Forbes names WU students to 30 under 30 list

| News Editor

Two Washington University students were recently placed on Forbes Magazine’s annual “30 Under 30” list.

Derek Platt, a graduate student in molecular microbiology and microbial pathogenesis, was selected for the science category for his work developing diagnostic tests and treatment for the Zika virus. Erica Barnell, a MD/Ph.D. student, was selected for the healthcare category for her role as co-founder and chief science officer of Genoscopy, a healthcare company working on early detection of colorectal cancer. Both students began their research during their time at the University.

In 2015, Platt was studying the Zika virus in a University laboratory when the virus experienced a major outbreak in Brazil. Platt rose to the occasion, contributing to many papers about the virus and identifying certain antibodies that block Zika infection.

Barnell also began her research in a University laboratory when working on a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation to research micronutrient malnutrition in Africa by developing a method for detecting certain diseases by analyzing RNA from stool samples.

“We were the first people to develop a method of testing for transcripts of RNA in stool, and she was an integral part of developing that method to see how that might be used for diagnostic tests for colon cancer,” Barnell’s principal investigator Mark Manary said.

Barnell soon realized that the research could be applied to other gastrointestinal diseases, and reached out to Manary with her idea.

“I went to my PI and said, ‘This is a platform technology, we could apply it to other gastrointestinal diseases,’” Barnell said. “And he kind of let me take the technology out of university and start the company to look specifically at colorectal cancer.”

Alongside her brother Andrew Barnell (who was at that time an MBA student at the Wharton school) and Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science at Wash. U., Yiming Kang, Barnell decided to found Genoscopy in 2015, a company dedicated to using a minimally invasive RNA-based method for detecting colorectal cancer and other gastrointestinal diseases. The University then stepped in to support Genoscopy’s research.

“[The university] has been pretty wonderful…They provided non-dilutive funding from the University and from some accelerators outside the University,” Barnell said. “Then I was started at an incubator called Sling Health, which is affiliated with the University. They provided us with facilities, some legal help, some start up money. Wash. U. also is the source of every single one of our mentors and our scientific advisory board, so we’ve had a wonderful collaboration with the University.”

Platt also focused on finding practical uses for his research. His discovery of antibodies that block the Zika virus was used to develop a diagnostic test for Zika. Platt has now shifted his focus to studying whether microbes contribute to a rare autoimmune disease similar to lupus.

As a result of Forbes’ selection, both students will be invited to a summit for the 2020 cohort in October. In August, Barnell also plans to attend a women’s summit in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Dr. Obi Griffith, who supervised the Ph.D. portion of Barnell’s MD/Ph., congratulated Barnell on her placement, emphasizing the importance of her decision to pursue a career in both academia and entrepreneurship.

“She’s certainly a role model for MD/Ph.D. students, female scientists, female entrepreneurs and young scientists and entrepreneurs in general,” Griffith said. “A lot of Wash. U. faculty and students are in a very traditional pure academic route, and there are others who are really clearly heading towards industry. I think Erica has a really interesting fusion between those where she really could go in either or both directions.”

Both Platt and Barnell plan to continue their research at Washington University and complete their degrees, although Barnell is currently taking a one year hiatus to work full time at Genoscopy. She sees her selection by Forbes as a confirmation of the importance of her work.

“It’s nice when you receive any validation that what you’re doing is important and impactful and that’s what’s meaningful to me,” Barnell said. “I put my head down and spent so much time in the lab with this goal of impacting human health in a positive and significant way, but it just provides validation that that is the case. Beyond that for the company, it is very helpful for fundraising, for marketing and just signaling that what we’re doing is important.”

Derek Platt did not respond to request for comment.

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