Editor's note
Every entrepreneur has a story to share. While it is true there are some common experiences, each of their journeys are unique. Turning your dreams into reality, although alluring, unfolds its own set of challenges. Being brave and holding onto your passion is just the beginning. Read more to find out how Felipe Opazo made his dream come true home away from home.
Dr. Felipe Opazo, scientist and budding entrepreneur, talks about his entrepreneurial dream that motivated him to start “NanoTag Biotechnologies”. He aspires to develop and apply nanobodies to revolutionize conventional cutting edge technologies and contribute to the scientific community. He talks about his initial brainstorming days, and shares how his basic science training helped him with his scientific enterprise. Read this interview to know Felipe Opazo’s journey from Chile to Germany, his views on teamwork, networking, collaborations and much more.
AV:Please tell us about your scientific journey that brought you quite far from your motherland Chile to Germany.
Copyright: NanoTag BioTechnologies
FO: I have a very diverse academic background. I was one of the first students who studied Molecular Biotechnology during my undergraduate studies at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago. The course syllabus was the right blend of biology and engineering, and I found it extremely immersive and exciting. To explore more, I moved to EMBL Heidelberg, Germany where I finished my Master’s thesis using computational molecular and modeling. Later I inclined toward neuroscience, which led me to apply and be accepted in the Neuroscience Graduate Program in Göttingen. I did my Ph.D. thesis investigating Parkinson´s neurodegeneration using electrophysiology and microscopy. I have been very explorative and have tried to learn several fundamental technologies. By the end of my PhD., STED microscopy was creating ripples among biologists. This motivated me, and I joined as a Postdoc in Silvio Rizzoli’s lab. I’d say we were one of the early biologists who could get hands-on experience with STED microscopy. I was always very intrigued to develop a technique to understand and ask biological questions, and this led me to develop small imaging probes for super-resolution microscopy. Soon after, we came up with an idea to create our start-up “NanoTag Biotechnologies”. Additionally, I am also leading a group at Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration in Göttingen to develop molecular probes for quantitative neuroscience.
AV: We all know that Göttingen has its own name and a great, long history associated with Nobel laureates. Recently, Prof. Dr. Stefan Hell was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2014 for STED microscopy. Do you think this was a deciding factor in where you wanted to start NanoTag Biotechnologies?
FO: The scientific community here is indeed very diverse and huge and an excellent platform for fostering science. One could find a lot of great opportunities in the form of collaborations and discussions with world-renowned scientists right here. So, why not? This motivated us to build our own start-up to contribute and advance the scientific knowledge of the community in Göttingen and, hopefully, also beyond.
AV: How did it strike you to build your own start-up company?
FO: This was my desire from very early on. I was always more interested in applied than basic science. Although my academic career in basic research helped me to understand different techniques and its know-how. Deep inside my heart, I was always motivated to develop technologies that not only helps one field of research but rather has applications in interdisciplinary areas. As scientists, we usually tend to have a deeper understanding in a specific area of research. However, I wanted to take a step further and develop some technology that could create a broader impact across the entire scientific community. Thus, we aim to improve, apply and develop cutting-edge technology using nanobodies.
AV: Tell us more about your initial brainstorming days.
F.O: It all started during my Postdoc at the Silvio O. Rizzoli lab. Together with Silvio, we felt that not only was there a need and an untapped market for super-resolution microscopy, but its advanced techniques should be readily available to the public, extending its applications to professionals in the Life Sciences as well. Silvio was instrumental in this work. Our first task was doing the necessary homework and drafting a business proposal. Frankly, it took more time than we thought it would, and it was time to evaluate whether our proposition (hypothesis) could actually be commercialized (hold true). A team from the former German ministry of science and education was very cooperative in evaluating our plan as it is essential to have views from different perspectives. Here I would like to mention that one does not necessarily need to find or develop a novel idea to start a business. Instead, one can first try to understand the general problem and try to link different existing ideas to solve existing problems. This is where your creativity works its magic, and you have a start-up.
One does not necessarily need to find or develop a novel idea to start a business. Instead, one can first try to understand the general problem and try to link different existing ideas to solve existing problems. This is where your creativity works its magic, and you have a start-up.
A.V: Sounds like a herculean task. Tell us how your training as a scientist helped in the process?
F.O: As a scientist, you are always ready to take challenges, confront and critically think about problems and work on a solution. Scientists are typically quite resistant to frustration. This certainly helps a lot during the brainstorming and building process. Additionally, one also needs to find business partners and investors, which is in a way similar to finding collaborations for a research project.
A.V: Let’s hear about your company portfolio and products that you have to offer.
F.O: We started the company with a vision to improve microscopy and imaging techniques, especially in super-resolution microscopy. We were fully aware of the issues and challenges being faced by life scientists when using conventional primary and secondary antibodies for imaging complex biological samples. Problems became more pronounced when you wanted to quantify, image or locate your specific target at a nanometer scale. Thus, our very first aim was to develop tools for the life sciences community.
Background & Technique: Camelid family members produce a set of smaller antibodies compared to other mammalian species. Interestingly, the final selected single-domain antibody (sdAb) is ~10 times smaller than normal antibodies, creating lots of opportunities to play with, whether in the imaging field or in the therapeutic and diagnostic areas. One of the first significant advantages is that in the long run, you need fewer animals to immunize compared to other procedures. This is because once you take out some blood from llamas, and you find the right sdAb, you further produce in bacteria in any amounts. Moreover, it is recombinantly produced in bacteria, so there is no batch-to-batch variations in the antibody. This offers a big advantage of being highly reproducible. Additionally, these sdAbs (also known as nanobodies) are very small and monovalent, making the whole assay or imaging process more quantitative. In a nutshell, these are the substantial improvements that scientists can benefit from.
We are also aiming to develop diagnostic tools where one can immobilize these nanobodies on ELISA plates in a desired orientation, making it more sensitive because it is not possible with conventional primary antibodies. These are some of the major advantages that NanoTag Biotechnologies has to offer for now. Our R&D team, however, is continually exploring and trying to improve the technology.
A.V: Do you bring these llamas from Chile?
F.O: Funnily, I tried to, but it’s way more complicated than I thought. We found these llamas on a farm close to Gottingen. One needs special permission to keep these llamas and perform these immunizations for the production of nanobodies. Currently we have around 20 llamas; however, in the near future, we would need to acquire some more, because the law allows us to immunize one llama only twice a year.
A.V: Where do you see NanoTag Biotechnologies in 20 years? What are your future goals?
F.O: We certainly do not want to lose our focus from the motivation that drove us to build NanoTag. Our primary aim is to continue developing an advanced toolbox for the scientific community whether in microscopy imaging or in the biochemistry field. It would be great to see the use and impact of our tools in interdisciplinary scientific areas too, and hopefully with our contribution scientists could answer unanswered questions in the future. This is a dream from my undergraduate days. Additionally, we do have some interest to develop and explore our expertise further in medical diagnostic areas.
A.V: How do you manage your dual role of being a group leader at Medical University, Göttingen, and CEO of NanoTag Biotechnologies?
F.O: Frankly, it is demanding and stimulating at the same time. Our past CEO had to move on with other opportunities, and that’s when I stepped in. I spend most of my time doing research in my lab at the University, and I visit our company for meetings and discussions once a week regularly and offer my help and some guidance to the team. Of course we are continuously connected via email or phone for urgent matters. I must emphasize that this is only possible because we have a very talented team. The whole team is very independent, motivated and explorative. I am also learning to be in the shoes of a CEO, and this might also be a temporary role for me, we will see. Again, I want to thank my team for putting up a heroic effort altogether.
Our team is the essence of NanoTag Biotechnologies
A.V: Sounds like a wonderful team! Speaking of teams what qualities do you look for in a prospective team member.
F.O: One must be courageous and open to new, creative ideas when someone joins a start-up. There are potential risks. If you are a person who likes to take challenges, tackle unfamiliar problems every day and find solutions, give feedback and suggestions and try to develop and help build a company together, then I see you as a potential team member. One needs to find people who are complementary to the skill sets you already have on your team, and who can add value to the company. In NanoTag Biotechnologies, our working environment is very democratic, open and transparent. We discuss all issues as a team and then decide a way to work toward our goal. I personally like this working format a lot.
A.V: What advice would you give to budding STEM entrepreneurs.
F.O: The most important step is to DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Think critically about your idea and from a practical aspect. Get an outsider’s view on your project- it is necessary to troubleshoot and plan. Coming up with a business plan is challenging and enticing at the same time, and one must consider risks like potential competitors, current market value, feasibility and, most importantly, funding. This is the homework.
If everything seems rational then go for your business pitch, network with other partners and enjoy the journey. I believe any novel innovative idea can be a stepping stone to turn one’s dream of a start-up into reality.
A.V. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. Your journey is truly inspiring and will hopefully boost confidence among budding entrepreneurs to take that leap into scientific enterprise and make their start up dream come true.
About the author:
Abhiyan Viplav, obtained his MSc. from University of Vienna, Austria. He is currently finishing his PhD at Cluster of Excellence – International Max Planck Graduate School, Münster, Germany. He enjoys his passion in scientific enterprise and communication while developing creative strategies for scientific outreach projects. He has co-founded the STEMPeers Newsletter Platform and currently acts as Business Developmen Associate for PhD Career Support Group. He strongly believes in team work and fostering collaborations between different STEM areas.
Editors:
Dolonchapa is a biologist by training, a freelance consultant, and a wannabe athlete! She recently joined NYU School of Medicine as a post-doc and is also CSG’s NYC chapter rep. She unwinds from her several roles by baking, blogging, and boxing. She believes in the power of technical storytelling as an effective tool for scientific outreach and looks forward to practicing this art as an editor at Club SciWri. Follow her on Twitter.
Rituparna Chakrabarti is the Editor-in-Chief at CSW. She pursued her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Georg-August University (Göttingen, Germany) and is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration (BIN), Göttingen. For her, the interface of Science and art is THE PLACE to be! To unwind herself she plays mandolin and eagerly looks for a corner at a coffee house to slide herself in with a good read or company. Follow her on Twitter.
Illustrators:
Disha Chauhan did her Ph.D. in IRBLLEIDA, University of Lleida, Spain in Molecular and Developmental Neurobiology. She has post-doctoral experience in Cell Biology of Neurodegenerative diseases and is actively seeking a challenging research position in academia/industry. Apart from Developmental Neurobiology, she is also interested in Oncology. She is passionate about visual art (Illustration, painting and photography) and storytelling through it. She enjoys reading, traveling, hiking and is also dedicated to raising scientific awareness about Cancer. Follow her on Instagram.
Saurabh Gayali recently completed his Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology from National Institute of Plant Genome Research (JNU), New Delhi. Currently he is DBT RA at IGIB (New Delhi) and his research focuses on finding binding associations of Indian plant metabolites with human pathogen proteins, creating a platform for future plant extract based drug discovery. He has keen interest in data analysis, visualization and database management. He is a skilled 2D/3D designer with a specific interest in scientific illustration. In leisure, Saurabh plays guitar and composes music, does photography or practices programming. Follow him on Instagram.
Blog design: Dolonchapa Chakraborty
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