{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Impactful Breakthroughs","title":"Francesca Barone - Chief Scientific Officer, Candel Therapeutics","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1907,"description":"How far can curiosity take you when you’re not afraid of the unknown? For today’s guest, Francesca Barone, it led her across continents and disciplines as she navigated her way to the forefront of cancer immunotherapy. Francesca is the Chief Scientific Officer at Candel Therapeutics, and on this episode of Impactful Breakthroughs she speaks with Zach Gobst about how Candel is developing multimodal biological immunotherapies to help patients fight cancer.\n\nFrancesca shares the driving force, her “backpack theory,” behind the journey she’s taken. Rather than settling into comfort, she believes every few years you should pack up what you've learned and head toward a new challenge entirely. It’s a belief that has carried her from academic rheumatology to leading cutting-edge oncology drug development, navigating language barriers, cultural shifts, and an industry that wasn't yet ready to believe in what her team was building. \n\nShe also shares what it took to push Candel's novel intratumoral delivery approach through years of skepticism, why her physician background has been her greatest superpower in biotech, and what it really means to keep patients at the center even when your work may feel far removed. Behind every compassionate use request, every data point, and every clinical trial, there is a patient and a family. And for Francesca, that's always been reason enough to keep going.\n\nTimestamps\n\n00:00 Episode Start\n01:45 Why Francesca moved from academia to biotech\n03:55 The power of stretching beyond your comfort zone\n09:30 You're only as good as your team\n10:15 Candel's novel approach to fighting cancer\n13:35 Overcoming skepticism and remaining committed\n17:05 The human side of drug development\n19:20 A patient stories that say it all\n23:25 Mentors who shaped Francesca’s journey\n29:30 Closing reflections on purpose and impact\n\nKey Takeaways\nExplore curiosity throughout your career. Francesca's guiding philosophy is simple: every few years, pack up what you know...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/uUl5NjCb9mY4i46LGv4GWJrr5WVj3WxuYTgjBphYmcc/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS85MDM0/ZDk5OWI2YTcwYWRh/NTM0NzIyODViMjU4/ODlmZS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}