovery
- genetic cheat codes
- automation
- digital PCR
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: bit.bio
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