ESC
Portfolio & Venture Capital

Translational Science for
Industry & Investment

A research career built at the intersection of discovery and development — with direct experience in drug discovery programs, biopharma partnerships, IP strategy, competitive grant funding, and CRO management. This page consolidates the translational, operational, and strategic dimensions of my work for VC, biotech, and pharmaceutical audiences.

Drug Discovery Biopharma Partnerships Portfolio Management $1.5M+ Funded 25+ Publications IP & Patent Strategy
01

What I Bring to Industry

My career is defined by work that sits between academic discovery and commercial translation. I don't just generate publishable findings — I generate data packages, go/no-go recommendations, and strategic insights that move compounds through pipelines and inform investment decisions.

Scientific Judgment

Evaluation of experimental rigor, mechanistic novelty, and translational potential across neurodegeneration, immunology, infectious disease, and rare genetic disease. Journal peer reviewer with track record assessing study claims against supporting data.

Deal & Alliance Management

6+ years managing partnerships with Thermo Fisher, NysnoBio, GSK, SGC, and Abcam. CRO oversight through abmgood, Curia/Lake Pharma, Novogene, and Creative Diagnostics. Scope definition, milestone tracking, and go/no-go decision-making.

Funding & Portfolio Thinking

$1.5M+ in competitive grants from NIH/NINDS, MJFF, and private foundations. Budget oversight, milestone-based accountability, and familiarity with how funding decisions are structured — separating fundable proposals from unfundable ones.

IP & Regulatory Awareness

Direct contribution to invention disclosures and patent specifications for small-molecule Parkin agonists. Exposure to IND-enabling workflows and FDA regulatory considerations through biopharma partnerships.

02

Drug Discovery Programs

Two distinct therapeutic programs — one in neurodegeneration, one in infectious disease — where I generated preclinical efficacy data, validated targets, and contributed to translational decision-making.

Parkin Agonism for Parkinson's Disease

Lead contributor to a drug discovery program identifying FB231, a small-molecule Parkin agonist that attenuates alpha-synuclein pathology and dopaminergic neurodegeneration. Generated mechanism-of-action, efficacy, and target engagement data in iPSC-derived human neurons and in vivo mouse models. Contributed to intellectual property and patent strategy. Currently under review at Nature. Funded by ASAP/MJFF and NIH/NINDS. Conducted in collaboration with NysnoBio and academic partners across four institutions.

Small Molecule Target Validation iPSC Neurons In Vivo Mouse Patent Contribution Nature (Under Review)

Host-Directed Antivirals for SARS-CoV-2

Defined the SARS-CoV-2 cellular entry mechanism via clathrin-mediated endocytosis, enabling host-directed antiviral drug design. Led compound screening campaigns targeting CSNK2 and PIKfyve kinases with collaborators at UNC Chapel Hill, GSK, and the Structural Genomics Consortium. Established pseudovirus production workflows and functional infectivity assays adopted across collaborating laboratories. Resulted in the 2022 JBC Tabor Young Investigator Award (500+ citations, 300,000+ downloads).

Compound Screening Host-Directed GSK / SGC 500+ Citations Tabor Award
03

Biopharma & CRO Partnerships

Cross-sector collaboration experience spanning reagent and technology partnerships, co-development programs, and outsourced specialty services.

Industry Partners
Thermo Fisher — Reagent co-development, iPSC workflows
NysnoBio — Drug discovery collaboration (Parkin agonism)
GSK — Antiviral compound screening
Structural Genomics Consortium — Kinase inhibitor probes
Abcam — Antibody validation and profiling
CRO Oversight
abmgood — Custom reagent production
Curia / Lake Pharma — Protein production, bioconjugation
Novogene — Sequencing (RNA-seq, scRNA-seq)
Creative Diagnostics — Specialty assay services
04

Grants, Awards & Funding Track Record

$1.5M+ in competitive grants from public and private sources, with practical understanding of how funding decisions are structured, what separates fundable proposals from unfundable ones, and how milestone-based accountability drives research outcomes.

FUNDING SOURCES

NIH/NINDS · Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) · Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) · Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) · Parkinson Canada · Fonds de recherche du Québec

CAPABILITIES

Proposal writing · Budget development and oversight · Milestone-based program management · Investigator feasibility assessment · Co-funding identification (NIH, DoD, biopharma) · Award monitoring and reporting

05

Publication & Scientific Impact

25+ peer-reviewed publications with 1,300+ citations and 500,000+ downloads. First-author and corresponding-author work in high-impact journals demonstrating ability to drive projects from conception through publication.

25+
Publications
1,300+
Citations
500K+
Downloads
10+
First/Co-First Author

Selected High-Impact Publications

Nature Neuroscience (2024)

First and corresponding author. First iPSC-derived human dopaminergic neuron model forming Lewy body-like inclusions. 50+ citations, 17,000+ accesses.

Nature (Under Review, 2026)

First co-author. Small-molecule Parkin agonism for dopaminergic neuroprotection. Drug discovery and target validation with NysnoBio. ASAP/MJFF and NIH/NINDS funded.

Journal of Biological Chemistry (2021) — Tabor Award

Lead author. SARS-CoV-2 entry mechanism via clathrin-mediated endocytosis. 500+ citations, 300,000+ downloads. Enabled antiviral drug design with GSK and SGC.

View full publication list →

06

Therapeutic Area Expertise

Deep domain knowledge across multiple disease areas relevant to biopharma and VC investment theses.

Neurodegeneration

Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, frontotemporal dementia, MSA. Alpha-synuclein aggregation, Lewy body formation, neuroinflammation, lysosomal dysfunction.

Infectious Disease

SARS-CoV-2 and beta-coronaviruses. Host-directed antivirals, viral entry mechanisms, clathrin-mediated endocytosis, pseudovirus systems.

Immunology & Immuno-Oncology

T-cell killing assays, ADCC/CDC, checkpoint blockade, cytokine profiling, CAR-T characterization, tumor microenvironment modeling.

Rare & Genetic Disease

Developmental epileptic encephalopathies (DENND5A), Duchenne muscular dystrophy, GBA-Parkinson's, LRRK2 mutations, SNCA triplication.

07

Education & Credentials

Harvard Medical School & Mass General Brigham

Research Fellow, Department of Neurology — 2024–Present

McGill University

PhD in Neuroscience (Specialty in Translational Science) — 2018–2023

University of Victoria

BSc in Biology and Psychology (Honours with Distinction) — 2013–2018

Member, Royal Society of Biology (MRSB)

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