Industry
Biology, AI, Discovery
I am an executive technologist operating at the intersection of AI, biomedical sciences, and commercialization. Over the past 15 years, I have been at the forefront of genomics, high-throughput biology, engineering, and AI, building products and services for clinical and biopharma research and drug discovery markets.
My expertise spans molecular biology, data science, deep learning, computational hardware/software, intellectual property, fundraising, organizational design, commercialization, and leadership. I hold a doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering plus multiple degrees in Biomedical Engineering. I have developed and deployed AI agentic systems, trained deep learning models, led major CRISPR patent cases, helped raise over $250M in venture capital, spoken on AI and drug discovery with FDA leaders, been featured in multiple media outlets, and advised and invested in innovative companies.
I write the Techbio<>Biotech Substack, whose subscribers include leading VCs, CEOs/founders, Fortune 10 executives, and researchers from top AI labs and institutions.
As Chief Strategy Officer at Synthego, I was the first commercial hire at this company pioneering CRISPR technologies for research and clinical markets. I witnessed the CRISPR field's development firsthand from technical, commercial, clinical, and IP perspectives.
Previously, as Director at Natera, I helped lead the introduction of liquid biopsy technologies into routine clinical practice—the first population-based application of Next Generation Sequencing that ushered in the genomic era. I led sales, business development, and medical education efforts in women's health and molecular diagnostics, while contributing to early product development for liquid biopsy applications in oncology.
Leadership
“Reading is a voluntary form of active listening”
I have navigated leadership and organizational challenges across the full spectrum from 20 to 1,000+ employees, spanning pre-revenue Series A companies to public companies with hundreds of millions in sales.
Leadership is fundamentally a process rooted in empathy—for others and oneself. Great leaders are voracious readers who understand that tremendous wisdom has been distilled into accessible formats over time. While today's environment favors sound bites and platitudes about leadership, the core principles remain timeless.
Effective leaders possess the critical skill of knowing their knowledge boundaries—understanding what they don't know. The best curated collections of insights serve as invaluable references for building and understanding operational frameworks.
However, frameworks are only as valuable as their implementation. Great leaders appreciate the nuanced diversity of skills required to build successful organizations. Throughout my career, I have personally executed, built, hired for, or advised across all core functions: sales, sales management, marketing, product, business development, legal, finance, research, engineering, and strategy.
Education
I am a deep generalist
My formal technical education is from the University of California, San Diego, where I earned a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering for drug delivery research at the Moores Cancer Center. My Master's and Bachelor's degrees are in Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology, respectively.
I was selected as a member of the first graduating class of Jacobs Scholars—a prestigious four-year scholarship offered by invitation only to the top 10 applicants to the Jacobs School of Engineering, personally funded by Qualcomm founder Irwin and Joan Jacobs. I also received Regents, National Merit, and Phi Beta Kappa scholarships and graduated Summa Cum Laude.
My technical foundation includes writing my first gradient descent neural network in 2004 and coursework spanning quantum physics, neural networks, machine learning, electrical engineering, and systems biology. I have since built comprehensive AI systems ranging from scientific RAG platforms to code-writing agents for scientific analysis. My hands-on experience includes training deep neural networks, developing and deploying full-stack applications on AWS, and building deep research systems from the ground up.
My professional education encompasses intellectual property, commercial transactions, financing, corporate development, and a broad spectrum of technical and commercial domains. Additional details are highlighted on the Context page.
