
S6E02: AI and the Quest for New Antibiotics
From Two Scientists Walk Into a Bar by Genentech
May 14, 2025 · 36 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the evolving race to develop new antibiotics using artificial intelligence in the context of antibiotic resistance.
We published our first episode on the threat of antibiotic resistance in 2016, and nearly a decade later, it remains one of the world’s most pressing health crises. Today, with advances in artificial intelligence (AI), the race to develop new antibiotics is evolving. In this episode, co-host Danielle Mandikian sits down with guests Tommaso Biancalani, Distinguished Scientist and Director of Biological Research and AI Development, and Steven Rutherford, Senior Principal Scientist and Director of Infectious Diseases in Research Biology, to share the latest in the fight against antibiotic resistance. Together, they discuss the challenges of antibiotic discovery and development, and how AI could streamline the process of identifying novel antibiotics within the vast, uncharted chemical universe. Read the full text transcript at www.gene.com/stories/ai-and-the-quest-for-new-antibiotics
People in this episode
Host: Danielle Mandikian
Guests: Tommaso Biancalani, Steven Rutherford
Topics covered
- antibiotic resistance
- artificial intelligence
- drug discovery
Keywords
- health crisis
- biological research
- infectious diseases
Mentioned in this episode
Products: AI tools for drug discovery
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