Tei Newman-Lehman

Life-science instruments

DeepDiveBio

Co-founder & founding CEO · June 2018–January 2021

Different temperature programs. One instrument

Two MultiTherm evaluation prototypes built by the DeepDiveBio team.Enlarge imageEnlarge MultiTherm evaluation prototypes
Two evaluation prototypes built by the DeepDiveBio team. Historical development hardware, 2018–2020.

Biologists rely on thermal cyclers—benchtop machines that heat and cool samples through precise steps to copy and assemble DNA—yet conventional machines force all 96 wells on a plate to run the exact same program. DeepDiveBio developed MultiTherm so researchers could run independent temperature programs side by side in one instrument instead of tying up several machines for small batches of experiments.

I co-founded the company, raised seed funding, and recruited a 13-person multidisciplinary team across science, engineering, and business. Alongside leading the company, I designed the early mechanical system in SOLIDWORKS, coordinating the team as we built working instruments and shipped prototypes to outside laboratories for evaluation.

13

Multidisciplinary contributors

Across science, engineering, and business work.

Shipped

External evaluation units

Working instruments developed by the team.

Finding a place in the laboratory

Curiosity about per-well temperature control was only the start of a product conversation; we had to learn which laboratories actually felt that bottleneck and how MultiTherm needed to fit their assays, robotics, and software. I led customer discovery and brought in commercial help outside the engineering group so we tested our assumptions against candid user feedback.

What we heard shaped both the hardware and the business plan. Working with colleagues and advisers, I built our financial model, pricing, and positioning, taking working demonstrations to industry conferences, prospective users, and investors.

MultiTherm 96 consolidating independent thermal zones for benchtop or Hamilton liquid-handling deck integration.Enlarge imageEnlarge: MultiTherm 96 consolidating independent thermal zones for benchtop or Hamilton liquid-handling deck integration.
Consolidating 96 independent thermal zones into a single footprint allowed the MultiTherm 96 to sit either on a benchtop or directly on the deck of a Hamilton liquid-handling robot.

From mechanical design to evaluation instruments

I designed MultiTherm’s early enclosure and 96-well mechanical layout in SOLIDWORKS. Electrical, firmware, and software specialists developed their subsystems while additional mechanical engineers carried the hardware forward—with me coordinating the team around our product requirements to put working evaluation units onto customers’ benches.

Thermal-camera view of a rectangular array of sample wells, with individual wells in different colors.Enlarge imageEnlarge: Thermal-camera view of a rectangular array of sample wells, with individual wells in different colors.
A thermal-camera view of MultiTherm’s individually controlled sample wells.

Preparing for manufacturing

As evaluation units went into outside laboratories, I assembled the bills of materials, drawings, and acceptance-test plans for an external engineering and manufacturing partner, working with our engineers and suppliers to redesign fragile hand-built sensor assemblies and negotiate tooling terms for the next build. I led DeepDiveBio through these external pilot evaluations and manufacturing-transfer packages as CEO through January 2021, while full production qualification remained for the company’s next financing stage.

Front and rear production enclosure design for the MultiTherm 96, showing top sample bay, front touchscreen, and rear power and data connections.Enlarge imageEnlarge: Front and rear production enclosure design for the MultiTherm 96.
Production enclosure design for the MultiTherm 96, showing the top sample bay, front run-control touchscreen, and rear power and data connections.

Experience used here

Fundraising · Product strategy · Customer discovery · SOLIDWORKS · Mechanical design · Supplier development · Team leadership · Pricing · Marketing and communication

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