WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:04.360 Welcome everyone to the Blacks and Technology Bit Tech Talk podcast, 2 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:09.560 a show where we talk to black people who are engineers, innovators, educators, inventors, 3 00:00:09.640 --> 00:00:12.800 change makers and entrepreneurs doing amazing things in the world 4 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:16.399 of technology. The Big Tech Talk podcast is where they 5 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:20.640 show how they are stumping the divide by sharing their stories, experiences, ideas, 6 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:23.239 knowledge and perspective on tech with the big community. 7 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:28.559 Welcome everyone to the Blacks of Technology Big Tech Talk Podcast. 8 00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:30.760 I'm your host and also the founder of the Blacks 9 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:35.320 and Technology Organization, Greg Grienley, and I'm delighted tonight to 10 00:00:35.399 --> 00:00:39.640 have doctor Marquisi appears on the show. Doctor Marqusi appears 11 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:42.920 as the founder and principal consultant at ruby Leaf Media. 12 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:47.159 It's a science media and communications company. She empowers tech 13 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:50.719 accelerators and investors who support their portfolio companies in the 14 00:00:50.799 --> 00:00:54.439 STEM fields, and she has consulted over one hundred science professionals, 15 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:58.880 academics and entrepreneurs, guiding them through their startup journey. So 16 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:01.439 I'd like to come doctor Marquisia to the show. 17 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:04.200 Thank you so much for having me. This is such 18 00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:04.560 an honor. 19 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:07.840 Thanks, thank you, definitely appreciate it. So let's jump right 20 00:01:07.879 --> 00:01:10.719 into it. Tell us a little bit about yourself, you know, 21 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:15.120 kind of where you're from, your education, all that good stuff. 22 00:01:15.640 --> 00:01:18.439 Sure, So I like to start off by saying, I'm 23 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:24.079 a military kid. My parents served in the military. My 24 00:01:24.439 --> 00:01:26.400 dad did twenty years in the Marines and my mom 25 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:28.519 did twenty five years in the Army. So we moved 26 00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:31.359 all over the place, all over the states, and I 27 00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:37.480 call Michigan home. My grandparents was there and most of 28 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:40.599 our family was there, and so even though we moved 29 00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:42.799 so many places, we would always come back to Michigan. 30 00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:47.359 I now currently reside and spend a lot of my 31 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:55.079 time in Columbus as well. And during Ohio yep, Columbus, Ohio, yep. 32 00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:58.159 Okay, so you're right down the street from me, I'm 33 00:01:58.200 --> 00:01:58.920 in Cincinnati. 34 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:02.000 Yeah. We actually we met at one of the black 35 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:05.359 tech meetups in Cincinnati's I think that's. 36 00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:10.719 How we first did. I'm terrible, sorry, right down the streets. 37 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:14.840 We were into my husband and I for a little while, 38 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:18.439 and then we moved to Columbus UH for a job 39 00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:21.639 opportunity that that he had, and I continued to work 40 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:25.520 UH via the via virtual land with a lot of 41 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:28.759 my clients still in Michigan UH and looking to you know, 42 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:32.439 branch out to the Ohio ecosystem as well. We did 43 00:02:32.840 --> 00:02:37.039 UH undergrad I was pre farm UH in Michigan at 44 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:42.960 Calvin College Calvin University and then transferred to Purdue University 45 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:48.599 for biology. That by that time I realized that pharmacists 46 00:02:48.599 --> 00:02:53.719 did actually do the research around all of these drug 47 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:56.759 discovery and inventions. And so by that time I was 48 00:02:57.159 --> 00:03:01.400 already into undergraduate research. I was a McNair scholar, and 49 00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:04.159 that really opened my eyes to it takes a team, 50 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:07.199 it takes a village, and being able to be on 51 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:13.919 the research side of tech was where my primary focus was. 52 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:16.759 It was there where I learned the camaraderie that could 53 00:03:16.759 --> 00:03:19.360 come with the lab and being able to work on 54 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:21.960 a team to solve like a really big important problem. 55 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:28.719 So after my bachelors at Purdue, I pursued my PhD 56 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:33.280 at Vanderbilt University and then I opened what opened my 57 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:36.560 eyes was Hey, in order to get these cool technologies 58 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:39.400 outside of the lab, you usually have to start up 59 00:03:39.400 --> 00:03:43.680 a company. You have to put together interdisciplinary team. They 60 00:03:43.719 --> 00:03:46.039 call it tech commercialization, which is really, you know, a 61 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:50.240 fancy way of saying you have to have different milestones 62 00:03:50.360 --> 00:03:53.199 and people involved to push the tech out to the 63 00:03:53.240 --> 00:03:57.360 market to actually benefit the people who meet them. And 64 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:01.719 so at that time I was supplementing my PhD. I 65 00:04:01.719 --> 00:04:05.599 did a PhD in molecular physiology, but I was interested 66 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:08.599 in in management. How do you manage a tech in 67 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:12.120 this particular manner, How do you get a team together 68 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:18.120 with business people and clinicians and researchers to make sure 69 00:04:18.199 --> 00:04:22.120 the story makes sense. And so I audited a lot 70 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:26.360 of engineering courses in management courses to kind of supplement 71 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:31.160 that perspective. So by the time I graduated, I knew 72 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:34.600 I wanted to be in that tech commercialization space. And 73 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:39.199 I did an NBA while I was doing a postdoc, 74 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:43.839 which was a really unique setup because the team that 75 00:04:43.879 --> 00:04:47.000 I was working with, they were on the research side 76 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:52.800 looking to commercialize or actually push out a oncology therapeutic. 77 00:04:53.319 --> 00:04:57.800 It's called a business biopharma. I was a postdoc at 78 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:01.759 Michigan State University and and that team wanted to build 79 00:05:01.800 --> 00:05:05.920 a company around this this tech, and it was it 80 00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:09.199 was a great opportunity to get the science and continue 81 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:12.720 my my journey as a scientist, but also start up 82 00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:15.480 a company. I was team member number three after two 83 00:05:15.720 --> 00:05:19.160 academic founders, uh to you know, get that story up 84 00:05:19.160 --> 00:05:21.920 and going and get the company going. And so I 85 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:25.240 kind of chopped that all under under. You know, this 86 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:28.240 is the education that led me to this, this particular 87 00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:28.879 career path. 88 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:35.199 Wow, that's pretty fascinating. I'm interested in knowing how many 89 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:38.439 clones of you are there, because how do you do 90 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:41.879 all this how do you do all that stuff? Strategic? 91 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:46.720 Yeah, Like I wanted to make sure and it was chaotic. 92 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:50.560 So when I was getting my my NBA, I picked 93 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:53.199 a school that was close to my family. I just 94 00:05:53.240 --> 00:05:54.959 wanted to. After I got my PhD, I was a 95 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:57.120 little burnt out and I was like, I need to 96 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:01.480 be around people, grounding, like my sisters. I need to laugh, 97 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:04.439 I need to I need to just be around people 98 00:06:04.600 --> 00:06:09.079 to pour into me. And so I picked an NBA 99 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:14.160 program where I could I could commute there and just 100 00:06:14.279 --> 00:06:19.319 be close to home. And this particular campus was literally 101 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:23.120 a block away from where my postdoc was. And so 102 00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:28.519 the advanced or excuse mean, the executive NBA program we 103 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:31.240 would meet only on Thursday nights from since six to ten. 104 00:06:31.800 --> 00:06:35.160 And then I if you ever hear the story of 105 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:38.240 like the postdoc woes you're in the lab, you might 106 00:06:38.279 --> 00:06:42.879 take a break, but in molecular postdoc training, usually running 107 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:44.759 some type of time course, you had to go back 108 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:48.800 up to the lab afterwards and kind of finish the experiment. 109 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:52.240 So some nights I would leave my NBA class and 110 00:06:52.240 --> 00:06:55.079 then go back to lab so that I can, you know, finish, 111 00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:59.879 finish whatever experiment I had. But it was I strategically 112 00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:01.879 kind to put it close together, so it was almost 113 00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:05.319 like my own mini joint joint program. And my my 114 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:08.839 post doc u mentor knew about my m b A 115 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:13.120 and my NBA faculty. Uh, they were supportive and you know, 116 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:17.480 knowing that you know, I'm also doing some training, Uh, 117 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:22.319 please have grace. So it's it was it's kind of chaotic, 118 00:07:22.439 --> 00:07:25.480 but family being close by really helped. 119 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:32.519 BIT is always focused on forming new partnerships and opportunities 120 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:36.079 to assist the community and our members with their continued 121 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:39.879 professional growth and development. If you'd like to partner with us, 122 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:45.639 send an email in queries at blacks and Technology dot net. 123 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:56.519 Yeah, how how did you How did you get into 124 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:02.839 the science and things and then more specifically into the 125 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:06.199 research part of it, Like you know, there's there's you 126 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:08.959 can have your sciences, but like research is are totally 127 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:10.160 different based altogether. 128 00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:16.680 Yeah, so I didn't. I knew I wanted to be 129 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:20.160 in science from a really young age. And I think 130 00:08:21.800 --> 00:08:25.079 in the nineties what was really going on was, uh, 131 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:29.759 there was a lot of stories and kids getting into 132 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:35.000 how they could help the AIDS epidemic and how they 133 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:39.200 can be involved. I remember specifically there was a girl 134 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:43.279 that was my age who was who was born with 135 00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:46.320 HIV and she was she was talking about her story 136 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:49.600 and I think it I think it triggered and triggered 137 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:52.519 something in me to to say, oh, there's something that 138 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:57.600 maybe I could do to help a disease state. And 139 00:08:57.600 --> 00:08:59.759 I think that was like one of the turning points. 140 00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:04.799 But I went on into undergrad thinking, oh, I need 141 00:09:04.840 --> 00:09:09.000 to be a pharmacist because you know they surely that's 142 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:11.639 the people who who they give out the drugs, so 143 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:13.360 they probably make the drugs. So this is why you 144 00:09:13.399 --> 00:09:16.559 have to ask questions. Uh. It wasn't until like my 145 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:21.519 sophomore year at I E. P U I and Purdue 146 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:26.679 where at Purdue Indianapolis where I got involved with the 147 00:09:26.759 --> 00:09:30.639 McNair scholars and they were, uh, particularly a group of 148 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:34.120 individuals and faculty members and support system that would help 149 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:39.080 first generation students go through to get their PhD. And 150 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:42.039 it was then where I was like, oh, you're looking 151 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:45.639 for a research track. You're looking to you know, be 152 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:49.159 on a team. Uh, that's that's not a pharmacist role. 153 00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:51.679 That's that's a PhD. That's how that's how I got 154 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:54.440 the switching and came to the right path of where 155 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:55.080 it needed to be. 156 00:09:55.559 --> 00:09:58.879 Wow. Yeah, And for those that listen and don't get 157 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:07.200 it twisted, being a proposes is still a rigorous curriculum. Yeah. Yeah. 158 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:11.080 So so how did you then was this coming like 159 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:14.919 your first I guess for a into more of a 160 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:15.720 tech side of it. 161 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:21.000 I remember when I was an undergrad thinking, Uh, the 162 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:27.080 school that I went to with the mid air program, 163 00:10:27.279 --> 00:10:31.039 they had an undergraduate research program and you got paired 164 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:34.200 of with the faculty member and my member, my faculty 165 00:10:34.200 --> 00:10:37.919 mentor was from the school of dentistry. And I remember 166 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:42.240 at that time thinking, how do I talk about this 167 00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:45.240 research in a way that would make sense to like 168 00:10:45.320 --> 00:10:48.120 my siblings and my parents and things like that. And 169 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:52.240 so I kept thinking about, well, if I'm in a 170 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:54.519 school of dentistry, some of the products and some of 171 00:10:54.519 --> 00:10:57.559 the things that they might use. Obviously it's toothpaste, mouth wash, 172 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:00.000 things like that, And so I always had to by 173 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:03.559 my mind, how does this research relate to like a 174 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:05.799 product that I would use all the time or that 175 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:10.399 my my community would use. And I think that kind 176 00:11:10.440 --> 00:11:14.799 of sparked the the the realization that what you're doing 177 00:11:14.840 --> 00:11:18.080 in the lab does have to transfer to a company 178 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:23.600 like cool Crest. You know have researchers that are thinking 179 00:11:23.639 --> 00:11:26.279 on the molecular level, what does that mean for your 180 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:29.240 your oral health? But how do you tell that story 181 00:11:29.320 --> 00:11:32.480 to a company to have a product that you know 182 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:35.759 your your family might use. I think at the very 183 00:11:35.799 --> 00:11:40.039 basic level, that's when I was thinking, there's there's two 184 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:42.200 sides here that I need to be able to be 185 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:44.720 aware of. I need to learn how to do the 186 00:11:44.759 --> 00:11:47.440 science and be disciplined enough to do it, but I 187 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:50.039 also need to and it was really important to me 188 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:52.600 be able to share what are you doing in the 189 00:11:52.679 --> 00:11:55.960 lab with like my mom and dad and like, well, 190 00:11:55.960 --> 00:11:58.519 what does that mean, what's what's the what's the purpose 191 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:00.960 of it, what is the what's the end goal for you? 192 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:06.120 How does how does this benefit the people that that 193 00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:09.559 that are not in the lab. And I think that 194 00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:12.360 that's that's the part that really kind of said that 195 00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:14.639 there's two sides of this that I'd like to explore. 196 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:19.840 Wow, yeah, it's it's funny, like I don't know if 197 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:22.600 a lot of people know like how certain things come 198 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:27.559 to market and how you know, there's a research phase 199 00:12:27.559 --> 00:12:30.879 of this before and then you have to figure out 200 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:33.639 how to how to kind of commercialize this entire thing 201 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:36.360 in order for the market to be able to consume it. 202 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:39.120 I know that people probably know like, oh, yeah, you know, 203 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:42.679 there's you know, there's these big companies like you know, 204 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:45.960 Procter and Gamble and they have there, but like, I 205 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:48.600 don't know if they know like everything that's involved. So 206 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:52.159 it's interesting to hear like from that that base level 207 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:56.159 side of how things actually how things come to the market. 208 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:00.960 So this is interesting. But what excited you about going 209 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:04.480 into the field of science? Like, I know you you 210 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:07.879 shared your story around the whole AIDS epidemic, but once 211 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:09.720 you like kind of got into it, like what what 212 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:12.759 was it? There was exciting that that that kept you 213 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:13.840 in the field. 214 00:13:14.679 --> 00:13:19.000 When I was in grad school, I did a project 215 00:13:19.080 --> 00:13:22.000 where we got a chance to work with another small 216 00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:25.600 business that was trying to at the time there was 217 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:27.360 there was a couple of projects that I had, but 218 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:30.360 one one of them was there. It was a company 219 00:13:30.360 --> 00:13:36.200 that was trying to use the database that Vanderbilt was 220 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:42.519 was producing around clinical do you identify data? What do 221 00:13:42.600 --> 00:13:45.039 they do in their their hospital and their clinical trials, 222 00:13:45.320 --> 00:13:49.600 And they were trying to make it available to the public, 223 00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:53.679 and they wanted to have people, uh like a committee 224 00:13:53.720 --> 00:13:56.879 around it to to kind of say, well, here's how 225 00:13:56.879 --> 00:13:59.559 we can do this ethically, and here's how we can 226 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:03.120 have a business story around it, and here's also how 227 00:14:03.159 --> 00:14:07.159 do how do we share with the public why we're 228 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:09.559 doing this to get their consent, to get their trust, 229 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:14.799 to get give them equitable access to the founding the 230 00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:18.919 findings that we would have later on. And I think 231 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:22.759 that particular project, uh really it was the first time 232 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:26.360 I was able to talk to other business owners other 233 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:29.919 like law students. They had a couple of other students 234 00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:33.759 on the on like the committee, and you know, what 235 00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:37.919 we said about how how we think this project should 236 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:41.399 go so that it could be equitable and trustworthy for 237 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:45.559 the whole community was taken taken the heart and and 238 00:14:45.159 --> 00:14:49.279 it actually was implemented. The policies that they did and 239 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:52.440 that's what kind of was like, oh I can I 240 00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:55.519 can work and talk to other people and it actually 241 00:14:55.879 --> 00:15:03.279 can produce something something you know, worthwhile and useful. So 242 00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:06.159 I think, So I didn't they call it lab hands. 243 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:08.600 I didn't really have great lab hands, Like I would 244 00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:12.000 do an experiment in the lab a couple of times, 245 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:15.799 you know, usually it wouldn't work. But I could tell 246 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:18.679 based off of, you know, how my colleagues are moving 247 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:22.840 through things that I was a lot more interested in, 248 00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:25.240 how do you how do you tell the story? How 249 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:28.159 do I get other people involved? Can we can we 250 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:32.799 do something together? What's the teamwork here? And so while 251 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:37.360 I was writing the dissertation, I was really interested in 252 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:41.679 and how other people were doing there during their training 253 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:43.559 and things like that, And so I think, I think 254 00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:46.080 that really that really stuck with me, like how do 255 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:51.919 you translate this this stuff and what's exciting? And it's 256 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:54.679 still exciting now. So recently I got a chance to 257 00:15:55.080 --> 00:15:56.679 now I get a chance to work with a lot 258 00:15:56.679 --> 00:16:00.759 of founders there. They're professors who are you know, going 259 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:06.679 through the process. They've gone through the rigorous training scientifically 260 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:10.879 how to get their tech, but that training usually doesn't 261 00:16:10.919 --> 00:16:13.279 include well, how do you put together a business plan, 262 00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:15.279 how do you put together a team, how do you 263 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:18.600 delegate things that are non technical to your team, and 264 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:20.600 how do you turn that tech story into business story 265 00:16:20.679 --> 00:16:23.240 so that you can get strategic partnerships, so you can 266 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:27.600 get funding, so you can get you know, people to 267 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:30.559 to to put on or be a part of your 268 00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:34.879 your story. And it's being an entrepreneur coach is a 269 00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:37.919 lot of therapy. It's a lot of sessions of like, 270 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:40.919 here's how I can connect you to others and being 271 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:44.360 able to know what they've been able, what they've done 272 00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:46.879 in the past. It really excites me to bring something new, 273 00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:50.120 like a new perspective, uh to you know, something that 274 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:54.879 they've been entrenched in in so long and say well 275 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:56.679 that's great, let's think of it in a different way. 276 00:16:57.440 --> 00:16:58.759 That's what That's what really excites me. 277 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:04.720 So I'm really interested in knowing if that's the normal 278 00:17:04.839 --> 00:17:10.720 I guess cadence or pattern that happens with I guess 279 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:17.000 within the commercial commercialization of a new product, new medical 280 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:19.039 device or something like that. The reason why I'm asking 281 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:21.920 is because like there's there's always people out there that 282 00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:26.480 are they're going to be skeptics of the process. And 283 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:29.359 it was interesting for me to hear you talk about, 284 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:33.160 you know, things being equitable. Uh. And you know, when 285 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:35.680 it comes to like you know, quote unquote big pharmacy 286 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:39.960 and all these large you know, medical companies, like people 287 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:45.279 have their skeptical about their intentions and what they're doing. 288 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:47.759 And so when you said that, it was like, Oh, well, 289 00:17:47.799 --> 00:17:50.920 I wonder if it's if that's like kind of the 290 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:54.039 normal pattern for a lot of these, it would be 291 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:56.480 good to know because there may be people could could 292 00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:01.279 you know, kind of taper a little their skepticism about 293 00:18:01.319 --> 00:18:04.319 some of these because no matter what, like there's you're 294 00:18:04.359 --> 00:18:06.559 going to have people to you know, big pharmacy or 295 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:08.160 out to get us. They're out to do this, they're 296 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:10.480 out to control us, and that type of thing. But 297 00:18:10.519 --> 00:18:12.960 it's always good to kind of hear like someone on 298 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:16.480 on the quote unquote inside Uh. And so I'm just 299 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:18.799 kind of wondering, is that is that a normal process? 300 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:22.680 Yeah, that's a that's a great question. I would answer 301 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:25.559 in the two folds. So, Uh, when I talk to 302 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:28.559 my colleagues, particularly ones that look like me, who are 303 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:34.480 interested in uh, underrepresented communities or underestimated communities, people who 304 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:39.599 are wanting to take an innovation and and I work 305 00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:41.920 with companies that are that are really early stage, so 306 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:46.559 they're they're the most optimistic, they're the most you know, 307 00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:52.799 they're the most uh dreamy about what their technology can do. 308 00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:57.839 And they're they're really yeah, exactly, they're they're really asking 309 00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:01.480 these questions. And so a lot of a lot of 310 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:05.440 my colleagues in the First Town found founders, they're really 311 00:19:05.480 --> 00:19:09.359 in tune with why why they're trying to get this 312 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:13.680 this commercialization project up and going. Whether that's a new therapeutic, 313 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:17.680 whether that's a new software company that would help connect 314 00:19:17.880 --> 00:19:25.079 hospitals to maybe marginalized communities, whether it's a medical device 315 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:31.440 that would be amazing for you know, people of different 316 00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:34.400 different shades, different sizes, you know, some of those things 317 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:38.200 come and come to bear. And so what what I 318 00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:42.319 like hearing about those those particular conversations is, you know, 319 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:47.640 before they before they get to an exploratory path where 320 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:50.599 you're you're really focusing in on how we can make 321 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:54.319 a difference and what the milestones are. Those conversations are 322 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:57.799 are really inclusive, and the people who are doing the research, 323 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:01.920 they're you know, they're they're also making sure you know, 324 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:05.079 there's some things that aren't right in clinical trials and 325 00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:07.799 how they recruit and how people use the data. How 326 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:11.960 do we change that conversation or make it accessible? 327 00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:13.799 Uh. 328 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:16.119 One of the founders that I really love working with, 329 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:19.920 she she's looking at how we can use AI to 330 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:27.119 to start making predictions of different molecules, and she's already 331 00:20:27.160 --> 00:20:31.440 thinking about, well, the data that we input into the algorithm, 332 00:20:31.720 --> 00:20:34.480 it needs to be diverse, it needs to have these 333 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:37.599 different types of perspectives so that you could build a 334 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:41.039 strong foundation. And there's there's a lot of people who 335 00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:45.160 are advancing that that that perspective, even with the big companies. 336 00:20:45.960 --> 00:20:51.039 One of the the uh uh maybe she'll be my 337 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:52.799 colleague one day. But one of one of the people 338 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:55.839 that I really enjoy following is doctor Joy from the 339 00:20:56.119 --> 00:20:59.519 uh Uh. She has like this algorithm of justice leads 340 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:03.079 where she she just had a Netflix documentary. You know, 341 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:05.839 how do we how do we make sure that the 342 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:09.519 people on the on the round building these things take 343 00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:14.200 into account the biases of you know, just human nature 344 00:21:14.759 --> 00:21:17.839 and and being inclusive about the training and the talent 345 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:21.519 to ask these questions. Is how you do that? And 346 00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:27.480 so building that team is super important and Uh, I'm 347 00:21:27.559 --> 00:21:30.720 on the more optimistic side with the new founders and 348 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:34.799 and they're getting their milestones, but it's it's more prev 349 00:21:35.039 --> 00:21:36.839 We have a long way to go, but it's more 350 00:21:36.920 --> 00:21:40.839 prevalent now of at least including in your story. How 351 00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:43.920 do you how do you account for these particular things? 352 00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:46.400 And it helps when you, like you said, you have 353 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:49.480 people who look like you who are telling what they're 354 00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:52.880 doing about it, but also show showing that you know, 355 00:21:53.079 --> 00:21:57.440 I'm speaking out so that other new companies and other 356 00:21:57.519 --> 00:22:00.279 new innovations that are going in the pipeline all are 357 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:02.880 aware of this. That might have been a long winded 358 00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:07.200 way of saying there's no no, no, yeah, yeah, no. 359 00:22:07.319 --> 00:22:11.279 I definitely appreciate the answer. I mean it essentially the 360 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:14.279 new generation is holding us down. So I like that. 361 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:14.920 I like that. 362 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:19.880 What's up everyone? We hope that you're enjoying this episode 363 00:22:19.880 --> 00:22:23.279 of the Blacks and Technology Big Tech Talk podcast. Do 364 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:25.680 you or someone you know have a dope story that 365 00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:28.599 they want to share with our bit audience. Blocks and 366 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:32.200 Technology is seeking guests to be on our podcast. We're 367 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:35.200 looking to highlight the journeys and experiences of black women 368 00:22:35.240 --> 00:22:37.720 and men in the tech industry. So if you know 369 00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:41.279 of someone, send them our way, shoot us an email 370 00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:44.839 to contact us at blacks and Technology dot net, or 371 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:47.640 click on the link in the show notes and fill 372 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:55.920 out our form. We're looking to hear from you. So yeah, 373 00:22:56.039 --> 00:22:59.160 so let's talk a little bit about ruby Leaf Media 374 00:22:59.480 --> 00:23:02.319 and what are some of the things that led you 375 00:23:02.440 --> 00:23:05.079 to found in this company. 376 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:10.640 So it's it's been established since my grad school days, 377 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:13.160 and at first it was a way that I could 378 00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:18.880 be able to do small market research projects or small 379 00:23:19.079 --> 00:23:27.799 volunteer or uh scope based projects in a way that 380 00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:32.839 that could complement my my training. And so I had 381 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:34.519 it on this on the side for a little while. 382 00:23:34.839 --> 00:23:38.640 And recently, what I've learned in just growing in the 383 00:23:38.680 --> 00:23:44.319 ecosystem and figuring out how the ecosystem works around tech commercialization, 384 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:50.559 I noticed that there was people that are connectors in 385 00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:55.319 the ecosystem. These are your entrepreneurial support systems, and my 386 00:23:55.400 --> 00:23:58.920 time with the Small Business Development Center really showed how 387 00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:03.920 they worked together. And I continue to or the goal 388 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:06.839 that I have with the company is to support these 389 00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:11.400 these partnerships or these these organizations when it comes to 390 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:15.079 high tech companies. I'd love to use my my PhD, 391 00:24:15.240 --> 00:24:18.079 my NBA. The fact that when when we started that 392 00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:21.039 company UH with my with my post doc team, we 393 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:24.960 it was a a small drug pharmaceutical company that got acquired. 394 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:28.480 So those end up you end up seeing steps along 395 00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:31.599 the way that could be useful for other founders and 396 00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:36.079 being able to do that on a scalable level, supporting 397 00:24:36.279 --> 00:24:40.200 the the organizations that are doing that. That's what we're 398 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:44.240 relief is about primarily, and then also being able to 399 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:49.559 champion the story around uh underestimated, underrepresented founders who are 400 00:24:49.640 --> 00:24:52.880 doing the journey. They've they've been in the field, they've 401 00:24:52.920 --> 00:24:58.599