Richard Novak, PhD
Founding Chief Executive Officer, DirectorRichard Novak, Ph.D. is a bioengineer and entrepreneur dedicated to solving unanswerable questions through technology innovation. Prior to Unravel Bio, he was a Lead Engineer at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University where he managed fast-paced programs in drug discovery, advanced disease models, human Organ Chips, and integrated automation and sensor systems. He has over 15 years of experience in microfluidic system development and applications in the therapeutic space. He is a founder and president of the nonprofit Future Scientist and a founder and director of the sample collection automation company Rhinostics Inc.
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Frederic Vigneault, PhD
Founding Chief Scientific Officer, DirectorFrederic Vigenault, Ph.D. is a molecular biologist with a drive to tackle unmet patient needs. Prior to Unravel Bio, his role as Senior Scientist at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University enabled him to work across teams on multidisciplinary projects, including the initial development of CRISPR gene editing, low-cost diagnostics using synthetic biology, and DNA synthesis and sequencing that led to multiple startup companies. As a scientist at SRI International, he enabled development of systems-level signaling models. He has a background in plant molecular biology.
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Neal Muni, MD, MSPH
Chief Medical OfficerNeal Muni, M.D., MSPH is a biopharma entrepreneur, investor, and executive. He is the founder and Managing Director of RTK Group. Prior to RTK, Dr. Muni served for over 20 years in senior roles across the entire life sciences value chain, most recently serving as the CEO of Azurity Pharmaceuticals (formerly CutisPharma). Prior to CutisPharma, Dr. Muni served as the Head of New Product Planning and Corporate Strategy at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, an engagement manager at the healthcare investment bank Leerink Swann (now SVB Leerink), and a Medical Officer in the Division of Cardiovascular Devices at the FDA, serving as the lead medical reviewer for drug-eluting intracoronary stents.
Dr. Muni has maintained staff appointments at Harvard Medical School and its teaching hospitals, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Faulkner Hospital. |
Don Ingber, M.D. Ph.D.
Scientific Founder, Advisor, DirectorDonald E. Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. is the Founding Director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at Harvard Medical School and the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children's Hospital, and Professor of Bioengineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He is an expert in mechanobiology and developed Organ Chip technology for accelerating drug development, with over 500 publications and over 160 patents issued or pending. Dedicated to maximizing impact through commercialization of academic technology, he is the founder of 5 companies.
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Michael Levin, Ph.D.
Scientific Founder, Advisor
Michael Levin, Ph.D. is a Distinguished Professor in the Biology department at Tufts University, holds the Vannevar Bush endowed Chair, serves as director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts and the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology, and is an Associate Faculty at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. His research focuses on understanding biophysical mechanisms underpinning decision-making, growth, and development as well as using bioelectric cues to control disease and regeneration.
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Julie Clauss, MEng, MS, MBA
AdvisorJulie Clauss, MEng, MS, MBA is an entrepreneur and experienced pharma executive who has held senior roles at Ultragenyx, Sanofi, and Ipsen where she led multiple translational, R&D, and business development efforts. She is a skilled operator who maximizes value for all stakeholder and enables therapeutics companies to quickly attain their vision of improving patient care.
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Erica Gardner
ScientistErica Gardner is a biologist who leads Unravel's tadpole screening program to discover treatments for complex diseases. Prior to Unravel, Erica was at the Wyss Institute developing novel drugs screens in Xenopus, part of a Harvard Medical School research core enabling protein and biomolecule production and purification for pathogen research.
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Sevgi Umur
Senior ScientistSevgi Umur is a computational sciensist and entrepreneur with a background spanning molecular biology and computational analysis. Sevgi leads our informatics and computational drug prediction program. Prior to Unravel, Sevgi was a scientist at Honeycomb Biotechnologies and ReadCoor, Pfizer, and a founder of Genonymous Sciences.
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Rahul Nihalani, PhD
Senior ScientistRahul Nihalani, Ph.D. is a computational scientist who leads development of Unravel's computational architecture. Rahul has a background in computer science, including developing novel algorithms for sequence alignment. Prior to Unravel, Rahul was a senior computer engineer at Dell/EMC, where he developed garbage collection algorithms and frameworks for backup servers.
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Andrew Nierenberg, M.D.
AdvisorAndrew Nierenberg, M.D., is the Director of the Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation and Associate Director of the Depression Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Nierenberg’s primary interests are treatment-resistant depression, bipolar depression, and innovative treatments for mood disorders. He lectures extensively, both nationally and internationally, teaches, supervises, maintains an active clinical practice, conducts clinical trials, consults to industry, and peer reviews for over 35 psychiatric journals.
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