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Hana Petrova
I did my PhD in molecular biology at MIT, studying CRISPR gene editing mechanisms. This was 2015-2019, the period when CRISPR went from "interesting bacterial immune system" to "this might cure genetic diseases." My thesis work contributed to understanding off-target editing effects, which is the unsexy but critical question of "when you edit one gene, what else do you accidentally edit?"
After my PhD, I joined Genentech as a research scientist in the oncology group. Genentech is the birthplace of the biotech industry, and working there was like getting a masterclass in drug development. I learned that the distance between a promising molecule in a lab and an FDA-approved drug on a pharmacy shelf is about 10 years and $2.6 billion (the current average). I also learned that most of that cost is failure: roughly 90% of drugs that enter clinical trials never reach patients.
I left Genentech for 23andMe in 2022, joining their therapeutics division. 23andMe's pitch was compelling: they had genetic data from millions of consumers, and they were going to use it to discover drugs faster and cheaper. The reality was more complicated. Consumer genetic data is useful for identifying drug targets, but it doesn't shortcut the expensive parts of drug development (clinical trials, manufacturing, regulatory approval). The therapeutics division struggled, and I was part of a layoff in late 2023.
That experience was the catalyst for my writing career. I realized that the biotech industry has a communication problem. Scientists can't explain their work to investors. Investors can't evaluate scientific risk. Journalists either oversimplify ("CRISPR cures cancer!") or miss the story entirely. There's a massive need for writing that bridges the gap between bench science and business strategy.
My Signal pieces cover the business of biotech: what makes a drug development program worth funding, how to read a clinical trial result, why GLP-1 drugs are the most important pharmaceutical development in decades, and what the real economics of gene therapy look like. The piece that resonated most was a breakdown of why cell therapy costs $400K+ per patient and what would need to change to bring it under $50K. It requires understanding manufacturing, logistics, and biology simultaneously.
I'm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, surrounded by more biotech companies per square mile than anywhere else on Earth. I run along the Charles River, I'm learning to sail, and I have a sourdough starter named p53 that I've kept alive longer than most of my experiments.
Experience
- Research Scientist, Genentech (Oncology)
- Therapeutics Division, 23andMe
- PhD Molecular Biology, MIT