Travis Whitfill
@twhitfill
Biotech/healthcare. Assistant Professor Adjunct @Yale. Cofounder & COO @azitrainc. Former partner Bios Partners. PhD @IIPP_UCL. MPH @YaleSPH ‘14. Opinions mine
Just to reiterate Fauci’s track record: - 41st most cited researcher of all time - 8th most cited immunologist (of 2.2M) - Presidential Medal of Freedom - Huge contributions to AIDS epidemic - 45 honorary doctorates - H-index above 200
COVID Update May 14: The attacks on Anthony Fauci is a mis-placed hit job. And it’s actually dangerous. 1/
This is a great graphic! I’ve been looking for something like this. I can never seem to keep track of who sold which consumer division to whom.
Here is an excellent graph which demonstrates how each one of the big Pharma companies - that were once diversified conglomerates, has unloaded its side businesses in order to focus on developing Biotech-style medicines & treatments. $NVO $BMY $AZN $PFE $ABBV $LLY $JNJ $MRK $XBI
Saw ads for this all over at #BIO2025. Couldn’t agree more. whywevaccinate.org
Thrilled to announce initial safety data from our ongoing Phase 1B clinical trial in Netherton syndrome. I’ll be presenting at BIO today at 12pm to discuss our latest updates. $AZTR prnewswire.com/news-releases/…
Check out @azitrainc's @twhitfill on the #RARECast #podcast - Engineering Skin Bacteria to Be Live Biotherapeutics - digging in on #NethertonSyndrome @lmgbio #precisionderm #dermatology podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eng…
.@twhitfill @azitrainc , discusses Netherton syndrome, the company’s platform technology for engineering live biotherapeutic products, and why it takes more than simply inserting a gene into a desired bacteria to produce these treatments. globalgenes.org/raredaily/engi…
It was an honor being on RARECast this week. Thanks Daniel Levine for having me! open.spotify.com/episode/5jWlSF…
Looking forward to presenting next week at the Microbiome Times Forum in Brussels! @azitrainc $AZTR ir.azitrainc.com/news-releases/…
More from @azitrainc's @twhitfill on the @DNATodayPodcast - What led you to Co-Found Azitra? What need did you see? The potential of targeting the skin w/ synthetic biology methods & huge unmet need in a variety of severe, under addressed derm indications podbean.com/ep/pb-iv36f-17…
After years of working full time and getting a PhD part time at @IIPP_UCL, I passed my PhD defense today! Huge thank you @MazzucatoM for all the guidance over the years and my wonderful examiners @CeciliaRikap @SuerieMoon!!
It's rare disease month, and I thoroughly enjoyed joining @KiraDineen at BIO CEO this week on her podcast @DNATodayPodcast to talk about our engineered skin commensal platform at Azitra to treat rare skin diseases. 🧬 dnapodcast.com/episodes/2025/…
I’ll be giving at talk at 3:45p ET today at the BIO CEO & Investor conference $AZTR ir.azitrainc.com/news-releases/…
I've admittedly often complained about high indirect costs on my grants (my worst offender was Jackson Labs at 90%), but indirect costs are critical in supporting fundamental academic research. Here's a great infographic showing where these funds go:
Last year, $9B of the $35B that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) granted for research was used for administrative overhead, what is known as “indirect costs.” Today, NIH lowered the maximum indirect cost rate research institutions can charge the government to 15%, above…
I submitted an AHRQ grant last month with a review scheduled next week Reached out to PO to see if it’s still meeting. Email returned; no longer works there Reached out to other contact; study section cancelled Scientific progress across the board is being unilaterally halted.
The entire public health/biopharma sector has been disrupted. Some personal anecdotes/impacts - Previous job offers rescinded - Travel plans for the year cancelled - Grants essentially frozen - No disease surveillance comms - No more diversity for agencies OR clinical trials (??)
The US decision to withdraw from the WHO undermines global health cooperation. The @WHO Council on the Economics of #HealthForAll (@Economy4Health), which I co-chaired, underlined why collective investment in #HealthForAll is critical for people and economies. The evidence is…
Remember the headlines last fall saying to throw out black spatulas? Turns out the authors of the study miscaulated the EPA's exposure guidelines by an order of magntitude (42k ng/day vs. 420k ng/day). Soo it's probably fine :) sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Taking a driverless car in San Francisco. I was skeptical, but these are actually SO cool! @Waymo
Excited to be in San Francisco this week. I'll be giving a corporate presentation for Azitra at Biotech Showcase this afternoon at 3p PT. $AZTR ir.azitrainc.com/news-releases/…