Scientific Entrepreneurship Academy Speakers
Scientific Entrepreneurship Academy Speakers
July 2025: Identifying Market Opportunities in Research
Raja Dhir
Co-Founder, Seed Health
Raja Dhir is a life sciences entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Seed Health, a venture-backed microbiome company pioneering the application of bacteria for both human and planetary health. He leads Seed’s R&D, academic collaborations, technology development, clinical trial design, supply chain, and intellectual property strategy.
Together with Dr. Jacques Ravel, he Co-Chairs Seed’s Scientific Advisory Board–an interdisciplinary group of scientists and doctors who lead research teams and teach at institutions including the teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the Trial Innovation Unit of Mass. General Hospital (MGH). Raja has designed clinical trials with leading academic institutions including the teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the Trial Innovation Unit of Mass. General Hospital (MGH).
Raja has unique expertise translating scientific research for product development with a track record that includes patented inventions to stabilize sensitive compounds to improve alpha-diversity of the gut microbiome (derived from micro-algae) and most recently, the co-invention of microbial technologies to protect honeybee populations (Apis mellifera) from neonicotinoid pesticides and pathogen colonization. His work also includes biofermentation and scale-up for both facultative and strict anaerobic organisms.
Raja has negotiated multiple joint-ventures, strategic partnerships, technology transfer and licensing agreements with publicly traded companies (NYSE, LSE) and academic institutions (Harvard Medical School, UCLA). To date, entities he has co-founded own the rights to 15+ patents and research emerging from $25MM+ of non-dilutive funding over 10+ years from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and National Institute of Health (NIH).
Raja serves on the Editorial Board for the scientific journal, Microbiome. He is a member of the Microbiome Think Tank at Mass. General Hospital (MGH) and sits on the Advisory Committee for the International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP). Raja is also a Director and Co-Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for Micropia, a $20MM microbial ecology / education platform and the world’s first museum dedicated to microbes.
July 2025: Identifying Market Opportunities in Research
Jacques Ravel
Director, Center for Advanced Microbiome Research and Innovation, Institute for Genome Sciences
Professor, Microbiology & Immunology, and Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
Dr. Ravel received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Maryland College Park in Environmental Molecular Microbiology and Ecology and performed his postdoctoral training as a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research fellow in the Chemistry Department at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, working on the chemistry and bioinformatics of natural products. He joined the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2007 as an Associate Professor. Previously, from 2002 to 2007 he was an Assistant Investigator at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) in Rockville, MD, the pioneering institute where the first microbial genome was sequenced.
Dr. Jacques Ravel is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Director of the Center for Advanced Microbiome Research and Innovation (CAMRI) at the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS), University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. Over the past 20 years, he has developed a research program focused on applying modern genomics technologies and ecological principles to characterize the role and dynamics of the vaginal microbiome in women's health. He uses clinical genomics and systems biology approaches to develop improved strategies to manage gynecological and obstetrics conditions. He has published over 350 peer-reviewed publications. He is the co-director (PI) of the NIH-funded Collaborative Research Center on Human 3D Biomimetics Cervicovaginal Models for Sexually Transmitted Infections, which aims to develop an innovative biomimetic model of the lower reproductive tract to study aspects of the sexually transmitted infections (STIs), chlamydia and gonorrhea, that are not achievable in humans or with current animal or cell models. The program uses explicitly systems biology approaches to examine the triangular relationship between human genetic variation, sexually transmitted infections and infections caused by Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and the function of the vaginal microbiome. Further, his laboratory studies the role of the vaginal microbiota in bacterial vaginosis, pregnancy, and prematurity, as well as the health of neonates. His foundational research is currently being translated by developing novel live microbiome-based live biotherapeutic formulations targeted to restore vaginal health and treat conditions such as bacterial vaginosis and urinary tract infections. His work earned him to be elected to Fellowship of the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) in 2012, and in 2015, he was awarded the Blaise Pascal International Research Chair and spent two years at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Microbiome (www.microbiomejournal.com), which has achieved an impact factor of 19.9 in the 10 years since its creation. As a fellow of the AAM, he is an Associate Editor for the journal mBio.
August 2025: Understanding the Funding Landscape for Start ups
Eric Schaefer
Senior Director, Portfolio Strategy & Investment
Eric leads the Innovation Fund at the March of Dimes as the Senior Director – Portfolio Strategy & Investment. In this role he leads a philanthropic venture fund investing in a portfolio of promising startups focused on addressing key clinical issues in the areas of maternal and infant health.
Prior to March of Dimes, Eric served as Vice President, Healthcare Innovation at Coplex, a startup studio focused on developing new healthcare ventures with corporate partners. Eric also worked at UnitedHealth Group R&D where he collaborated with subject matter experts and business leaders to develop innovative investment projects for UHG.
Eric also has deep experience with healthcare providers, having worked in strategy and business development roles for Allina Health and North Memorial Health, roles in which he led numerous growth investments, including joint ventures and other collaborative partnerships.
Eric has a BA from the University of Wisconsin, and an MBA from the University of Minnesota.
September 2025: Intellectual Property (IP) Basics for Entrepreneurs
Sangeeta Cheema, JD, PhD
Intellectual Property Attorney
Sangeeta Cheema is a patent attorney in the firm’s life sciences practice group where she focuses her practice on the preparation and prosecution of patent applications in biotechnology and related sciences, with specialization in cancer biology, molecular biology, physiology, neurology, biochemistry, microbiology, immunology, and nanotechnology. Sangeeta’s practice extends to conducting freedom-to-operate searches and performing patent diligence analyses, patent licensing and agreements, and IP strategy and portfolio management. Sangeeta brings over 10 years of patent experience to her practice, working within a variety of in-house, educational and research institution, and private practice roles. This diverse industry experience enables Sangeeta to develop practical, business-centric solutions that align with clients’ objectives.
Prior to returning to private practice, Sangeeta was IP counsel of the technology transfer department at the University of Houston, where she advised and counseled on matters related to intellectual property and licensing transactions. Before this, she was the head of the patent group in India for Unilever, as part of a global legal team to support the intellectual property needs of this leading multinational consumer goods company.
Sangeeta earned a Ph.D. in cancer biology from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in microbiology from Panjab University in India. Sangeeta earned her J.D., cum laude, from South Texas College.
October 2025: Building a Business Model for Your Research
Joyce Divine, MBA, PhD
November 2025: Scaling & Growth Strategies
Carrie Haverty, MS, CGC
Vice President of Product, Mirvie
Carrie Haverty, MS, CGC is vice president of product at Mirvie, where she oversees and directs the development and management of a company's product portfolio focused on driving biological insights in pregnancy to advance the delivery of proactive, personalized and predictive maternal care. Mirvie’s Encompass test for preeclampsia analyzes cell-free RNA measurements to evaluate placental health and the biology of the developing pregnancy to predict which pregnancies are at risk for preeclampsia.
Carrie is a Board-certified Genetic Counselor having earned her Masters from the University of California Irvine and her BA in Sociology and BS in Genetics from the University of California Davis. She is also President-Elect of the National Society of Genetic Counselors. Carrie started her career working in high-risk prenatal care with a focus on providing broad access to new diagnostic technologies and led clinical teams at Massachusetts General Hospital and Sutter Health. Her direct clinical experience has served as the foundation for leading-edge product development and successful commercialization at top women’s health companies like Counsyl, Myriad, and Mirvie
January 2025: Global Regulatory Landscape for Life Sciences
Bambi Jo Grilley, B.S., RPh, RAC, CIP CCRC, CCRP
Director, Clinical Research and Early Product Development
Center for Cell and Gene Therapy
Baylor College of Medicine
Professor, Pediatrics-Hem-Onc Clinical Research
Baylor College of Medicine
For over 30 years, Bambi Grilley has worked primarily in the field of Clinical Research, focused predominately on oncology. She worked in and supervised the lnvestigational Drug Pharmacy at MD Anderson Cancer Center for 10 years and following that, she accepted a position as the Administrator of the IRB and IACUC at Baylor College of Medicine and served in that position for 2 years. For 25 years she served on the BCM IRB and for the majority of that time, as a vice-Chair. She is currently a Professor, Pediatrics at BCM and the Director of Clinical Research and Early Product Development for the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy where she is responsible for coordinating the development, implementation, and conduct of clinical research protocols for use in four affiliated hospitals and institutions. Her expertise has helped to establish the Protocol Review Committees, the Data Review Committees, the Clinical Research Quality Control Program and the Clinical Research Quality Assurance Program. In the 28 years she has been with CAGT, she has overseen 69 Research INDs covering 130 clinical trials, 52 additional INDs for patient specific access to investigational therapies, an Orphan Drug approval, and 2 Cost Recovery approvals.
Bambi is owner of QB Regulatory Consulting, LLC through which she has expanded her skillset to include support of several start-up companies, primarily in the cell and gene therapy space by providing regulatory affairs consulting and project management support. She has helped those start-up companies develop regulatory strategies, make regulatory submissions (including a company sponsored IND), and in some cases conduct clinical trials. She is a regular reviewer on the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) panel which awards grants to further clinical and translational work. Bambi is also a very active member of the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT), currently serving on its Board of Directors as Chief Regulatory Officer, Chair of Cross Border Working Group, and executive/leadership roles on several other of its committees. As CRO, Bambi has represented ISCT at a number of unprecedented collaborative events, two of which recently occurred in March and June of this year: the Guardrails on Heritable Human Genome Editing summit with ARM and ASGCT and the FDA Cell and Gene Therapy Roundtable which brought together the leaders of HHS, NIH, CMS, and CBER. She is a patient advocate and works tirelessly to address the “valley of death” of academic GMCT products, most recently by joining the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy’s (ASTCT) task force, ACT To Sustain (Adoptive Cell Therapy to Sustain), publishing a paper in Transplant and Cellular Therapy titled “ACT To Sustain: Adoptive Cell Therapy To Sustain access to non-commercialized genetically modified cell therapies”. Her most recent publications can be found in this year’s January and February online ahead of print issues of Cytotherapy - “Sickle cell disease gene therapy drug expenses and reimbursement: a litmus test for commercial pricing strategy and patient access for curative therapies” and “International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy Expanded Access Working Group position paper: key considerations to support equitable and ethical expanded access to investigational cell- and gen-based interventions”.
Bambi is the recipient of The Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Award and the 2021 AACR Team Science Award for her work with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation - Stand Up To Cancer Pediatric Cancer Dream Team.
February 2026: Pitching Your Scientific Start‑up
Aaron Nelson