In this episode of The Connect Current, host James Zanewicz sits down with Rupak Doshi, Co-founder and CEO of OmniSync, to explore how better systems can accelerate innovation. Rupak shares how OmniSync is helping founders and organizations navigate funding, market intelligence, and commercialization through AI-powered tools, and why the path from idea to traction is still more fragmented than it should be. He also offers insight into where innovators lose the most time and how smarter infrastructure can unlock faster progress.

This conversation is a focused look at the systems behind innovation and what it takes to move more ideas from concept to real-world impact.

This podcast was recorded at UC San Diego Park & Market.

In this episode of The Connect Current, host James Zanewicz sits down with Debbie Chen, Founder and CEO of Hydrostasis, to explore how nontraditional journeys are shaping the next generation of innovation. Debbie shares how Hydrostasis is advancing hydration science through wearable technology, and why better understanding hydration as a vital sign could unlock new opportunities in health and performance. She also reflects on her own path into entrepreneurship and what it means to build from outside the traditional mold. This conversation is a thoughtful look at how lived experience, access, and perspective are expanding who gets to innovate and what gets built next in San Diego and beyond.

Episode was recorded at UC San Diego Park & Market.

Learn more about Hydrostasis:
https://hydrostasis.com/

In this episode of The Connect Current, host James Zanewicz sits down with Adam Jacobs, President of Xzom, to explore how early disease detection and accessible diagnostics are shaping the future of health innovation.

Adam shares how Xzom is building point-of-care solutions designed to make diagnostics faster and more accessible, and what it takes to stand out in a complex, competitive space. Drawing from his background in athletics and entrepreneurship, he also reflects on balancing commercial reality with mission-driven impact. This conversation offers a concise look at building meaningful health innovation in San Diego and turning big ideas into real-world solutions.

Recorded at UC San Diego Park & Market.

Learn more about Xzom:
https://xzom.com/

In this episode of The Connect Current, host James Zanewicz is joined by Courtney Young, PhD, Co-founder and CEO of MyoGene Bio, one of Connect's 2026 Cool Companies. MyoGene Bio is developing MyoDys45-55, an AAV-delivered CRISPR gene editing therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare and devastating muscle wasting disease with no cure. Courtney traces her path from a high school moment, when her cousin Christopher was diagnosed with Duchenne, through graduate research at UCLA to co-founding MyoGene Bio alongside her advisors, Dr. Melissa Spencer and Dr. April Pyle. The conversation covers what makes the company's gene editing approach different, the realities of building a life science company led by three women scientists, and where gene therapies like this one most often get stuck on the path from lab to patients. The episode also looks at what MyoGene Bio's next chapter as a Connect 2026 Cool Company means for San Diego's life science ecosystem, and what kinds of partners, investors, or collaborators would be most helpful right now.

Recorded at KILN Rancho Bernardo.

Learn more about MyoGene Bio:
https://www.myogenebio.com/

Learn more about Connect's 2026 Cool Companies:
https://connect.org/

In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with Graeme Rae, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of HyperKelp, to explore how the company is turning the ocean into a sensing network. Graeme shares how HyperKelp’s Kelp Smart Buoy is designed as an open marine platform that can carry a wide range of sensors and deliver ocean data in near real time for environmental, commercial, port, and defense applications. The conversation dives into Graeme’s journey from ocean engineering and Surfline to HyperKelp, what it takes to build hard technology that can survive at sea, and why the company’s next chapter as one of Connect’s 2026 Cool Companies reflects San Diego’s growing strength in ocean technology, dual-use innovation, and the blue economy.

Recorded at Kiln Rancho Bernardo:
https://kiln.com/communities/rancho-bernardo/

Learn more about HyperKelp:
https://www.hyperkelp.com/

In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with James Mackay, Ph.D., President and CEO of Crystalys Therapeutics, to explore how the company is advancing a new treatment path for people living with gout. James shares how Crystalys is developing dotinurad, a next-generation, once-daily oral URAT1 inhibitor, and what the company’s recent $130 million Series B financing enables as it moves through late-stage global clinical development and commercialization preparation. The conversation dives into why gout remains an underserved treatment area, what it takes to execute at this stage of biotech development, and how experienced leadership, strong science, and committed capital can help move promising therapies closer to patients.

Recorded at Kiln Rancho Bernardo:
https://kiln.com/communities/rancho-bernardo/

Learn more about Crystalys Therapeutics:
https://crystalystx.com/

In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with Ramesh Ramji, Founder and CEO of SpectralTx, to explore how spectral hyperplexing technology could help reshape molecular screening and the future of connected data. Ramesh shares how SpectralTx is developing tools like Spectra-Gel and SpELs to improve encoding depth, speed and data fidelity, giving researchers richer information for drug discovery, diagnostics, deep learning and broader biotech innovation. The conversation dives into why better molecular screening matters, what it takes to build a deep tech life sciences platform, and how SpectralTx’s journey as a Connect Springboard Company reflects San Diego’s strength in turning complex science into real-world opportunity.

Recorded at BioLabs San Diego:
https://www.biolabs.io/san-diego/

Learn more about SpectralTx:
https://spectraltx.com/

In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with Niren Shah, PharmD, MBA, Co-founder and CEO of Cove Therapeutics, to explore one of the biggest challenges in genetic medicine: delivery. Niren shares how Cove is developing non-lipid, non-viral biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles designed to overcome key limitations in the field, including efficiency, safety, manufacturing, redosing, and larger genetic payloads. The conversation dives into Cove’s platform approach, what it takes to build a biotech company around difficult science, and why the company’s next chapter as one of Connect’s 2026 Cool Companies reflects the strength of San Diego’s growing life sciences ecosystem.

Recorded at UC San Diego Park & Market:
https://parkandmarket.ucsd.edu/

Learn more about Cove Therapeutics:
https://covetx.com/