The Chain: Protein Engineering Podcast

July 14, 2026 | Most ADCs today lean on the same Topo-1 payloads—and resistance is catching up. Jack Elands, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Adcytherix, speaks with host Rakesh Dixit, Ph.D. about what “next-generation ADCs” should mean if we care about patients, not just pipeline counts. Their conversation gets specific about where differentiation comes from: novel payloads with new mechanisms of action, better therapeutic index choices, and smarter design decisions that reduce the toxicities that make patients quit therapy early. They also pressure-test the hype around bispecific ADCs and dual-payload ADCs. 

Links from this episode:  
Adcytherix

At this year’s PEGS Boston, industry experts gathered on a panel to explore how AI and machine learning are deployed in biologics R&D today. Moderated by Peter M. Tessier, Ph.D., Albert M. Mattocks professor of pharmaceutical sciences and chemical engineering at University of Michigan, the panel consisted of Andrew Buchanan, Ph.D., head of discovery at a stealth-mode biotech company; Norbert Furtmann, Ph.D., head of biologics AI and design of large molecules research at Sanofi; Konrad S. Krawczyk, Ph.D., founder and CSO at NaturalAntibody SA; Andrew C.R. Martin, Ph.D., emeritus professor of bioinformatics and computational biology at University College London; Melody Shahsavarian, Ph.D., senior director of data strategy and digital transformation of biotherapeutics discovery research at Eli Lilly & Company; and Bernhardt L. Trout, Ph.D., professor of chemical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  

Links from this episode:  
Pharmaceutical Sciences & Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan 
University of Michigan 
Sanofi 
NaturalAntibody SA 
Bioinformatics, UCL 
Biosciences Computational Biology, UCL 
University College London   
Eli Lilly & Company

May 12, 2026 | When it comes to drug discovery, either you find a rare, clean target and everything clicks, or you spend a decade chasing biology that refuses to cooperate. Daniel Chen, M.D., Ph.D., founder and CEO of Synthetic Design Lab, makes the case for a different playbook: objective-driven protein engineering, where we start with the outcome and design biologics that can execute it with built-in logic. With host Andrew Bradbury, Chen unpacks the SYNTHBODY platform and what “multi-tier logic gating” means in real drug design. They dive into logic-gated antibody drug conjugates, where target summation can boost binding, internalization, trafficking, and payload delivery and where an additional AND gate can trigger multiplier functions that go beyond cytotoxic payloads. 

Links from this episode:  
Specifica
Synthetic Design Lab

How is BindCraft, the automated pipeline for de novo protein binder design, changing the protein design industry? Martin Pacesa, assistant professor of pharmacology at the University of Zurich, joins The Chain to discuss how BindCraft is helping non-protein designers learn how to design proteins—and how the role of the protein designer will evolve. With host Chris Bahl, their conversation explores how BindCraft may help with drug development, its role in the democratization of tools and resources, and how to work more collaboratively with AI models. Pacesa will also be speaking at May’s PEGS Summit in Boston.  
Links from this episode:  
AI Proteins 
UZH - Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology  
University of Zurich 
Models & Molecules Podcast

T cell and immune cell engagement is gaining traction, but what makes it different from other therapies? Patrick Baeuerle, Ph.D., chief scientific advisor at Cullinan Therapeutics, and Jeffrey Miller, M.D., deputy director of Masonic Cancer Center, join The Chain to discuss the advantages, similarities, and differences of T cell and immune cell engagers, and how they compare to other modalities such as CAR T cells. Hosted by Laszlo Radvanyi, Ph.D., their conversation covers engineering recognition of multiple targets, prospects for peptide MHC engagers and NK cells engagers, and the application of these modalities to oncology and beyond. 
Links from this episode:  
University of Toronto, Department of Immunology
University of Toronto
Cullinan Therapeutics
Masonic Cancer Center