Biotech

Lydia joined NLC in April 2022 as a Venture Developer, focusing on innovations in Neuroscience and Neuroimmunology. She holds a BSc in Biology from Greece, an MSc in Pharmacology from the Netherlands and a PhD in Neuroscience from Sweden. She has 8+ years of R&D experience in academic and industrial settings (including Yale University and AstraZeneca) across 4 countries. Lydia has a strong interest in the business/commercial side of Life Sciences and is currently pursuing an MBA degree. She looks forward to applying her scientific knowledge in building ventures and ultimately helping NLC bring innovative science to patients in need.

Rita joined NLC in April 2022 as a Venture Developer in the biotech team. She holds a BSc in Biology, an MSc in Molecular Genetics and Biomedicine and a PhD in Bioengineering under the MIT-Portugal Program. Rita has +7 years of R&D experience, gathering deep scientific insights in drug development, preclinical models, nanotechnology, and omics/AI strategies in oncology precision medicine. Rita has an entrepreneurial mindset and participated in 8 business/innovation-related courses, including a mini-MBA for life scientists at Nova School of Business and Economics, a workshop on Innovation from MIT, and a masterclass on Negotiations in Pharma&Biotech. She aims to help bring new therapeutics from the lab to the market to solve unmet medical needs and improve patients’ lives.

Kathrin joined NLC in October 2021. She has more than 15 years of experience supporting Startups – mainly in the Life Science business – in different positions as a consultant and coach. Kathrin is a biochemist and holds a PhD in Molecular Neuroscience. Besides her scientific background, she is also trained as a Business Coach, Team Coach & Team Developer and has a Micro master’s in Business Model Innovation. Kathrin brings expertise in supporting early-stage scientific and entrepreneurial projects turning into valuable businesses.

Hanneke joined NLC in September 2022. Her background is in neuroimmunology, having undertaken a PhD in mast-cell nerve interaction in asthma at Utrecht University in the Netherlands followed by a postdoctorate at the Brain-Body Institute in Hamilton, Canada. Before joining NLC, Hanneke worked as a Senior Scientist and Clinical Trial Manager at HAL Allergy, a pharmaceutical company developing immunotherapy for patients with different types of allergy. Hanneke is eager to use her experience in the different NLC projects related to (neuro)immunology and extend her expertise also towards other scientific areas as well as to get familiar with the processes involved in venture building, bringing healthtech innovations from bench to bedside.

Gábor joined NLC in June 2022. In his most recent endeavour, he was the CEO of a virtual speciality biopharmaceutical company, Tavanta Therapeutics. Under Gábor’s guidance, Tavanta secured over $55 million in funding and grew from a 2-person company to an organisation with 5 pivotal clinical stage compounds for major indications such as oncology and pain, as well as an innovative pre-clinical pipeline following closely in their footsteps. Gábor will apply his experience at NLC as a venture partner to build ventures and advance health.

Ankita joined NLC in July 2022 as a Venture Developer intern and transitioned to a full time Biotech focused Venture Developer from December 2022. She holds a bachelor’s in biotechnology from India and MSc in Biomedical Sciences from Leiden University. Ankita has experience in scientific research and is eager to contribute her knowledge in the success of biotech innovations as a venture developer. With her collaborative and international perspective, she wants to bring promising inventions to reach patients and create an impact in healthcare. Ankita is enthusiastic to hear about new ideas and is open to connecting.