In this episode of Bizzy Scientist, Dr. Nora Safa sits with Dr. Elsie Ross, a surgeon and professor at UC San Diego who discusses her varied career that merges clinical practice, academic research, and medical device innovation.

Motivated by her family’s history with sickle cell disease, Dr. Ross balances her time between performing surgery and leading informatics research focused on using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve outcomes for patients with peripheral artery disease.

Dr. Ross explains that effective treatment requires a holistic approach, often focusing on addressing the profound impact of psychological and socioeconomic factors, such as patient disempowerment, on health maintenance.

Additionally, Dr. Ross details her practical efforts in developing a new medical device designed to clear clots from dialysis access, driven by the goal of reducing costs and improving efficacy in outpatient procedures. Her narrative emphasizes that success stems from following interests and leveraging institutional resources, regardless of traditional academic metrics.

Last but not least, Dr. Safa and Dr. Ross also brainstorm ideas for protecting Dr. Ross' inventions and developing a startup to bring them to market. Listen to this episode and follow Bizzy Scientist to see how Dr. Ross' journey of commercializing her invention unfolds.

In this episode of Bizzy Scientist, host Dr. Nora Safa sits down with Dr. Jose Morachis and Dr. William Alaynick, co-founders of Phase 2 Ventures, a San Diego–based venture studio focused on early-stage innovations in the life sciences space.

Jose and William reflect on their journey from UC San Diego graduate students to founding Scholar Nexus—a student-driven consulting group at UC San Diego—to launching and scaling their own biotech startup, NanoCellect followed by other biotech companies, and now funding and mentoring the next wave of scientific entrepreneurs.

This episode explores:

• Their early bootstrapping days, including how they hauled prototypes to conferences in rental cars

• The transition from academic research to startup leadership

• How Phase 2 Ventures identifies promising biotech ideas and founders

• What they learned from startup setbacks and acquisition wins

• Why building community and surrounding yourself with good people is just as important as having a good idea

With stories that span grant writing, tech development, and investor pitches, Jose and William offer a rare and honest look into the evolution from first-time founders to venture studio leaders.

🎧 Whether you’re a researcher, student, or investor, this episode is filled with practical insights, candid experiences, and inspiration for anyone navigating the startup world from the lab bench to the boardroom.

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Dr. Uri Manor, an assistant professor at UC San Diego and the director of the Goodell Family Technology Sandbox.

In this episode, Dr. Manor shares his deeply personal journey, revealing for the first time to his invention portfolio manager and host Dr. Nora Safa how being born with severe hearing loss shaped his life and career.

He discusses his early reliance on hearing aids, which sparked a lifelong passion for how technology can improve human lives. This journey took him from an initial interest in philosophy to physics and eventually to a fateful encounter with inner ear sensory hair cells—the very cells related to his condition. He shares the emotional moment he realized he had the opportunity to study the science behind his own hearing loss, a path he never anticipated.

The conversation then explores Dr. Manor's groundbreaking research, which sits at the intersection of microscopy, biology, and artificial intelligence (AI). Discover how his lab is developing superhuman deep learning models that can restore old, low quality images from outdated microscopes to the quality of a state-of-the-art, $10 million instrument, democratizing access to cutting-edge data for scientists everywhere.

Dr. Manor explains how this technology breaks the "triangle of compromise" in imaging—allowing for data that is simultaneously fast, sensitive, and high-resolution—which has powerful applications for everything from tracking live biological processes to accelerating gene therapy and drug discovery.

Finally, learn about the Goodell Family Technology Sandbox, a unique center at UC San Diego that brings together advanced technologies and experts from different fields to foster interdisciplinary innovation. Dr. Manor explains its mission to democratize access to these powerful tools for everyone, including students from local community colleges, and his vision for creating a world-class AI trained on multimodal biological data.

This episode is a powerful story of overcoming adversity and a fascinating look into the future of biomedical research, where AI promises to unlock discoveries beyond human capability.

This episode is brought to you by the UC San Diego Office of Innovation and Commercialization in collaboration with the Sullivan Center for Entrepreneurship at the Rady School of Management.

What do football, physical therapy, orthopedic surgery, and startup acceleration have in common? For Dr. Sam Ward, they’re all chapters in a career defined by curiosity, collaboration, and impact.

In this episode of Bizzy Scientist, Dr. Nora Safa sits down with Dr. Ward—Vice Dean for Research at UC San Diego’s School of Medicine and a leading voice in translational medtech—to talk about his unique path from engineering student-athlete to biomedical innovator.

They discuss:

• Why medtech innovation needs clinicians, engineers, and business minds working as equals

• How to navigate UC San Diego’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and choose the right accelerator

• What makes the Device Acceleration Center and MedTech Council vital entry points for startups

• Why parenting, equity, and career-building need to coexist—not compete

• How the university can better prepare students to think commercially from day one

• The potential (and risks) of wearable sensors, wireless health tech, and patient-generated data

Dr. Ward also reflects on the future of science as a team sport, the importance of early exposure to STEM, and why the best innovations often come from unexpected intersections.

Whether you're an academic founder, clinician with an idea, parent in STEM, or just curious how big ideas become real solutions—this episode offers an inspiring look at innovation that spans disciplines, generations, and goals.

🎧 Listen now and stay Bizzy.

How does a university become a launchpad for tomorrow’s science-driven startups?

In this episode of Bizzy Scientist, Dr. Nora Safa sits down with two pivotal leaders in UC San Diego’s innovation ecosystem: Tim Schwartz, Executive Director of the Sullivan Center for Entrepreneurship at the Rady School of Management, and Dennis Abremski, Executive Director of the Institute for the Global Entrepreneur (IGE).

Together, they dive into:

• Why time—not just funding—is the real currency for early-stage startups

• How accelerators like IGE MedTech and Sullivan Starter are removing bottlenecks for deep tech ventures

• What it means to be “entrepreneurially inspired” in engineering and science

• The value of pairing PhDs, MBAs, and undergrads on real commercialization projects

• Inspiring case studies, including a female-led AI diagnostics startup and a startup team commercializing genetically engineered sea urchins for sustainable collagen

Whether you're a researcher with IP in the lab, a student with entrepreneurial ambition, or a founder navigating product-market fit—this episode breaks down the UC San Diego support system that turns research into scalable impact.

To learn more, visit us at:

• https://rady.ucsd.edu/why/centers/sullivan/index.html
• https://ige.ucsd.edu/
• https://innovation.ucsd.edu/

Dr. Victoria Cajipe, Associate Director of Technology Licensing at UC San Diego, joins host Dr. Nora Safa to discuss her journey from physicist to tech transfer leader. Tune in for practical insights on early-stage licensing, SBIR grants, cross-disciplinary research, and what it takes to turn campus inventions into impact.

What does it really take to turn an idea into impact—and how do you build the mindset to handle the risks, failures, and uncertainties along the way?

In this episode of Bizzy Scientist, host Dr. Nora Safa sits down with Greg Horowitt, Director of Innovation Design at UC San Diego, serial entrepreneur, investor, ecosystem builder, and the co-author of "The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley".Greg shares stories from his global experience mentoring founders and launching startups, and reflects on what success, failure, and leadership look like in the real world.

They discuss everything from risk tolerance and resilience to vulnerability in leadership and how to make smart decisions under uncertainty. Greg also offers practical tools for aspiring founders, including why improvisation and debate are just as critical as business plans and data.

You’ll also get an insider’s look at how UC San Diego supports innovation across disciplines, through programs like the Entrepreneur in Residence initiative, the Essentials of Entrepreneurship certificate, and next-gen spaces like Maverick Studio, where students are reimagining the future with AR/VR.

Whether you’re a founder, student, faculty member, investor, or simply innovation-curious, this episode offers rich insights into the mindset and infrastructure behind successful entrepreneurship.

To learn more, visit us at Innovation.ucsd.edu and rady.ucsd.edu. Reach us at bizzyscientist@ucsd.edu.

In this powerful debut episode of Bizzy Scientist, host Dr. Nora Safa sits down with Dr. Paul Roben, Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation at UC San Diego, to explore what it really takes to build successful companies and a world-class innovation ecosystem.Dr. Roben shares his own journey—from postdoc at UC San Diego to serial entrepreneur, to leading Ireland’s national life sciences innovation strategy, and ultimately leadership at UC San Diego’s Office of Innovation and Commercialization. Together, they discuss the critical role of resilience, risk-taking, and teamwork in entrepreneurship.

Listeners will also learn about the innovation infrastructures available at UC San Diego for scientists and founders—including startup accelerators, innovation hubs, student entrepreneurship programs, as well as startup success stories.

Whether you're an aspiring founder, investor, educator, or parent wondering how to nurture the next generation of innovators, this episode offers inspiration, hard-earned wisdom, and insider access to one of the most exciting innovation ecosystems in the country.

To learn more, visit us at Innovation.ucsd.edu or email us at bizzyscientist@ucsd.edu.