“You might be escaping one set of problems and taking on another.”
In this episode, I talked with Dr. Steven Katz, CMO and SVP of Translational Research for Shinobi Therapeutics, a biotech company pioneering off-the-shelf immune-evasive IPSC-derived cell therapies. We get into why technical skills alone won’t cut it—and how the wrong hire, even if they look great on paper, can quietly derail an entire team. We talk about the pressure to stick with “proven” endpoints (even when they don’t fit the science), the temptation to play it safe, and how a quiet sense of nihilism can creep into teams when things aren’t going right. We also dig into what it’s really like managing a global biotech team, and how to make it work without losing your mind.
Steven is a trained surgical oncologist and associate professor at Brown University, Steven has spent his career helping patients with solid tumors—from removing liver and pancreatic cancers in the OR to pushing the limits of immunotherapy in biotech. He was previously CMO at Trius Life Sciences.
Here’s what you’re in for:
- Why Steven left surgery to join biotech—and what only surgeons understand about drug development
- The trap of joining industry just to escape a broken healthcare system
- How Shinobi Therapeutics merges Nobel Prize-winning IPSC science with immune evasion tech
- The #1 change needed to make cell therapy viable for more patients
- The cultural and logistical challenges of running a Japan–US biotech
- What happens when you don’t clearly define what you’re hiring for
- How bad hires can quietly fracture entire clinical programs
- Why the “safe” development plan isn’t always the smartest—and when to take the risk anyway
- The worst moment of his career—and what he did to move forward
TMI: Things You Didn’t Know About Steven
- Loves tennis, history, and TRX workouts
- Favorite thing in London? The West End theater scene (avoid: kids on Netflix!)
Timestamps:
04:06 – Lessons from surgery that shaped his biotech career
08:35 – Advice to surgeons and doctors considering a move to biotech
13:20 – Why IPSC is so promising for oncology and autoimmune disease
17:00 – Culture clash or culture strength? Japan–US dynamics at Shinobi
22:30 – When internal alignment falls apart
24:35 – Playing it safe vs. doing what’s right
26:19 – Common mistakes Steven still sees in biotech
30:15 – The problem with drug delivery in solid tumors
31:00 – Best and worst experiences with recruiters
33:08 – What happens when you hire the wrong person
34:46 – Final question: What is Steven most grateful for in his career
About Steven
- Dr. Steven Katz is the CMO and SVP of Translational Science for Shinobi Therapeutics for Shinobi Therapeutics, a biotech developing off-the-shelf, immune-evasive, iPSC-derived cell therapies, and Professor of Surgery at Brown University.
- He has dedicated his career to helping patients with solid tumors in the operating room and developing novel immunotherapy solutions for those beyond the reach of current standard-of-care options.
- Outside of his professional stint, he spends time with his children, doing TRX workouts, playing tennis, reading history and of course joining me on this podcast - welcome.
Connect with Steven:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katz-steve/
About Shinobi Therapeutics
- Shinobi Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing off-the-shelf, immune-evasive, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cell therapies.
- The company's technology is based on research from Kyoto University and the University of California, San Francisco, focusing on creating allogeneic CD8 iPS-T cell platforms with comprehensive immune evasion capabilities.
- Shinobi's lead program, NJA-001, is an iPSC-derived CD8αβ T cell therapy targeting GPC3+ solid tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), colorectal cancer (CRC), and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
- Website: https://www.shinobitx.com/
- Pipeline: https://www.shinobitx.com/pipeline
About me
My name is Charles Spence and I lead Discera. After many years working in the life-science recruitment world, I decided to work for myself. Before doing recruitment I graduated with a biomedical degree, have worked in hospitals (including translation work in Seoul, South Korea), and also spent a year working in diabetes research in Stockholm. After doing research and travel, a career in business and science felt the most appropriate.
In 2023, I decided to launch my firm - Discera Search. A firm committed to solving the biggest talent needs of early clinical stage SME biotechs on the East Coast and DACH.
Connect with me:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-spence-clinical/
- Website: https://www.discera-search.com/
Opinions and comments expressed by the guest do not represent the company and are fully their own.
