Okay here's a thing I don't understand about the debate around whether to fund academic research: How can anyone who 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 PhDs onto their teams not see the value of the work that got them there?

Dig deeper in today’s @techcrunch.com exclusive on Phantom Neuro with Founding CEO Connor Glass,= by Ingrid Lunden. techcrunch.com/2025/04/15/p...

While most BCI tech starts at the brain, Phantom Neuro started at the 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎. With Ottobock leading the $19M Series A, we’re thrilled to double down on Phantom’s radically intuitive approach to mobility. Read why we (re)invested, by Breakout Ventures’ Dana Watt, PhD: medium.com/breakoutvc/p...

Thoughts in order after hearing this news as part of the team that invested early in ZymoChem: 1. Woah, sustainable nylon production would be huge for the planet. 2. What a big win for ZymoChem and biomaterials producers in general. 3. Please please please let this turn into lulu-x-Zymo swag

For all my awesome sci-commers: the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications is open until March 31st. Check it out and share with others! www.nationalacademies.org/awards/excel...

Looking forward to meeting everyone at the AUTM Annual Meeting next week! Send me an email if you're in town so we can grab a coffee or attend some meetings together.

I don't always include puns in our portfolio news posts, but when I do... they are really, really bad

Nearly 5 years out of my PhD, I still learn new science... I still work with researchers... I still speak at conferences... I still explore what I find most exciting... just without the .edu address. Full post over on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/posts/susann...

Episode #2 of my show Tears In Rain is live!!! I interviewed @susannalharris.bsky.social and she gave us a peek into what it took for her to become the scientist she is today. Highly recommended viewing for PhD students pushing themselves to grow as researchers. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R6M...

Fun research fact of the day: Cornell invented the chicken nugget.

One of the best parts of venture community+platform work is getting to share exciting news every. damn. day. My dream is to do an interview series just on the science of our portfolio's tech. Like, Cytovale uses high-speed cameras + immunology to detect sepsis 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 instead of hours. What?!?

My thoughts in order: 1. Science is so pretty 2. Wow this is a big deal for research 3. Preeeeetttyyyyy

So much this 👇 I've gotten many opportunties because of social media. I've also made my positions so clear that I've ruled out jobs but I see that as a positive. My COVID work had collaborators I'd found on the bad place and they were absolutely brilliant (& just lovely folk).

Spending a month on Bluesky has created a whole new model of a fight we need to be having right now. Not liberal vs. conservative or whatever, but respect vs manipulation. I am tired of being manipulated everywhere I go. That’s why I like it here, I feel like I’m in charge for once.

Feeling sunnier about the future of scicomm after a catch-up with @dr-brein.bsky.social. It's hard to stay motivated seeing all the pushback against real research. But the fear of science is nothing new, and getting access to our audience is half the battle. We have the tools to make a change.

I was surprised a Biotech Investor starter pack wasn’t available, so I made one. Please help grow this community. go.bsky.app/GV6usnz

After attending Magnify in 2022 and 2023 as a community member, I can still hardly believe that I got to help put on this year's event as part of the Breakout Ventures team <3

Are we still doing the "share your nerdy tattoos" like in the olden times? Cuz I miss seeing those and have a few new ones to share myself...

Congrats to Danny Carbonero, our Breakout Fellow at BU, on publishing his ML-driven neuroscience dissertation work in Nature Scientific Reports. With senior author @johnawhitephd.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Couldn’t agree more! I met a ton of awesome people in grad school that have gone on to do a lot of really cool things. #chemsky

5 years since getting my PhD, I've realized one of the best grad school perks is watching your friends become leaders. The guy you met in orientation? He's a professor. Your writing buddy? Running her own business. The postdocs who paved the way? Doing big things in industry and government. Amazing.

Could combining computation and genetic medicine be the key to treating brain and mental health disorders? "Neuro is a very data-rich, insight-poor field... and those fields tend to really benefit from things like AI." ~Dana Watt, PhD, Breakout Investor Podcast: www.businesstrip.fm/podcast/epis...

It looks like a lot of scientists are making the switch to Bluesky! Very exciting for #scicomm 🔬 A few questions for y'all: 1. Who should I be following here? 2. What tags are ✨you✨ using or watching to find and share cool science?