We caught up with Shuler to hear more about the recognition, the inspiration behind RapidX Bio, and how his time at Crossley Heath helped shape his journey.

When asked how it felt to be recognised in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Shuler responded with humility:

“Very grateful for any good publicity as it helps with the mission by giving people more confidence in what we're doing. I wish it did more to mention RapidX Bio though, as I am genuinely mostly an instrument/conduit for connecting my colleagues with the goals of the startup. The magic is built by them mostly, which is important to recognise because everything else can be smoke and mirrors but the tech needs to work.”

Shuler explained that the inspiration behind RapidX Bio came from a deeply personal experience during medical school:

“I had a spontaneous close call with sepsis during medical school and was also quite conscious of what meningitis can do to the best of us. Better diagnostics and guided treatment are always useful for extremely acute diseases, and what the world currently has access to is subpar.”

He went on to reflect on the importance of pursuing meaningful challenges, even when they may seem ambitious or difficult:

“Whether I succeed or not, it'll still have felt more worthwhile than hedging my bets solving smaller, less interesting, less relatable problems.”

Looking back on his time at Crossley Heath, Shuler spoke warmly about the freedom he was given to explore his interests academically:

“I’m grateful that the school and select teachers gave me permission to pursue all the subjects I was interested in for A levels, beyond what was optimal for Crossley’s exam result KPI. It’s nice to be able to dictate one’s own curriculum at a young age. The autonomy was liberating and empowering and studying has never felt so fun.”

He also reflected fondly on the friendships and memories made during his time at school:

“I was also lucky to have enjoyed a good year group with plenty of fun classmates and teachers. Society has since shown me that humour and social skills are not to be taken for granted and memories of silly teenage days are to be treasured for life.”

We are incredibly proud of Shuler and all he has achieved so far, and we look forward to following the continued success of both him and RapidX Bio in the future.