HOW PROBIOTICS CAN BUILD RESILIENCE AGAINST DISEASE AND ECOLOGICAL CHALLENGES (INTERVIEW WITH RAJA DHIR OF SEED)
Raja Dhir (@wildraja) is a life sciences entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Seed (@seed), a venture-backed microbiome company pioneering the application of bacteria for both human and planetary health.
After our groundbreaking interview with his co-founder, Ara Katz, on Green Dreamer's episode 109, we knew we had to bring Raja on the podcast as well to learn from his complementing scientific expertise leading Seed's research and development, academic collaborations, technology development, clinical trial design, supply chain, and intellectual property strategy.
On this podcast episode, Raja sheds light on common misconceptions of what "probiotics" are and what a healthy microbiome should look like; why we need to learn from how the Amish people live; how our knowledge of probiotics can be applied to address ecological challenges such as our honey bees' colony collapse disorder; and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Raja and Green Dreamer Podcast's host, Kamea Chayne.
*If you're interested in trying Seed's Daily Synbiotic, the company has graciously offered 20% off for your first month. Use the code "GREENDREAMER" at checkout for your discount! (Note: Green Dreamer is not affiliated with Seed.)*
“We’re seeing that the microbiome and bacteria are starting to play an essential role in everything—including traditional Western medicine.”
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This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kamea Chayne, a podcast and multimedia journal illuminating the path towards environmental regeneration, intersectional sustainability, and true abundance for all. This preview has been edited for clarity. Subscribe to Green Dreamer Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or any podcast app to stay informed and updated on our latest episodes.
On the insights that microbiology provides on our modern lives:
“Looking at an organism is like looking at evolution, like looking back in time—seeing things that worked and didn't work, what was passed down, how these things evolved in real-time, what they resist to and which drugs they inactivate.
It affects all aspects of day-to-day life.”
On how microorganisms are a part of the “super-organism” that is the human body:
"I always joke that if you want someone to pay attention to the microbiome, show how it can make them look younger or less fat.
In some ways, it was the shot heard around the world that catalyzed microbiome science when people started realizing that these organisms aren't just hanger-ons, but they are actually part of a larger, symbiotic multi-species organism that is the human body."
On the role of the microbiome in the field of medicine:
"Now, we're seeing that the microbiome and bacteria are starting to play an essential role in everything—including traditional Western medicine.
As an example, one of the recent waves of research is showing how changing the microbiome can increase your response to chemotherapy.
Research has found that some people who respond to check-point inhibitor chemotherapy treatments are people that have a specific microbiome, whereas those with a different kind of microbiome can cluster and have a high-risk of being a non-responder.
We're just starting to scratch the surface in the role that the microbiome can play in preventative health all the way to extreme measures of cancer treatment."
Final words of wisdom:
“Live like the Amish.“
