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.
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