Always be thinking about options. Unexpected things can happen to block your planned path towards your goal, so it’s helpful to always have in mind alternative approaches. It also helps to have alternative uses in mind for whatever you’ve developed in the event that your original goal is simply unattainable. We experienced this in developing our biomarker-based blood test for silent rejection in kidney transplant recipients. We had to modify our technical approach several times before finally developing the one that had satisfactory performance.
As part of my series about “authors who are making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Stan Rose.
Stan Rose, PhD is an MIT biologist turned life sciences executive and entrepreneur who has created and led multiple businesses in the emerging fields of DNA analysis and genomics. After several successful ventures, he was suddenly diagnosed with a life-threatening genetic disease. Some of the same technologies he had helped bring to the clinic became critical to his own survival. Following a kidney transplant, he’s continued to contribute to science and medicine. His firm, Rose Ventures, Inc., works with early-stage companies developing innovative, high-impact life science products and services. His new book is Can’t Tame a Mongoose: Memoir of a Genomics Entrepreneur. Learn more at roseventures.net.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I was born in New York City in 1956 and grew up in Greenburgh, NY, a diverse community just north of the city, along with two younger sisters. My father was born in Germany after the first World War and emigrated to the US. He served in the Army in World War II, and thanks to the GI Bill was able to attend college and buy a starter home. My mother took us to museums, movies, and other sights and events in the New York metro area. Our neighborhood was full of families with similar stories. My friends and I spent a lot of time playing kickball and basketball, and wandering through the local woods building forts and playing army. It was an idyllic time in many respects.
But there was a lot of change occurring in both America and at home during the 1960s and early 1970s with the civil rights movement, the Vietnam war, the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK, the first moon landing, and Watergate just to name a few. My parents got divorced when I was a senior in high school, and I was thrilled to go to college and get a fresh start on my own. I had a strong interest in both science and art, and was always curious, hardworking, and enjoyed learning new things. I knew I wanted to find some way to have a positive impact on the world.
When you were younger, was there a book that you read that inspired you to take action or changed your life? Can you share a story about that?
As a teenager I read “Silent Spring,” by Rachel Carson, which arguably ignited the environmental movement. My father worked as an environmental engineer, so I had heard many stories of the potential impacts of pollution in general, and the reckless manner in which many companies were being operated with respect to chemicals. I was 14 when first Earth Day was declared (April 22, 1970) and the book and all the discussion happening at the time gave me the sense that people really could have a positive impact on the world around them. I came to believe that the best way I could contribute would likely be through science.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I was in graduate school at MIT, the biotechnology industry was really just coming into being, driven largely by advances in molecular biology and especially recombinant DNA — newly developed methods for manipulating DNA. I found myself swept up in the excitement around the emerging biotech industry, and also realized there were few businesspeople who understood the technology. So I decided to pursue a minor in management from MIT Sloan along with my PhD in biology, and then seek a job where I could apply my knowledge of both disciplines. I was so enthusiastic that I tried to start a new company while still in graduate school. We had an exciting new technology, a few notable scientific advisors, a licensing option, and a business plan. But we were incredibly naïve. I was completely unprepared for my first few meetings with venture capitalists.
Very quickly I realized how foolish we appeared to them: we had no experience raising money, no idea how to actually get a deal done, and if we ever did get funded, no idea how to run a business. I laugh about it now, but it was terribly embarrassing and depressing at the time. I made it my mission to get an entry level job in biotech and spend time learning how these businesses actually operated and how the founders raised money before I ever tried to do that again. I had no idea how long it might take, but I was never concerned about missing a window of opportunity, and I’m not concerned today. There continue to be countless opportunities to address meaningful problems with innovative technologies and products that will improve people’s lives, all representing big markets.
Can you describe how you aim to make a significant social impact with your book?
My book, “Can’t Tame a Mongoose: Memoir of a Genomics Entrepreneur,” is aimed at two key audiences.
First, I wanted to share some of the wisdom I’ve gained over nearly 40 years with aspiring entrepreneurs and executives in early-stage businesses. I hope to inspire them and/or help them succeed in their missions. Some will likely share my desire to help improve the standard of care for organ transplant recipients.
Second, I wanted to share how someone persevered and succeeded despite challenges to organ transplant recipients and people living with other chronic disease. Hopefully my stories will inspire them to live a fulfilling life in spite of their medical condition, and pursue their dreams.
Can you share with us the most interesting story that you shared in your book?
That would be how I came to co-found Transplant Genomics Inc., a company devoted to developing and commercializing blood tests that would help physicians monitor kidney transplant recipients for rejection, and intervene early if needed, thereby extending graft and patient lives.
I had been diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease in 2002, at the age of 46, and with no family history of this genetic disease which can slowly lead to loss of renal function. By 2011 I needed a kidney transplant to survive, and a friend and coworker courageously and generously donated one of his kidneys to me. Two years post-transplant I was feeling great again, working hard, and simply assumed that I was getting excellent care and that my doctors would know if anything was wrong.
Then one day my donor emailed me an article about biomarkers in transplantation. On reading the article it became clear to me that there were no good tests for early detection of rejection, and in most cases, rejection was only found after more than half of the donated kidney had already been destroyed. There were several groups working on different approaches to blood tests that might provide earlier indicators, but none were yet commercially available. It instantly became obvious to me that a) my physicians had no idea how well I was really doing; they were just waiting to see signs that I was sick, and then would react; b) based on my knowledge of molecular biology, there had to be biomarkers (most likely changes in expression levels of genes) that could be detected in blood and provide an earlier warning signal; and c) there were 200,000 kidney transplant recipients in the US just like me who could benefit from such a test.
It was clear that there was no more important problem on which I could be spending my time working, so I set about finding the right partners to start a company.
What was the “aha moment” or series of events that made you decide to bring your message to the greater world? Can you share a story about that?
For years others urged me to share stories of my business experiences, but I wanted to do something more directed and hopefully more impactful. I was also working very long hours and never felt I had time to get serious about writing. As I continued to think about possible themes for a book, I had two different audiences and motivations in mind. One was to inspire and assist future bio entrepreneurs in advancing their careers. The future of medicine depends on them recognizing impactful innovations in science, and helping transform these inventions from observations or tools to commercially available products that increase our collective knowledge or positively affect patient lives. The other was to help raise awareness of the magnitude of the problem with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) — how far we had already come with renal transplantation as a therapy and how much more of an impact it could have if we a) increased the supply of donors, b) had widespread biomarker testing for early rejection detection and intervention, and c) advanced work on immune tolerance so we could get rid of today’s required immunosuppressant drugs and the adverse side effects they can cause.
Then in 2020 the COVID19 pandemic hit, and in 2021 I found out that my first transplanted kidney was failing. As I began searching for a living donor, a process that took over a year, I felt a strong urgency to write a book. That was the “aha moment.”
I didn’t want to write a “how to” guide, as they can be boring to read, and I don’t think there is one single approach to success in business. I wanted to write a memoir with a compelling central theme illustrated with real life stories, many based on my experiences living with polycystic kidney disease, and then as a kidney transplant recipient.
It was therapeutic, taking my mind off of my need for a second kidney transplant and a living donor. Initially I just started writing stories, then started doing some deeper thinking: What could I say that was new and important for my targeted audiences?
Over the past decades I had been telling my teams to always beware of what I call life’s “inevitable unexpected events.” Most leaders and their teams, regardless of the quality of their plans, aren’t prepared to be adaptable in the face of events they never expected to encounter. Beyond just awareness that unexpected events occur frequently, I wanted to talk about the values, skills and approaches I’ve used to make myself more adaptable — to overcome an unexpected challenge or seize an emerging opportunity in those moments of truth.
Without sharing specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
The first was me! In the course of developing our tests at Transplant Genomics, I was personally tested the most. Once our test was fully developed and validated, I continued to participate in clinical trials. What was really exciting was the first time I went to a phlebotomy lab to have blood drawn and saw one of our kits on the table. It hit home that we had successfully moved this technology from concept, to validation and Medicare reimbursement, to routine use in the clinic — and a few days after the blood draw, seeing my test result show up on the medical center’s electronic online portal.
With respect to my interest in mentoring aspiring bio entrepreneurs, I can simply refer to the many former employees and team members of mine who went on to start new companies. I’ve tried to help each in the early stages with their own businesses, and in some cases continued serving as an advisor or director.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Yes, and on this one let me just talk about expanding the use and effectiveness of organ transplantation as a therapy. There are literally millions of people who would benefit from a heart, lung, kidney, liver, or pancreas transplant.
The part of the problem I chose to focus on was extending graft lifetimes since there is a severe organ supply shortage. We focused on developing noninvasive tests that would detect the onset of rejection early enough to intervene, or confirm stability and allow the limited physician population to focus on other patients. Increasing the period of time over which transplanted organs stay healthy effectively reduces the number of transplanted organs needed each year.
First, a number of public policy actions can be undertaken to increase the pool of available organs, such as requiring people to opt out as deceased donors on their driver’s license, rather than opting in. Or investing in improving how organ procurement organizations handle deceased donor organs so a higher percentage of those obtained actually get transplanted. Or providing financial incentives to living kidney or liver donors in a way that ensures that such programs don’t inadvertently become used by the poor and desperate. For more on this important effort, see the work of https://www.modifynota.org/, and their efforts to lobby Congress to pass the End Kidney Deaths Act in 2024.
Second, there are already several biotechnology companies working on developing artificial organs using different approaches. These range from engineering stem cells from random people and using them to populate organ scaffolds, or engineering stem cells from a targeted patient so their own cells could be used either in a bioengineered scaffold or grown in a lab with differentiation directed so they become the desired organ. Others are pursuing xenotransplantation, or the use of engineered organs taken from certain animals. This has been in the news recently as the first several people have received kidney or heart transplants with engineered organs from pigs.
Third, as a society there is a lot we can do to help raise awareness of the magnitude of the problem, the potential impact of transplantation, and to change thinking about the morality of providing financial incentives to donors. More grass roots activism will help drive politicians to enact legislation. This is similar to the effort that culminated in just the past two years where Congress approved lifetime coverage of immunosuppressant drugs for transplant recipients, which previously was limited to just three years.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leadership entails a variety of characteristics and actions that enable one to effectively provide direction, motivation and support to teams of people who want to contribute to achieving a particular goal.
In my experience, these are some of the key traits of leaders that make team members want to follow them:
- clear and compelling vision to achieve something meaningful
- great communication skills
- great soft people skills
- internally motivated, with drive, determination and focus
- being persistent and resilient, yet adaptable, creative and open to new ideas
- able to build teams of diverse people with complementary skill sets, getting them the resources they need, and creating environments in which they can thrive
- setting an example through personal performance
- showing support and empathy, and convincing people they can count on you
- giving people an opportunity to experience personal rewards and growth
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
For this one, I’ll focus on my journey as a serial entrepreneur.
- Always be thinking about options. Unexpected things can happen to block your planned path towards your goal, so it’s helpful to always have in mind alternative approaches. It also helps to have alternative uses in mind for whatever you’ve developed in the event that your original goal is simply unattainable. We experienced this in developing our biomarker-based blood test for silent rejection in kidney transplant recipients. We had to modify our technical approach several times before finally developing the one that had satisfactory performance.
- It’s not just about having the best technology. Many tech entrepreneurs think it’s all about the technology, but the other aspects of business are just as important to success, such as finance, marketing, sales, service, support, manufacturing and distribution. This is something I began to appreciate in my first business, at Collaborative Research, and more fully understood after a few years managing the PCR business at Perkin-Elmer.
- Title doesn’t equal wisdom. A superior title and position in an organization’s hierarchy doesn’t mean someone is wise, knowledgeable or displays good judgement. Listen carefully, question authority, be open-minded, and keep learning. I’ve always been respectful of superiors, and eager to learn, but I’ve never been afraid to ask questions when things didn’t make sense, or object to a proposed course of action if I felt it was wrong. At some point in my career I started to run into “political” challenges related to such questioning, but I always stood my ground. When things didn’t work out as I desired due to a superior’s lack of wisdom, or unwillingness to be questioned, I tried to learn from it.
- You need to build great teams. Technology-based businesses are highly multidisciplinary. Since everything must work well for the business to succeed, and no individual can be an expert at every discipline, you need to recruit teams of talented individuals who have complementary skillsets collectively covering every area. You also need to create a culture where people from diverse backgrounds and approaches can all thrive. When I was CEO of NimbleGen, we had a core commercial and research team in Madison, WI, a production group in Reykjavik, Iceland, a chemistry group in Waldkraiburg, Germany, and individuals in all of these groups who had unique approaches to working at their best.
- It’s going to be really hard. Roughly 90% of tech startups do not survive more than 5 years. When I started out, however, I had no idea — and was caught up in the enthusiasm of the emerging biotech industry, and my own personal optimism and excitement around my project. Often we had to figure out how to navigate past unanticipated events. I came to understand that no matter how good your idea is, well developed and vetted your plans are, well funded you may be, or talented your team, unexpected events will occur. You will encounter failure. Your ability to learn and recover will be critical. These will be challenging and stressful periods, and it will take drive, persistence, resilience, open mindedness and creativity. It will take relying on relationships, accumulating resources, thinking strategically, and being adaptable. Building businesses from scratch takes a lot of hard work and can push everyone to their limits, but a successful outcome can be an incredibly fulfilling experience — rewarding in every sense of that word.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite life lesson quote is “beware of inevitable unexpected events.” This is the central theme of my book, and something I’ve been preaching for at least two decades.
It’s been relevant to my life in many ways, but I’ll share one story here. In 2002 I was living on St. John in the US Virgin Islands, having sold my first company two years earlier. I thought I had life figured out, had achieved a perfect work-life balance, and was as happy as I could be. Then one day I was diagnosed with “polycystic kidney disease”, or PKD, a genetic condition that was slowly but surely destroying my kidneys.
Nobody could say how fast it might progress, but there was a 50/50 chance I’d need a kidney transplant to survive. With no family history, this disease was caused by a spontaneous mutation, which occurs in roughly 1 in 10,000 people. It was a highly unexpected event that forced me to change my thinking and approach to life. It also reinforced my view that in both life and business, good planning and execution are necessary but not sufficient for success. One must also practice certain values, skills and approaches that increase the likelihood of being able to successfully navigate life’s inevitable unexpected events. Adaptability is key.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
So many people come to mind. I’d want to pick someone I think I’d enjoy spending the time with, and from whom I could learn something about happiness and fulfillment at my stage of life. Someone who has spent many years living a fast-paced life, who has slowed down a bit but is still actively engaged, who has perspective and similar values, who did extraordinary things and inspired others — and might inspire me, and might be helpful in the causes I care about. If I have to choose one right now, I’d like to have a private meal with Bill Gates.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
They can see my website at roseventures.net and my book at roseventures.net/book, subscribe to my blog at roseventures.net/blog, and follow me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanrosephd.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Thank you! It’s been a pleasure
Social Impact Authors: How & Why Author Stan Rose Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.