Visionary Investors and Advisors

Bio:

James has been investing at DCVC since 2013, shortly after the firm raised its first insti­tu­tional fund. He is interested in tech­nolo­gies that better char­ac­terize, model, or manipulate biological systems; robotics and automation; and companies applying artificial intel­li­gence to vertical problems. James has also invested in frontier tech­nolo­gies such as quantum computing and maintains an open mind to hearing about trans­for­ma­tive tech­nolo­gies that may not cleanly fit into an investment thesis. Prior to investing, James worked on data-driven sales and marketing strategy for large life-science and healthcare companies. His profes­sional experience spans large-scale data analysis in healthcare, new materials R&D, and semi­con­ductor processing. James received a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Bio:

Amy is a managing partner at Polaris Partners, focusing on healthcare investments and early-stage biotech start-ups. She serves as chair of the Board of Directors for Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and ByHeart, and represents Polaris on the boards of Kallyope, Thirty Madison, QurAlis, and Larkspur. Amy also contributes to several non-profit and advisory boards, including Mount Sinai Hospital and the California Institute of Technology. Before joining Polaris in 2014, Amy held leadership roles at Pfizer, including president of Pfizer Nutrition and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, and was a partner at DLA Piper. She co-founded the Polaris Innovation Fund in 2017. Amy is a Yale Law School graduate and has been recognized by Fortune Magazine and Fierce Biotech for her leadership in the biotech industry.

Bio:

Ron has dedicated his career to tackling the most challenging areas of unmet need in medicine. Prior to Noetik, Ron was SVP, Head of Research (acting-CSO) at Recursion (RXRX) and an early founding employee where he led the company’s scientific and portfolio strategy from pre-Series A through IPO. He has led research programs across rare disease, neuroscience, oncology, and immunology, that have advanced molecules from discovery to clinical development. Ron holds an MD and PhD from Stanford University School of Medicine, where he completed his doctoral work in Neuroscience, and has a MA in History of Medicine from UCL.

Bio:

Matthew Albert, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician-scientist with deep expertise in immunology, pathology, and translational science. He spent over 15 years leading a research group at the Institut Pasteur before joining Genentech’s Cancer Immunology Department, where he led a team focused on immuno-oncology drug development. Dr. Albert has also held senior roles at Insitro, where he served as Senior Vice President of Biology, and at HiBio, where as Chief Translational Officer he built a clinical immunology portfolio that led to the company’s acquisition. He is currently VP, Translational Sciences & Early Clinical Development at Octant.

Bio:

Dylan Reid is an investor based in New York, focused on intelligent applications in healthcare and heavy industry. Prior to joining Zetta he was a principal at KEC Ventures, an early-stage venture firm. He built their in-house data platform and launched their pre-seed program, leading first check investments in companies across manufacturing, construction and energy. Prior to being an investor, Dylan was co-founder and CEO of Matter.io, a venture-backed advanced manufacturing startup, for which he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

Bio:

Manik joined Polaris in 2021 and serves as a Senior Associate in the Boston Office. He is primarily focused on early-stage biotech with a focus in immunology, oncology, neuroscience and machine learning therapeutic platforms. Prior to joining Polaris, Manik worked in clinical development at Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, helping develop their glutamate platform compounds in rare ataxias. Before Biohaven, Manik worked at Potenza Therapeutics in business development and at Merck & Co. in their Computational Genomics research group. Manik received his MD and PhD from Yale School of Medicine where he developed novel machine learning algorithms for different genomics applications in immunology, oncology and neuroscience. Manik completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard College. While working at Polaris, Manik is concurrently completing his residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Bio:

Julia Moore is a Managing Partner and co-founder of Breakout Ventures. Julia has spent over two decades as an investor and operator of science-driven companies, helping founders navigate the translation of new life science technologies for customer adoption and scale. Having begun her career as a public investor and research analyst on Wall Street, Julia has worked with companies from founding through exit. Julia is a Kauffman Fellow and an active Board Member in companies across the broad range of the Breakout Ventures portfolio, including Immusoft, Checkerspot, and Vitra Labs.

Bio:

Kwok-Kin Wong, M.D., Ph.D., is an internationally recognized physician-scientist and leader in thoracic oncology. He currently is a tenured professor of medicine of NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center. Dr. Wong’s research has significantly advanced the understanding of lung cancer biology, particularly in the development and application of genetically engineered mouse models and the study of resistance mechanisms to targeted therapies. He previously held faculty positions at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, where he helped pioneer translational research efforts in non-small cell lung cancer.

Bio:

Marcia Belvin, Ph.D., is a veteran cancer biologist and currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer at CytomX Therapeutics, where she oversees the company’s scientific strategy, translational studies, and preclinical portfolio. She spent more than a decade at Genentech, leading cross-functional teams in preclinical oncology and guiding programs from early discovery through IND-enabling studies. Her work spanned cancer signaling, cancer metabolism, and immuno-oncology, contributing to the development of multiple first-in-class therapeutic candidates. Earlier in her career, she held senior discovery roles at Exelixis, where she helped build a portfolio of targeted therapies.

Bio:

William Grossman, M.D., Ph.D., brings more than 25 years of experience in oncology, including a clinical background in hematology, oncology, and bone marrow transplantation. He previously served as Professor and Division Director at the Medical College of Wisconsin before transitioning to leadership roles in industry. Dr. Grossman was most recently Senior Vice President and Therapeutic Area Head of Oncology at Gilead Sciences and has also served as Chief Medical Officer at Arcus Biosciences and Bellicum Pharmaceuticals. His career also includes positions at Merck, AbbVie, Biothera, and Genentech/Roche. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Day One Biopharmaceuticals and enGene as well as the Biopharma Advisory Board at Ginkgo Bioworks.

Bio:

Matthew Albert, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician-scientist with deep expertise in immunology, pathology, and translational science. He spent over 15 years leading a research group at the Institut Pasteur before joining Genentech’s Cancer Immunology Department, where he led a team focused on immuno-oncology drug development. Dr. Albert has also held senior roles at Insitro, where he served as Senior Vice President of Biology, and at HiBio, where as Chief Translational Officer he built a clinical immunology portfolio that led to the company’s acquisition. He is currently VP, Translational Sciences & Early Clinical Development at Octant.

Bio:

Vijay Kuchroo Ph.D., DVM, is the Samuel L. Wasserstrom Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, Senior Scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, founding Director of the Gene Lay Institute for Immunology and Inflammation, and a core member of the Broad Institute and Klarman Cell Observatory. His pioneering work has reshaped understanding of T cell biology, immune tolerance, and the mechanisms of autoimmunity and cancer. He was the first to characterize the TIM family of immune regulatory genes, including TIM-3, now a major cancer immunotherapy target, and his lab identified Th17 cells, key drivers of autoimmune disease. These discoveries, along with widely used transgenic models, have laid the foundation for therapeutic advances in oncology, neurology, and inflammatory disorders.

Bio:

Ramy Ibrahim is the Chief Medical and Strategy Officer at Georgiamune Inc., and brings a wealth of experience from the forefront of cancer immunotherapy. His tenure on the Board of Directors and as the Chief Medical Officer at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy highlights his capacity for strategic innovation in developing immune therapies. Ramy has also served on the boards of leading therapeutics companies, including Surface Oncology. This, coupled with his MD in Oncology from the National Cancer Institute of Cairo University, showcases his comprehensive expertise in the field.

Bio:

Brian Brown is the Director of the Icahn Genomics Institute and the Associate Director of the Precision Immunology Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. He is an expert in tumor immunology and gene therapy, and holds several licensed biotechnology patents, including for vector and virus targeting, small RNA sequencing, and functional genomics. A major focus of his lab’s research is in applying spatial functional genomics to identify the genes controlling tumor immunity and resistance to immunotherapy drugs. His group is also working to develop therapies for tumor microenvironment re-programing. Dr. Brown brings his expertise in cancer immunotherapy, CRISPR screens, and spatial biology to the Noetik scientific advisory board.