EP 197: From biobanks to breakthroughs: Linking genomics to drug discovery with Heiko Runz of insitro

Summary: 

This week on The Genetics Podcast, Patrick is joined by Heiko Runz, medical geneticist and VP of Neuroscience at insitro. They discuss Heiko’s path into therapeutic genetics, how collaboration and data integration across biobanks led to his discovery of a protective variant for age-related macular degeneration, and the role of cell-based models in drug discovery.

Show Notes: 

0:00 Intro to The Genetics Podcast

00:58 Welcome to Heiko

01:41 Heiko’s career path and how he became interested in medical genetics and therapeutic development

05:49 Connecting the dots across biobanks for genetic discovery

08:23 Heiko’s discovery of a potential gene target for age-related macular degeneration

15:29 The challenge of biobank recontact and why it’s essential for follow-up studies

18:57 The opportunity for smaller companies to follow up on large-scale genomic discoveries

23:00 Advances in cell-based models for neuroscience drug discovery

24:40 Heiko’s role in the development of tofersen for SOD1 ALS 

 

28:50 Targeting TDP-43 in ALS through large-scale cell-based phenotyping and drug discovery

30:36 Using cell-based phenotypes to functionally test disease mechanisms and validate variants

33:58 The potential of AI for refining phenotypes and generating drug hypotheses

36:47 Heiko’s advice to early career professionals interested in the field of genetics and drug discovery

38:26 Closing remarks 

Find out more

• insitro (https://www.insitro.com), study on CFHR5 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61193-3)

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