Northpond Ventures is a multi-billion-dollar science-driven venture capital firm based in Cambridge, MA; San Francisco, CA; and Bethesda, MD. Northpond has consistently been named one of the most active lead life science investors in venture industry rankings. It is deeply engaged in the academic ecosystem, having founded The Laboratory for Bioengineering Research and Innovation at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University; launched the MIT-Northpond Program – Advancing Life Science & Engineering Innovation; launched the Northpond Laboratories — Program for Research and Innovation at Stanford Medicine; and sponsored a prize for women entrepreneurs at MIT. It has led or co-led over 60 financings over the past several years and sits on the board of the vast majority of these businesses.

Biotech Connection - Bay Area, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization led by graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in the San Francisco Bay Area.Their mission is to help exceptional academic researchers acquire the business skills necessary to become life science leaders while providing biotech clients with valuable market research, diligence, and scientific insights. Specifically, BCBA performs consulting and due diligence projects, hosts career development events, and publishes topical articles about life science industry trends.

OCV is a Los Angeles based venture fund that to date has raised ~$260M. OCV invests in, owns, and operates companies with differentiated technologies and compelling target markets, with the overriding objective of creating sustainable long-term value. As value-additive partners focused on innovation, operational efficiency, and sound management, we have a proven track record helping businesses realize their true potential. Our focus sectors include Life sciences & Healthcare, Information Technology, Cloud businesses, E-commerce, and Media & Telecommunications.

I joined Venture University's Investing internship (25 investors, <1% acceptance rate) to immerse myself in the investing and startup world and pursue my passion for advancing innovative technologies and scalable business models. In this role I, • Gained quality experience sourcing healthcare deals (reviewed 350+ opportunities) and conducting due diligence (evaluating markets, teams, business models and key metrics). • Conducted investment evaluations, participated in weekly Partners Meetings, presented investment recommendations to the Investment Committee • Invested in 5 early stage startups and built a large network across accelerators, angels, VC / PE investors, and strategic partners.

As part of collaborative teams, I worked on 2-4-month project engagements to help multi-million and multi-billion dollar client firms achieve strategic and operational goals including targeted cost reductions or revenue gains. My team’s work focused on identifying problem root causes and generating informed actionable solutions. These two years marked a real departure from my academic and scientific background. While previously I was always the expert in the room, here I learned how to quickly adapt and get up to speed on each client’s business context and challenges. BCG also proved a master class on tenacity and resourcefulness; I stretched well outside my normal skillset to deliver on project goals, such as on my very first assignment where I created, recorded, and edited a popular informational video despite zero prior related experience. HIGHLIGHTS: • Co-developed cost reduction roadmap that raised a healthcare company’s bottom line $700M. • Identified and bridged gaps to best-in-class performance of OTC drugs for a pharma conglomerate. • Partnered on new organization structure that shaved $53M off costs for a retail pharmacy client. • Co-created first regional multi-billion-dollar bid for 2 local economic development committees.

Worked with the Catalyst Program team focused on translating lab discoveries into clinical applications that improve public health. The program provides catalytic funding and strategic partnerships to support the development of UCSF discoveries with commercial potential.HIGHLIGHTS: • Contributed to due diligence process by evaluating scientific basis of translational research proposal and identifying key next steps for product and business development.• Helped raise program awareness by organizing an informational meeting for ~30 researchers and conducting interviews to create case studies to highlight the program’s success.

I led research into the mechanisms of fatty liver disease, obesity, and insulin resistance. In this largely autonomous role, I also secured independent funding, published scientific literature, and presented at scientific conferences. HIGHLIGHTS: • Co-led research team that determined how growth hormone regulates lipid metabolism and presented findings at national and international conferences. • Determined viability of research articles and issued recommendations for or against publication. • Secured ~$100K, two-year grant from the American Heart Association to fund independent research. • Engaged healthcare industry experts and leaders as a speaker at conferences including AASLD Liver Meeting, Boston, MA (2014); Keystone Symposia Lipid Pathways in Disease, Dublin, Ireland (2014); and UCSF Liver Center Annual Symposium, San Francisco, CA (2014).

I taught lectures and guided hands-on lab experiments for Introduction to Biology and Genetics classes at this leading regional university. While an extension of my scientific background, the experience also allowed me to develop the communications skills and “EQ” needed for my more recent work in the corporate arena. Success depended on my building productive relationships with students and holding open office hours to address their questions and ongoing concerns. HIGHLIGHT: • Taught and mentored students on college application topics as part of the Minority Access to Research Careers program. All 8 students were accepted into top-tier graduate schools.

Here I balanced rigorous coursework and research while completing the Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics department’s doctoral program. I conducted biomedical research across 3 laboratories to better understand disease mechanisms and possible therapeutic targets. The Ph.D. program not only provided my in-depth scientific background, but it was also where I learned to quickly read and understand others’ academic research articles. In the laboratory of Dr. Bryan Wolf, I studied how Pancreatic derived factor (PANDER, a novel beta cell secreted protein) regulated glucose production from hepatocytes. HIGHLIGHTS:• Utilized adenoviral delivery to overexpress PANDER in vivo and in a primary hepatocyte culture system• Measured the effect of PANDER overexpression on glucose homeostasis, glucose tolerance, and insulin sensitivity• Optimized a glucose output assay to measure PANDER's effect on gluconeogenesis• Correlated the effect on gluconeogenesis to changes in cAMP signaling and gluconeogenic gene expression• Discovered a physiological regulator of circulating PANDER levels