Integrated DNA Technologies

Rolf Turk

Continuous Improvement Champion

Balancing Sustenance and Innovation

The beauty of science lies in an unrelentless quest towards discovery, innovation and application. The ageold adage of “standing on the shoulders of giants” is telling us that science is typically not done in a vacuum, but relies on the improvement of earlier experiments, data or knowledge.

At Integrated DNA Technologies, we embrace continuous improvement in a process we call Kaizen. In short, you strive to implement a change towards a better outcome, and then you secure that improvement by sustainment. Once sustained, you implement the next improvement.

Similarly, we aim to provide our customers with tools to keep pushing the scientific envelope. One example is the development of solutions that support research into minimal residual disease (MRD). At the same time, we continue to strengthen foundational offerings such as primers for PCR and guide RNAs for gene editing—balancing sustained performance with support for emerging research applications.

Clear Communication Drives Complex Collaborations

One of our objectives is to engage external collaborations to combine the best of two worlds. In 2024, we started a collaboration with the Innovative Genomic Institute, led by Jennifer Doudna, as part of the Danaher Beacons initiative, which invests in pioneering academic research with the goal of developing innovative technologies and applications for human health. Our goal is to accelerate and scale up research and development efforts in CRISPR-based approaches by combining academic expertise with capabilities across Danaher operating companies. With the expertise of the IGI and solutions from different Danaher operating companies, a spinout of this collaboration led to the first personalized genomic medicine, where a child born with a urea cycle disorder was treated with a non-viral CRISPRbased therapy. This project, driven out of UPenn and CHOP, highlighted both progress and the challenge that remain in advancing these modalities. We are exploring pathways to streamline investigational development processes, like establishing platform INDs, to support faster progression potential treatments following a patient diagnosis.

To increase the success of these initiatives, it is important to keep communication as clear as possible. This will allow for timely execution as well as provide mitigation strategies when issues arise. Communication is facilitated using various project management tools, and this allows industry and academics to speak the same language.

Building Resilience Against Market Challenges

In a recent article in the NYTimes, Rep. Jake Auchincloss mentioned the core idea of America, where the circumstances of your birth should not determine the condition of your life. Unfortunately, when it comes to health care access, we still have a long way to go. Furthermore, we know that currently the willingness to invest is limited due to macroeconomic market effects. Unfortunately, many people are born with genetic mutations that can lead to rare diseases, for which there is no path towards a cure. Our collaborators from the IGI, and many, many others, are working towards the development of potential therapeutic approaches that can be platformized, where similar therapies can lead to the treatment of many rare diseases. We are hoping that this approach leads to better access for patients due to cost control, leading to more willingness to invest in these therapies. This is just one example of how Integrated DNA Technologies is supporting the resilience of research workflows and scientific programs, while limiting the impact of external drivers such as macroeconomic effects.

Derisking Innovation from Concept to Impact

Innovation for a life sciences company is a balancing act between investment in research and providing a return on that investment. Derisking throughout the process gives you that balance. Derisking is a team effort and takes many forms. Our R&D team develops new products, our product managers provide an understanding of market adaptation and value, our operations team determines how we can productize, and our sales team communicates the value of our differentiated offerings to customers. There are many other key players in this process. In my role, I focus on building a product portfolio that can be sustained because it supports long-term research efforts, such as qPCR, gene editing, or NGS. A new example of such platforms is AI-driven protein design. We all know that algorithm development requires high-quality data, which can only be generated with high-quality reagents that fulfill the demands of our customers.

Build Deep Then Reach Out

My advice to emerging professionals within the life sciences industry is to form a solid foundation. One such path could be to become a subject matter expert in a field of interest. Be humble, patient, and try to understand what you don’t know. In the meantime, be proactive by creating an environment where you can maximize growth. Reach out and learn from others. In an optimal environment, you will experience synergy where you can turn 1+1 into 7. Don’t be scared to take your losses and find different opportunities if you can’t find such an environment.