Fail Fast, Learn Faster: Drug Development in Rare Disease with Dr. Binodh DeSilva

About this episode

Dr. Binodh DeSilva discusses the intricacies of drug development in rare diseases, emphasizing the balance of curiosity and compassion in science.

In this episode of BioTalk Unzipped, Gregory Austin and Dr. Chad Briscoe sit down with Dr. Binodh DeSilva, Senior Vice President of Bioanalysis at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, to explore the science and soul behind rare-disease drug development. From her early days studying electrochemistry at the University of Kansas to leading cutting-edge bioanalytical programs at Ultragenyx, Dr. DeSilva shares how curiosity and community shaped her four-decade career. She discusses the profound responsibility of working with limited, often irreplaceable patient samples with care. A special thanks to AAPS ( https://www.aaps.org/ ) for their help and support of this episode. The conversation dives into: Balancing rigor and agility in small-population clinical studies Leveraging entrepreneurial mindsets from biotech within big pharma frameworks The promise of dried blood spots (DBS) and patient-centric sampling Mentorship, curiosity, and the future of scientific leadership Her return to Sri Lanka with KU faculty to recruit the next generation of scientists Throughout the discussion, DeSilva underscores a recurring theme: science thrives when curiosity meets compassion. This episode is a…

People in this episode

Hosts: Dr. Chad Briscoe, Gregory Austin

Guest: Dr. Binodh DeSilva

Topics covered

• drug development
• rare diseases
• bioanalysis
• clinical studies
• scientific leadership
• mentorship
• patient-centric sampling

Keywords

• drug development
• rare diseases
• bioanalysis
• clinical studies
• mentorship
• patient samples
• scientific leadership

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, AAPS, Celerion

Places: Sri Lanka, University of Kansas

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