SynBioBeta Speaker
Erum Azeez Khan
Messaginglab
Partner
Erum Azeez Khan is a biotech strategist, entrepreneur, and ecosystem builder working at the intersection of science, industry, and narrative. With a foundation in forensic chemistry and a career spanning Big Pharma R&D, global tech ecosystems, and policy advisory, she brings a rare cross-disciplinary lens to the business of biology.As a founding partner at Messaginglab, Erum helps biotech and life sciences companies shape the narratives that drive investment, partnerships, and market entry — translating complex science into compelling strategy for founders, investors, and industry leaders navigating the bioeconomy.Erum is the co-host of Grow Everything, the world's first weekly podcast dedicated to biology as technology. With 160+ episodes, listeners in 70+ countries, and guests drawn from the front lines of synthetic biology, biomanufacturing, and AI-driven discovery, the show has become a go-to resource for the global bioeconomy community.Earlier in her career, Erum co-founded Soundmind, a healthcare tech company she led as CEO through fundraising and a successful exit. She is a passionate advocate for building industries — not just companies — driven by synthetic biology, AI-driven drug discovery, and microbiome intelligence to transform human and planetary health. Based in Brooklyn, she loves discovering the "Brooklyn" of every city, supporting founders, and imagining a biotech-powered future — on Earth and beyond.
SynBioBeta 2026 Tickets are Live
Confirmed Speakers
Sessions Featuring
Erum Azeez
This Year
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Planetary Health
Artificial Colours are Out, Bio is In: SynBio’s Opportunity–and Risk–in a Changing Food Landscape
Synthetic biology has long offererd vibrant pigments and functional ingredients with consistency, scalability, and improved sustainability. While many US policy shifts are creating headwinds for biotech innovation, the regulatory momentum around food colors and ingredients could open a significant opportunity for synbio adoption. This session examines the opportunities and risks ahead, highlighting how innovators can align with shifting rules, build trust, and bring bio-based ingredients from lab to label in a rapidly evolving food landscape.
Get a Ticket
Featuring
Erum Azeez Khan
Messaginglab
Partner
Birgit Cameron
Prism Bio, Inc.
CEO, Co-founder
Patagonia Provisions cofounder now fermenting sustainable, vivid natural colors.
Ricky Cassini
Michroma
CEO
Gregory Hocking
Mars Snacking
VP Global R&D New Innov. Territories
Reinventing snacking through sustainability and startup bets.
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Planetary Health
Artificial Colours are Out, Bio is In: SynBio’s Opportunity–and Risk–in a Changing Food Landscape
Synthetic biology has long offererd vibrant pigments and functional ingredients with consistency, scalability, and improved sustainability. While many US policy shifts are creating headwinds for biotech innovation, the regulatory momentum around food colors and ingredients could open a significant opportunity for synbio adoption. This session examines the opportunities and risks ahead, highlighting how innovators can align with shifting rules, build trust, and bring bio-based ingredients from lab to label in a rapidly evolving food landscape.
Get a Ticket
Featuring
Erum Azeez Khan
Messaginglab
Partner
Birgit Cameron
Prism Bio, Inc.
CEO, Co-founder
Patagonia Provisions cofounder now fermenting sustainable, vivid natural colors.
Ricky Cassini
Michroma
CEO
Gregory Hocking
Mars Snacking
VP Global R&D New Innov. Territories
Reinventing snacking through sustainability and startup bets.
Session lineup still growing
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Featuring
Speaker Coming Soon
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Human Health
From Cells to Patients: Solving the Scale Mismatch in Virtual Biology
Drug discovery often measures biology at the cell level while interventions work at the tissue, organ, or whole-patient scale. This mismatch can make accurate cell-level predictions irrelevant in the clinic. This session dives into strategies to bridge that gap: multiscale modeling that nests single-cell dynamics within organ-level simulations, spatial transcriptomics that preserve context, and surrogate models that translate cell-level outputs into clinical biomarkers. Speakers will ask: how do we ensure virtual biology reflects not just what cells do in isolation, but how biology behaves in the real complexity of patients?
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Featuring
Speaker Coming Soon
