#E60 Using Space Research to Revolutionize Healthcare on Earth With Kimberly Washington
Read the HYPERSCALE transcript
[00:01] Briar: Hello, and welcome to the podcast HYPERSCALE Kimberly Washington. It's a pleasure to have you on the show.
[00:07] Kimberly: Such a pleasure. Thank you for inviting me.
[00:12] Briar: So tell us about your work in the deep space industry. I'm fascinated to learn more about this. What can people expect from listening to this podcast today?
[00:23] Kimberly: So the work that we do with Deep Space Biology is really pioneering AI and space microgravity research for health discoveries on earth. It's a really, really exciting time to leverage years of microgravity research. We've spent three years in collaboration with NASA, with NASA Gene Lab, and we're the first company in the world to standardize 25 years of microgravity research data, leverage AI, and now we're making really, really exciting health discoveries with major institutions.
[01:11] Briar: Wow. I've heard that you could almost help eradicate human diseases completely with your research.
[01:20] Kimberly: Well, I don't think eradicating completely, but we can really advance the way that we research and the discoveries that we're making. In microgravity, there is a very stressful environment that is placed on the body or even cells. And because of that stress, it helps us understand and study diseases on a very fast pace. And it's a really unique environment because when you remove the gravity, the cells form a 3D structure. So we're limited to a 2D structure on Earth. So it allows us to look at the way the cells transform. We are a technology company and aligning the technology with medical, healthcare research especially leveraging AI is super exciting and things are really changing in the healthcare space rapidly. And it's exciting to pioneer this work, leveraging space in that environment to speed up these health discoveries.
[02:43] Briar: And for someone who knows nothing about this space or nothing about the research, can you describe the process for us in layman's terms?
[02:54] Kimberly: Well, so first I'll share that, our mission with Deep Space Biology is to help solve complex diseases and health conditions. On earth, we are getting sicker, people are getting sicker, and the process of bringing a therapeutic to market is quite complex and cost over 2 billion. Investment takes roughly around 10 to 12 years, and with an 85 to 90% failure rate. So we are applying technology, AI and leveraging the environment of space to really change and move the needle in the way that we actually study diseases and make discoveries. So the work that we do is both bringing space back to earth and also sending experiments and doing research in microgravity right now in the International Space Station which will be decommissioned in 2030. And in the future we will work with private space stations.
[04:15] Right now there are multiple players between Voyager Space, Axiom Space, Blue Origin, Sierra Space that are building these new environments. And the Microgravity lab will be fundamental in how we actually study diseases and develop drugs and treatments. It's essentially becoming the new R&D laboratory for drug discovery. So it's a really exciting time. And if we look at the overall space economy, which is soon to be a trillion dollar economy, this role of microgravity R&D is going to play a big piece in the development of the space economy. And so we operate in an area regarded as space biotech. We're the first company in the world to leverage AI in space microgravity biological research. And we're excited to pave a path forward for other companies and other players in the space.
[05:42] Briar: Awesome. And what's the difference between doing this sort of research and space between, what makes it different from doing it on earth?
[05:55] Kimberly: Time. So we speed up time. Things are accelerated when we go to space. There's an accelerated aging process and by allowing ourselves to shorten that length of time in the way that we're doing this type of research we can really speed up the process of discoveries and studying diseases as well as the environment. I mean, it's very stressful to go to space. Briar, are you looking forward to becoming an astronaut in the future?
[06:37] Briar: That was going to be my next question actually. Like, when I go to space, because I very much want to have a birthday party in space. And by the way, Kimberly, I will certainly invite you, but when I go to space, something I'm quite concerned about after your comment is like, how fast can I expect to age?
[06:56] Kimberly: So it's different for each of us. Our genes make up and our genes are fundamental in how fast we age in general. It looks like you have very good genes.
[07:11] Briar: Thank you Kimberly.
[07:12] Kimberly: And something interesting, if we go to low earth orbit, the length of time that we spend in that environment, there are different genes that we carry that can be affected and different conditions that we have genes that are exasperated. And so really it varies for each, it's different for each person. However the rate of aging is faster. So it does allow us to really look at how we can actually slow that process down on earth. There are certain conditions, one condition that we've spent quite a bit of time focused on is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. So one out of four people on earth hold this gene, carry this gene. It's referenced as NAFLD, and it's a precursor to NASH and liver cancer.
[08:26] So it affects 25% of our population and one out of four astronauts that travel to space carry this gene. And it's one condition out of many that are deeply exasperated in that microgravity environment. NASA has invested a lot of time and money in researching this condition. And as we were working together with NASA Gene Lab, we recognized, number one, the data that we were standardizing and onboarding onto our platform called Yotta, It's Y-O-T-T-A, derived from the term Yotta byte, which is the largest measurable unit of data. We are all Star Wars nerds, so it's a way that we can incorporate Star Wars without being sued by Disney. But when we were working with all of this data, and we recognized, number one, this data, 25 years of microgravity research, it makes up over 80% of major diseases.
[09:38] And in relation to aging, our immune system, how our bodies are affected by radiation. But this condition NAFLD led us to our initial pilot which we've been engaged with Mayo Clinic for a few years. Using this microgravity research, we've actually made some really exciting discoveries. So back to your birthday party, unfortunately we do accelerate that aging process. A lot of the development that occurs to our body in microgravity once we return to space, for the most part, is proven to, we recover from, not everything, but we do. Our bodies are super resilient, and we do recover from a lot of the damage that we are exposed to.
[10:51] Briar: So if I was to go and live on Mars
[10:51] Kimberly: Birthday party, sorry.
[10:54] Briar: Yeah, yeah, right. We will have a good bash. Don't worry. But if I was to go and live on Mars, like what could I expect, like could I expect a shorter lifespan?
[11:08] Kimberly: Well, currently it's impossible for us to live on Mars.
[11:19] Briar: And it's kind of dusty as well, isn't it?
[11:22] Kimberly: It's dusty and essentially we will be destined to living underground.
[11:25] Briar: Not that appealing.
[11:27] Kimberly: We'll be destined to living underground in dugout caves. I live here in Napa Valley. We bore massive caves on our vineyards. And that's where we store our wine. It stays cold but we would be destined to living underground, which would protect us from the stress and radiation exposure, etcetera. The biggest challenge to deep space travel is radiation and the way that our immune system would respond. So if we were to make it to Mars, if you were successful, we'd have to fly to the moon first. And that's why all the lunar exploration is so important right now. And then transport from the moon to Mars. And yeah, you would maybe, I don't know, maybe make the trip. It really depends on how advanced we've come with technology but you'd probably live like a very short lifespan at this stage, unfortunately.
[12:51] Briar: Interesting. So, I often talk about digital twins, and I'm very fascinated by digital twins of the body, especially and how in the future we might have this digital twin concept and we can do research and understand more about our health. Tell us more about what you are doing with digital twins and how your research is laying the foundation for creating these disease models.
[13:20] Kimberly: So our platform, Yotta, is essentially the foundation of the models that we build and create is the foundation for the development of a digital twin. Right now we're working with digital twin disease models. So we take all of this data not only data from NASA but data from other researchers that we're working with and onboard this data. We developed something called a knowledge graph. And this knowledge graph shows all the gene to gene interactions, everything in between. Our platform Yotta is built on explainable AI. So we're able to truly see how we get from A to Z and everything in between. So for instance, the work that we've been doing on the liver, we've taken all of the data, all of the research, disease research associated to the liver, this condition, NAFLD. We've then developed this digital twin of the diseased liver, and we're able to look at and predict outcomes.
[14:43] We're able to look and predict the way that this condition may evolve and develop, and then at the same time, identify targets, potential targets for a therapeutic or treatment. I agree with you Briar, I do believe the future for humans, we will find tune precision medicine to a level that we will have a digital twin as we come into this world, and we will be able to make genetic modifications. We will be able to have this incredible blueprint of our bodies and understand what potential diseases we may develop. And it's profound and it's actually happening. It's so sci-fi, which is incredible, but it's also something that's tangible. And when we look at the R&D process for drug target discovery, drug development, we're now able to apply digital twins in an area where we would typically use animals or humans. And so it's going to really transform the way that we perform clinical trials as well. And so it's a very exciting time for sure.
[16:23] Briar: So, Kimberly, how did you get into this space? Like, what's your background?
[16:27] Kimberly: So, I have a background as a serial entrepreneur. I started my first business at age 24. I have always been focused in the healthcare space and wellness. For me personally, I've always had this mission to help guide others towards health, preventative health. I am a very health conscious person, so it pains me to see the suffering of humans in association with preventable diseases. My background is also in healthcare data analytics. I've built a few different technology companies focused on predictive and preventative health and large population healthcare, risk management and working with corporate wellness. But kind of coming back to the space sector, as a little girl I just was always deeply enamored by space. And I lived with my family.
[17:54] We lived in Germany, we moved to the US and we lived in a town called Huntsville, Alabama, where NASA has a rocket center, science rocket center. And I remember as a little girl going to visit NASA and seeing all the big rockets. And as I was growing up, we would always watch, have assemblies at school, watching the rocket launches. And at that point, for me, as a young girl, I knew that I wanted to do something in the space industry. And at that time, very few women had traveled to space. There were very few women working in the space industry. And it's something that I think I deeply suppressed as an entrepreneur in the beginning, like 2017, 18, when SpaceX was launching all of their rockets and then the pandemic hit. And I think for many of us, we really started taking a deep look at our lives and the work that we're doing and fulfilling our dreams.
[19:12] Life is short. And so I found myself connecting and networking in the space sector. And was invited to join the advisory board of Deep Space Biology, and served as an advisor for the first six months, as we were building the company. And then was invited to join the executive team. I joined as executive vice president and am now a co-founder and working as the Chief Executive Officer. So space is exciting.
[19:59] Briar: What do you think is most exciting about space?
[20:03] Kimberly: The most exciting thing about space is making the impossible possible. And I love sci-fi. I've just grown up obsessed with sci-fi movies, and now we see all of the sci-fi innovation becoming a reality, which it's so exciting. What's deeply exciting for me is the role that women play in this industry. This is an industry revolution, and women are starting companies. They are designing and building rockets. There are more female astronauts that have gone to space over the last few years than we have in the past 30 years. So there is a landscape that's changing. And I'll share with you, Briar, when I first started working in the space sector, I did look around and it was quite disturbing to me that the women were not there.
[21:12] There were not a lot of women, even just four or five years ago. So I started a foundation called Space for Girls. And the sole purpose and mission is empowering women of all ages. Right now, we're really focused on the university master's, PhD level, but empowering women to come into this industry. We need more women. In science alone there is a level of intelligence that has been held back for many years, and now this intelligence has been unleashed. And I have to say, like, the level of innovation that we are seeing in science is remarkable. And if we really pay attention closely to the women that are at the forefront, they are paving a path for all of the women to follow, young women all over the world. And so the work that we're doing at Space for Girls is very important.
[22:18] And building that bridge between the new space economy and all of the companies that are being developed and all of these new roles, these are new companies and brand new positions that really did not exist a few years ago. And ensuring that women have a seat at the table, that there are doors open at a leadership level. And I think, we are going to see over the next few years more and more scientific discoveries and innovation. And I look forward, we need more women receiving Nobel prizes and we need women becoming funded. There is a lot of innovation out there. And I meet women in the space sector all the time with genius, brilliant ideas, and they are with, startup companies, and they're deeply challenged to receive the proper funding that they need and that level of support.
[23:36] Briar: Yeah, I was reading some data about the complete lack of funding in female founded companies. And it was just really interesting to look at as well, like, I think it was like 3% or something so small and so insignificant about how people have this bias inside them where they will fund a good looking man. And then the second would be a not so good looking man, and then third, an unattractive female, typically unattractive, and then fourth, like an attractive female. So it was just really interesting to see how these things like, this doesn't even matter whether you're attractive or not, or male or female, at the end of the day, and by the way, there's also data that shows this, that having a woman at the forefront of a business or as a co-founder even will significantly improve the bottom line as well. So it's so backwards that we have this bias.
[24:36] Kimberly: You are so spot on. And there is coming back to the science and the her data there. There is a lot of research that has taken place in reference to women in the leadership roles. And we have the ability to manage multiple things at once. And men and women are very different. They're very different. Women and female founders being funded. Well, we also look at like the world of finance, also very male driven industry. And the more that we look at this challenge, not as a gender equality, gender gap, we look at it as human capital. 50% of our population are women. And women play a fundamental role in the future of the space sector and across all industries. Unfortunately many women that are excited about space and science, and they choose that path.
[26:00] And then once they have completed university and they're entering into the workforce, well, they're stepping into a room that is all men, majority men, and they end up leaving and going and doing other things. So there's not this retention of talent. And it's really about intelligence. And if we look at the world and where we are right now in the United States, this divide and the industries where the technology boom, women were left behind in this industrial revolution. When you think of the CEOs and the founders of the big tech companies, those women, they're missing. And it's really, it is about intelligence. I have to say in the space sector, we are now building off planet and there are massive goals for lunar exploration, building on Mars, developing space stations.
[27:11] There are issues on this planet that unfortunately are now being recreated in space. We've got these geopolitical challenges again, very much male driven challenges that exist on our planet. And we're now repeating that if you look at the level of investment in Department of Defense, national security, we will have our first war in space before we have our first birth. I think so I think we need to really pay attention to what's happening from a geopolitical perspective and where the money is going. And if women, more women can step in and really play a fundamental role in what we're building off planet. This would look very different if women would step into more leadership, government leadership positions. I think we would solve a lot of the complex challenges that exist on earth.
[28:34] And I know a lot of men that would agree as well. Not to change, we're both very much aligned in this perspective as far as women playing a role in all industries and having this fair equal opportunity unleashed intelligence but I think we need women coming together, women supporting women, women investing in women. So it's a topic that I'm deeply passionate about. I'm one of six sisters. I have a large team. Large family of sisters.
[29:21] Briar: Amazing. Yeah.
[29:24] Kimberly: I have two daughters. So, both my mission to change the landscape of healthcare and preventative health. I am also equally passionate about leaving this earth or this universe a better place for all women.
[29:50] Briar: So jumping into this a little bit more. So we spoke about women supporting women, and sometimes I get this perception, and I know it's not just me that has this perception as well. I see this is a common thing around females, but everyone's happy to support another woman until that woman's doing better than them. Has that ever been your experience, or what can we be doing as women to support one another? You obviously do a lot of work with university students. I'd love to hear more about that as well, and what their feedback has been from seeing you as this incredible woman in space.
[30:29] Kimberly: So women feel, unfortunately, some women feel very threatened. And when we are doing well, we're growing and developing and successful. There are two different types. And I think it's humans. It's not just women, it's humans. We've got the lovers and we've got the haters. We've got the givers, and we've got the takers. And when we support and get behind other women helping them achieve their goals, it's like a karmic reaction. The universe comes back to truly support us. I have, I mean, look, I've had all kinds of challenges. I've been an entrepreneur my whole life, and I have encountered all types of people. In the space sector specifically there's a mindset that exists with women, especially women achieving very big goals, whether they're founders in a business or working in a leadership position, there's this mindset that there's only like one seat at that table, and a competitiveness.
[32:03] I think we need to really turn that whole mindset upside down on its head. And the women that are opening up the doors for other women, and those women that will support you and speak highly of you, whether you're in that room or not, and help you achieve your goals and mission in life. It's this karmic cycle. That's what I believe. And I stay away from the takers and the haters. And it's unfortunate, but I have had experiences with disempowering women, and it's been associated with my foundation Space for Girls. I actually had to learn the hard way as far as filtering the people that I bring into my orbit. I am a very open, very giving person
[33:17] Briar: What have been some experiences you've had?
[33:20] Kimberly: Well, I have stories of women taking advantage of the relationships, the introductions, the support. And it's unfortunate. And I think it comes back to that mindset of only a few seats at the table and at whatever you're willing to risk to get that place. And women I see all the time jumping over each other.
[34:06] Briar: Well, I'm happy to hear about this work that you're doing in this space with Space for Girls. And this representation is very important as you say, like I remember when I was growing up on a very small town farm, quite often the people that came to share stories at our universities, I just felt like I couldn't relate to them. And I think it's really important when we think of representation. Like there are so many different aspects of representation beyond gender and nationality and the color of our skin and things like this. For me even, I had this perception when I was in my twenties that I couldn't be interested in technology and look cute in dresses and high heels. I thought it just had to be one or the other. And like, what kind of ridiculous thinking is that? But that's very much what I thought. And in your sort of work, in the space sector, like what does your day to day look like? I'm so curious about this. It's not very often I get to talk to people from space.
[35:16] Kimberly: Oh gosh. Well space and healthcare. So space and biotech. And, we're building that bridge. So I'm operating essentially in these two different universes and bringing them together. My day, well, I have a daughter, Margo, she is in third grade. So my day starts out very early, getting her off to school. I work remote. I have three other co-founders that live all over. We spend more time with each other, essentially than we do probably with our families. We've been working very hard building this company, and right now we're fundraising. So I spend quite a bit of time on calls with investors and as well, we're focused on business development. So I've been networking and building business within the biopharma biotech space. We have a very exciting project, that we're invited to participate with MD Anderson in an international space station research grant. And it's a multi-year project and super exciting. We'll together with MD Anderson be sending T cells to the International Space Station on two separate SpaceX rocket launches, and studying how those cells change and evolve in the microgravity space.
[37:06] Briar: What are T cells Kimberly?
[37:09] Kimberly: So T cells are essentially white blood cells, and T cells are focused on the immunity response of our body. And so there are many different types of T cells but they're the hard workers that show up to try to save the day when we get sick. And we're looking at T-Cell in Association to Cancer and Immunology. And so by sending these T cells up to the International Space Station, the team at MD Anderson, along with our team and applying our Yotta platform, will look at collecting specific data on how these cells change and the expression of these cells and microgravity. And then we'll leverage our platform Yotta, which, I mean, we can just process vast amounts of research and data, but we're really looking for develop or what we're looking for are specific targets for therapeutic or treatment.
[38:26] So essentially coming back to the digital twin, we'll create a digital twin of these T cells using all the data. And then we'll be able to study the response of these cells within our platform and really speed up the outcomes and predictions. So my day to day, gosh, I am on multiple Zoom calls. I did just come back from San Diego which is down the street but it's a biotech hub in the United States. So I'm building really amazing relationships in the biotech industry. And then I travel quite a bit. I do a lot. I was just speaking at the Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week, which was amazing.
[39:21] Briar: I heard, and I wish we had seen each other, but next time.
[39:26] Kimberly: Yes, yes. And it's exciting to speak about the work that we are doing on the healthcare platform because it's so unique and innovative and especially bringing the AI conversation into the space biology, topic of space, space biology and leveraging space as this R&D frontier for the healthcare industry.
[39:57] Briar: It's so fascinating.
[40:05] Kimberly: I was just going to speak about the UAE, how many years have you been in Dubai?
[40:13] Briar: So, I've been here for about seven years. So I went to New Zealand, Australia, New York, London, Dubai, and then it's now between Dubai and New York. And it has captured my heart. I've been here for seven years, so it must have, and it's just really fascinating just to see, and just to feel, the city always feels like it's moving in a positive direction. It feels like we're going this way, whereas yeah, sometimes in the US it can feel quite rocky and rolly with all of the elections and things that are happening. So I really do appreciate the foresight of our government here.
[40:51] Kimberly: I spent quite a bit of time. I started working in the Middle East in 2008, specifically focused on healthcare and wellness and healthcare data analytics, at that time. Countries like UAE, Qatar, Saudi were just developing their healthcare programs and innovating, like bringing together the best of the best in technology. I'm so proud of the UAE. I'm so incredibly proud, especially after spending quite a bit of time and building wonderful relationships throughout you know, both Dubai, Abu Dhabi. What the UAE has accomplished in the space sector is remarkable. I mean, it truly is the making of the impossible possible. And the fact that the Hope mission was led by almost 60% women and led by Sarah L Amari, who is just a hero, not only for myself, but my foundation Space for Girls.
[42:11] But if we look at what's happened in the space sector with the UAE, and the UAE has already made it to Mars, mind blowing, but if we also look at the healthcare sector and within the healthcare sector and leveraging technology and precision medicine, the UAE is light years ahead of so many other countries, including the United States. I actually think we can take note to all of the progress that the UAE Health Department of Health has made. Along with, I'm a huge fan of pure health. Pure health has created such a remarkable model in relation to advanced technologies and precision medicine that we, in the United States, we're still struggling with the silos of our data or healthcare data. In UAE you have everything in one place, and that allows the UAE to study diseases at such a vast scale because it's on one platform.
[43:36] And this is one of the biggest challenges, which in the healthcare space in the United States, there are many. But one of the biggest challenges is you've got all of these different technology companies developing the electronic medical record platforms. You've got organizations like Kaiser with their electronic medical records. You've got all of these other platforms that have been adopted, and they don't work together. So there's no standardization. Sorry, I'm going off on another path that I'm deeply passionate about.
[44:13] Briar: No, this is interesting. Yes, please.
[44:17] Kimberly: The silos of our health records is deeply impacting the pace of disease research and discoveries. Also, as you know, Americans, we should have complete access, easy access to our own health data. Coming back to the concept of digital twin, which I do believe is the future, I'm a hundred percent on board with your vision. I've listened to other podcasts that you've done on the topic. And in order for us to have a digital twin, we need to have access, easy access to our own data. In California alone, Briar, we can have a baby and that baby's data as it comes into the world, the hospitals collect so much data on these newborns. There is no law preventing that data from been sold. So automatically that data is sold to pharmaceutical industries.
[45:37] So we have no idea. And the hospitals and the government is not required to inform us as to where that data has gone. However, there is an exchange of revenue happening. And so coming back to the UAE, and if we look at the UAE and the genome project, there is so much genetic data that has been brought together with, what is it? A million Emiratis, 1 million Emiratis. And by having all of this genetic data in one location, and they have brought together incredible institutions from all over the world in the name of open science to actually study and look at what we can discover. How can we, as humanity, how can we solve some of these complex diseases? I unfortunately believe a lot of the healthcare biotech, the biopharma space, is very much driven by financial gain and we need to change that. But having access to our own personal health data is fundamental. I believe that we're also going to need to really ramp up our cybersecurity as we have all of our digital twins. At the same time, we will need to look at really ramping up the bio cybersecurity.
[47:30] Briar: Yes. And thinking back to something, that you said earlier in this conversation, is about how much you hate looking at this human suffering that we seem to have based on this fact that we live in a sick care system rather than a preventative healthcare system. And where do you, like, where do you kind of see the future? And again, I think it is very much driven by financial. It's like, I was horrified to hear a statistics once that said, the US spends 3 trillion on nuclear bombs, but like mere millions on, say, longevity or preventative health research. So it does seem very backwards in how the world seems to function, but in the future, and based on the work that you are doing, how do you envision our healthcare system, obviously with the digital twins and things?
[48:25] Kimberly: That's a lot. That's a big question to unpack. I think when we look at a society that's centered around integrative medicine, preventative medicine, if we just start there, prevention, let's look at our diet. I mean, the American diet is tragic. The level of diabetes is through the roof. You have young people developing pre-diabetes conditions at such a young age, and unfortunately, it is much cheaper to eat McDonald's than it is to go to Whole Foods and buy organic produce. And so there is also a system unfortunately in this country that is not serving for the underrepresented and for those that cannot afford to eat healthy but it's also just such a mindset. We live in an incredible stressful environment. And that's another factor from prevention, mental health which again is something that's deeply studied in space.
[49:53] The isolation of space which actually Briar, we didn't touch on that, but the isolation mentally of going to Mars would be quite tragic and traumatic. But mental health is another factor. And when we're deeply depressed, our consumption of food and how we take care of our body is very different. I've been teaching yoga and meditation for 25 years, so that's something else that I'm deeply passionate about, is applying skills to our daily life that help us to live in the present moment, that help us, if we're present, we make better decisions. And the system will only change when we have leaders building companies that actually care and truly care about the wellbeing of humans rather than the bottom line. And if we focus more on the impact of healthcare and education, I mean, look, in the US we have physical education twice a week.
[51:17] My daughter is eight in third grade, and at her school it's two times a week for 30 minutes. So we have to start educating young people and educating parents. But the resources need to be there. And there are so many layers to why America is facing such challenges with health. And we are, like you said, a reactive society. Our healthcare system is not proactive, it is reactive. And we treat symptoms before we actually treat, we don't take a look at why we are having these symptoms and so it's medication on top of medication, and it's a complex challenge. But if we look at countries like the UAE, they have a bird's eye view of their population health. And they can then implement programs to mitigate those challenges.
[52:44]: And I think it's remarkable if we just even look at what happened with diabetes, in the Middle East. Many of these countries struck oil and the Americans showed up to sell them KFC, and the dietary change and transformation has been unbelievable. But I will say that these countries are becoming so intelligent as to the population health of the people within these countries that he UAE has quickly mitigated those issues. And going backwards and using technology, using education to really mitigate the challenge and the risk of poor health. But also like when you're able to look at, from a data perspective, the overall health of your population, it's amazing just by having that data, how much change you can create.
[54:04] Briar: And do you think that it could be possible in the future to solve, say, cancers, for instance? Because cancer prevalence seems very high these days. There seems to be a lot of young people even getting cancer, and typically that used to be seen as more of an old age disease with a majority of it occurring over 60 or 80 years of age.
[54:30] Kimberly: There are so many layers to how we got here but if we look at just little things, microplastics, things that have been unleashed throughout our society and have been adopted in the food industry on such a vast scale. It's scientifically proven that these microplastics that we are consuming, that we're not even aware that we're consuming, have a biological effect within our bodies. There are so many different factors, but stress as well. Stress is an incredible massive impact to what happens to our bodies. And we are recognizing that cancer is just affecting so many people, young people. And if we don't apply the education and also look at the environmental factors and start to reverse this damage, it is going to continue to get worse.
[55:53] And it is moving at such a rapid speed. I'm hopeful that using environment, the environment of space to speed up the way that we study treatments and study cancer cells, and how they're affected in these harsh, the harsh environment of space I am deeply hopeful that we can use that environment to accelerate treatments, therapeutics, and mitigate the speed and the rate that cancer is growing and many other diseases. We have to become conscious and aware, and when we're conscious and aware and present and understand what we're putting in our body, what we're consuming, physically, but also like mentally, emotionally, and so on, how that affects young people. It's unfortunate that looking at things just like microplastics, how it's everywhere, and how do we actually change that.
[57:18] And it starts with education and truly caring. We've got this race between the big capitalistic companies that are just focused on increasing the bottom line at whatever rate. And many of these companies are supplying our food and affecting the environment and affecting our healthcare system. And if these companies and the leaders of those companies would start to care more about the impact that they're making versus increasing the bottom line, I think we'll see a lot of change. But women, we need women coming into these industries. We are naturally nurturing and very caring. And I think that having more women at a leadership position, I think that it'll move the needle for sure.
[58:38] Briar: I think so too. Well, it's been a pleasure to interview you today, Kimberly. Thank you so much for coming on the show and really, really fascinating work that you're doing. Oh my goodness. So yeah, hopefully everyone connects with Kimberly. Looking forward to seeing how things evolve and your story unfolds.
[58:56] Kimberly: I look forward to seeing you next time in the UAE, hundred percent.
[59:00] Briar: Oh yeah. Or I might come see you in the US.
[59:04] Kimberly: Come to California, open invitation.
[59:07] Briar: Yes I will. Thank you so much I loved it.
[59:11] Kimberly: Thank you Briar.
About Kimberly Washington
Kimberly Washington is an accomplished serial entrepreneur and philanthropist with over two decades of experience driving global business ventures. With a steadfast commitment to harnessing AI, space technology, and innovation to positively impact humanity, Kimberly’s work primarily focuses on healthcare advancements.
As the Co-Founder and CEO of Deep Space Biology, Kimberly leads the charge behind Yotta, a pioneering AI space biotech platform. Yotta has set a global benchmark by standardizing over 25 years of NASA microgravity research, using AI to unlock new healthcare discoveries in collaboration with leading institutions like the Mayo Clinic and MD Anderson.
Under her visionary leadership, Deep Space Biology has garnered significant recognition, including being named one of the top 10 SpaceTech startups by Startus Insights, a NASA Genelab Success Story, and winner of the Care In Space Global Challenge. Additionally, the company has been recognized as a CreateX company by Georgia Tech and ranked among Codex World's Top 50 Innovators.
Expanding the company’s portfolio, Kimberly and her team spearheaded the creation of DSB Technology, an innovation hub at the intersection of AI, space exploration, and healthcare. DSB Technology is focused on transforming complex challenges into actionable solutions using cutting-edge technologies like neuro-symbolic AI to help organizations unlock the full potential of data, improve operational efficiencies, and accelerate meaningful breakthroughs.
A notable milestone under Kimberly’s guidance was the landmark collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center, which led to winning a multi-year NASA/International Space Station Lab/CASIS grant for the “Igniting Innovation: Science in Space to Cure Disease on Earth” initiative. This groundbreaking project is sending T-cells to the International Space Station to advance cancer research and discover potential cures.
In addition to her corporate leadership, Kimberly founded Space4Girls in 2019, a global nonprofit dedicated to empowering young women in STEM and positioning them as future leaders in the space industry. Through mentorship programs and hands-on learning, Space4Girls fosters self-confidence and leadership.
Kimberly also co-founded the Global Impact Club in the UK, an organization that unites visionary leaders to drive global change through collaborative solutions. She serves on several international boards, including Generation AI – University of Oxford, BioAstra and Leaders on Purpose, an initiative aimed at aligning CEO agendas with the global agenda through purpose-driven strategies.
As a prominent voice in the global leadership and technology space, Kimberly has shared her expertise at high-profile events like the Leaders on Purpose CEO Summit/UNGA, the Economist Space Summit, the World Economic Forum in Davos, LEAP in Saudi Arabia, and the Mobile World Congress. Her insights have also been featured in a space documentary on Apple TV and Prime.
Kimberly resides in Napa Valley, California, where she actively contributes to her family’s agricultural and wine enterprises while advancing healthcare research and innovation worldwide
