Product Launch
SwiftXtractor™ SL launch
- Challenge
- Make a new automatic POC system ready for market.
- My contribution
- Product UI, usability testing, launch assets and GTM campaign.
- Outcome
- SwiftXtractor™ SL brought to market.
David RubertPhD
Scientific Marketer & Business Developer
Curiosity, people, conversations.
Let’s start with an introduction.
I’ve spent the last years moving between the lab bench, marketing, business and the startup community. The best part has always been the people I meet along the way. If something here resonates, I’d be glad to hear your story.
No pitch and no agenda. Just a proper introduction, an honest exchange, and wherever it naturally leads.
Xpedite Diagnostics / Nucleate
Molecular diagnostics · IVD & POC · GTM · AI & transformation
About
Curious first, listening always.
I enjoy meeting people, learning about what they’re exploring and the challenges they’re facing, and exchanging a few words. It’s a chance to connect, share perspectives and learn from each other.
Listen and learnI’m curious about what others are exploring and the questions that stay with them. My PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Biology and previous work in molecular biology and synthetic biology shape the perspective I bring to these conversations.
Science, work and the people behind itAt Xpedite Diagnostics, I work in product marketing and North American business development, connecting technical value with customer needs. Here, I share the experiences and lessons that shape how I think.
Make room for peopleThrough Nucleate’s Global Strategy, EMEA and Nucleate Germany, I support founders and communities. I value open conversations, shared ideas and the people behind the work.
The background I bring to our conversation
At Max Planck, I led the first synthetic RNA genome development for the ERC-funded Ribolife project. At Xpedite Diagnostics, I work across IVD, point-of-care and specialty-lab applications, from bloodstream infection and STI testing to liquid biopsy.
I shift feature-led communication toward value and transformation, modernize marketing with generative AI, and stay close to customers so the loop from insight to R&D to launch closes.
Complexity, understood, becomes clarity.
Clarity, shared, becomes value.
What I’m drawn to
What I keep coming back to.
These are the topics I return to again and again. If one resonates, I’d enjoy hearing your take on it.
Science
Stay curious
My scientific background keeps me curious about new discoveries and the people exploring them. I enjoy listening and learning about their work.
Bringing a product to life
Positioning, usability, launch assets, the story around a new system. It’s the moment something technical meets the people who need it.
Working smarter with AI
An ongoing conversation with almost everyone I meet: which repetitive work can quietly disappear, and which tools genuinely help.
Strategy
Exchange perspectives
I like comparing notes on how science reaches people, asking questions and learning from different experiences.
The science underneath
Molecular diagnostics, IVD and point-of-care are my home ground. I’m happy to go into the detail, and to learn what your work looks like from the inside.
Reaching people, not just audiences
What makes a message land, and what makes it feel written for you. A question of curiosity for me more than a formula.
Impact
Build connections
Communities grow through shared ideas and introductions. I enjoy bringing people together and staying part of the conversation.
People who should meet
A founder and a mentor, a team and the right partner. Some of the best things I’ve seen began as a simple introduction. I like being the one who makes it.
Complex science, clearly told
The slow work of turning something difficult into something a person can act on, without losing the substance that makes it worth telling.
A little beyond the work
Hiking together. Seeing further.
I like the idea of a conversation as a hike together. We find our pace, follow the trail and make sense of the climb along the way. Little by little, we reach the peak. The clouds fall below us, and we can see more clearly, together.
Impact
Selected results.
Selected outcomes from launches, demand generation, business development, and ecosystem building.
6
products launched
+17% CE-IVD portfolio
+60%
YoY revenue growth
contributed to ~€700K net sales
100K+
professionals reached
across 30+ countries
528K
organic impressions
from 1.2K in 11 months
+1,300
LinkedIn followers
3× engagement · 11 mo.
9
global webinars
1,300+ participants
120+
leads in 3 days
ESCMID Global 2026
11+
OEM & integration opportunities
North American BD pipeline
Experience
Professional experience.
Feb 2026 - Present
Munich, Germany
Xpedite Diagnostics GmbH
Business Development Manager, North America
Lead the North American BD cycle, reactivating accounts and sourcing new OEM and integration partners.
Role details
Combined digital outreach with in-person relationship nurturing at industry conferences such as ADLM 2026 in Anaheim, with structured qualification and follow-up. Advanced 11+ opportunities from first contact through proposal, feasibility and evaluation, and grew 50+ qualified leads from manufacturers and distributors.
Feb 2025 - Present
Munich, Germany
Xpedite Diagnostics GmbH
Product & Marketing Manager
Own end-to-end marketing, positioning and GTM for molecular diagnostics and POC.
Role details
Launched 6 products, reached 100K+ professionals across 30+ countries, and lead AI-powered marketing tools and sales enablement.
Sep 2026 - Present
EMEA
Nucleate
Director of Global Strategy, EMEA
Support seven emerging European chapters, translating global strategy into country-level plans.
Role details
Coach chapter leadership, connect teams with established chapters, and drive partnerships with universities, investors, pharma and incubators.
Sep 2024 - Present
National
Nucleate Germany
Advisor · Former Activator & Communications Co-Director
Advisor since September 2026.
Role details
Previously co-led the national Activator and communications, built a 50+ mentor and investor network, secured €30K+ in sponsorship, and hosted the Innovation Forum for 300+ guests. Narrative Leadership Award 2025.
Annual
Padua, Italy
University of Padua
Guest Lecturer, Industrial Biotechnology MSc
Invited annually to deliver a guest lecture to Industrial Biotechnology Master's students.
Role details
The talk covers scientific career paths, the transition from academia to industry, and the value of engaging with non-profit organizations.
Nov 2019 - May 2024
Munich & Dortmund
Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry · TU Dortmund
Doctoral Researcher, Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Led synthetic RNA genome development for the ERC-funded €1.5M Ribolife project.
Role details
RNA nanotechnology, cell-free systems and NGS. Mentored students and co-built the Cell-Free Systems MSc course. Best Poster Award 2023. PhD in the laboratory of Prof. Hannes Mutschler, and member of the European Synthetic Cell Initiative community.
Oct 2017 - Dec 2018
Padova, Italy
University of Padova
Research Assistant, MSc Thesis Project
It began with one question: what if we could make blue dye using sunlight and bacteria.
Role details
Spent fourteen months engineering the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC6803 into a light-powered cell factory for whole-cell photobiocatalysis, building the cloning tools and characterizing the strains along the way. The work grew into a co-authored publication in Microbial Biotechnology, with the indigo dye recovered from the culture without harsh solvents. Graduated cum laude and helped establish the Synthetic Biology Unit across three research groups, giving talks and running its web presence while working with a team of master's and PhD students.
Feb - Aug 2019
Delft, Netherlands
Delft University of Technology
Research Associate, Industrial Partnership
Engineered yeast strains for sustainable bioproduction in collaboration with an industrial partner.
Role details
Erasmus+ Traineeship Grant.
Nova Talents member·Guest Lecturer, University of Padua·GASB · European Synthetic Cell Initiative · Max Planck Alumni
Portfolio
Selected work & recognition.
Every collaboration has its own context. These examples show the challenges I’ve helped work through, my contribution and what followed.
1 / 5
Event & Booth
ESCMID Global 2026
- Challenge
- Turn a global diagnostics event into commercial conversations.
- My contribution
- Booth design, targeted messaging and on-stage moderation.
- Outcome
- 120+ qualified leads in 3 days.
Event & Booth
ADLM 2026, Anaheim
- Challenge
- Build North American manufacturer and distributor relationships at a US diagnostics conference.
- My contribution
- Digital outreach ahead of the show, in-person relationship nurturing at the booth, then structured qualification and follow-up.
- Outcome
- 50+ qualified leads from manufacturers and distributors at ADLM 2026.
1 / 5
Ecosystem
Nucleate Innovation Forum 2026
- Challenge
- Connect biotech founders, investors and the wider ecosystem.
- My contribution
- On-stage moderation and presentation at the Activator capstone, including Panel I on Europe's biotech company-building gap and EU.INC.
- Outcome
- 300+ guests brought together.
1 / 4
Team Leadership
Nucleate Germany Activator team
- Challenge
- Carry a nine-month national programme across four cities to two live events, and guide nine early-stage teams from science towards company.
- My contribution
- Led and managed the team across the four chapters, managed the nine-team portfolio, and together with the team planned, produced and ran the final events: the Semi-Final Pitch Day at WERK1 and the Nucleate Innovation Forum.
- Outcome
- Nine start-up teams took the Semi-Final Pitch Day stage and 300+ guests filled the Innovation Forum. A national programme delivered end to end by one team.
Nine start-ups across AI, RNA engineering, protein engineering, novel neurotherapies, oncotherapeutics, molecular diagnostics and more.
The portfolio of nine teams
- ImmPRINTDiagnostics
A preventive blood test to improve patient care and therapy decisions in hospitals and clinics.
- OrbionAI-Tech
An AI platform that transforms how scientists and biotech companies understand and stabilize proteins, replacing months of trial-and-error with instant, data-driven predictions that accelerate drug discovery and enzyme design.
- NeoregenesisTh-NeuroDelivery
Programmable gene editor delivery and scalable non-immunogenic cell enrichment technologies.
- AileenAI-Th
Acceleration of new therapy adoption with counterfactual what-if analysis.
- PlantmanNeurodegeneration
A first-in-class disease-modifying treatment for Huntington's Disease and other neurodegenerative diseases using plant-derived proteins.
- ColdexNucleic acid delivery
A first-in-class molecular shield to protect exactly where respiratory viruses enter.
- RenatrixBiomaterials
Certified bio-grade, tissue-specific extracellular matrix (ECM) biomaterials that replicate native tissue microenvironments.
- GliTTherTh-Onco
Precision therapies to treat the deadliest cancer, glioblastoma, by targeting cancer initiating cells.
- OncodegradeTh-Onco
A next-generation small-molecule platform that precisely targets and degrades key oncogenic proteins to transform blood cancer therapy.
1 / 4
Programme Design
Activator 2026 workshop series
- Challenge
- Give nine early-stage biotech teams the working knowledge they need to move from science to company.
- My contribution
- Designed the curriculum with the leadership team and ran the workshop series, including the IP workshop at Vossius & Partner in Munich.
- Outcome
- Nine teams selected and a full workshop series underway across the national programme.
Recognition
TIME 2026: Top Incubators
- Context
- Grow a connected global biotech community.
- My contribution
- Contributing to the community through Nucleate Germany.
- Recognition
- Nucleate nominated among TIME’s 2026 Top Incubators & Accelerators.
Recognition
Narrative Leadership Award 2025
- Context
- Communicate the mission and impact of Nucleate.
- My contribution
- Scientific storytelling and community communication.
- Recognition
- Narrative Leadership Award at the 2025 Global Summit in Boston.
Featured post
"Community. Support. People. The parts of this work that don't fit on a slide but define everything."
Featured interview
"One small detail out of the order, out of the harmony of a good blog post, degrades trust easily. Maybe you need five or six good pieces to earn it. One thing out of place and it goes."
From "My conversation with David Rubert" by Dan Sheridan, PhD, 27 August 2026.
Capabilities
Things I know my way around.
Marketing & Commercial
GTM & product launchPositioning & messagingSales enablementDemand generation & CRMMarketing automationLead generationSEO / GEO / SEMCompetitive & SWOT analysisPricing strategyOEM & integration partnerships
AI & Tools
ChatGPT · Claude · Gemini · PerplexityPrompt engineeringAI tool audit & integrationReusable AI workflowsAI apps & API-based automationTeam enablementWeClapp · CleverReachApollo · SciLeads
Scientific
Molecular diagnostics & POCMolecular physiology & pathologyEpidemiologyBiochemical assaysNGSCell-free systemsRNA nanotechnology
Languages
English (full professional)Italian (native)German (A2/B1 improving)Spanish (elementary)
Education
- PhD, Chemistry & Chemical Biology at Max Planck / TU Dortmund
- MSc, Industrial Biotechnology at University of Padua (110 cum Laude)
- BSc, Biological Sciences & Technology at University of Trieste
- Data Analytics & ML Bootcamp at MasterSchool
Speaking & Teaching
- Guest Lecturer, University of Padua (annual)
- Moderator, Nucleate Innovation Forum 2026
- Moderator, 9 global webinars with 1,300+ participants
Affiliations
- Nova Talents
- German Association for Synthetic Biology (GASB)
- European Synthetic Cell Initiative
- Max Planck Alumni
Other passions
Away from work, you’ll find me experimenting with fermentation in the kitchen, listening to jazz and Italian 60s and 70s vinyl, or joining a running club. I’m curious about East Asian cuisines and craftsmanship, and I once played regional-league basketball.
My favorite song
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever
The Peddlers · plays softly, like the climb
30-second preview · volume set lowListen in full on Spotify
Turning complexity into clarity. Clarity into value.
Say hello
What’s on your mind?
Let’s introduce ourselves, exchange ideas and get to know each other. Whether something here resonates or you’re simply curious, I’d be happy to hear from you.
Get to know each otherA little about you, your interests and the experiences that shaped your path.
Exchange ideasCompare notes on science, communities or something we’ve been reading. Different perspectives are always welcome.
See where it leadsIf it turns out we can help each other, wonderful. If not, the conversation was still worth having.
Tell me a few times that suit you and your time zone. We’ll find a slot and start with a proper introduction.