Harvard Business School Announces Its 2024-2025 Blavatnik Fellows
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BOSTON—Harvard Business School (HBS) has named its 2024-25 Blavatnik Fellows and the program’s eleventh cohort. Launched in 2013, the Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Science Entrepreneurship is part of a gift from the Blavatnik Family Foundation to Harvard University. The Blavatnik Fellowship offers HBS alumni and Harvard-affiliated postdoctoral researchers the opportunity to advance new ventures around promising life science technologies and develop their leadership talents during a 12-month fellowship year. Fellows work closely with leading biotech industry and biomedical authorities, receive programmatic guidance and mentorship, and join a community of entrepreneurs who have created 45 companies and raised over $520M in funding to impact the business of science. To date, Blavatnik Fellows have created 45 companies in biomedical industries including a novel enzymatic RNA synthesis platform, an immune system-driven dendritic cell therapy to combat cancer, new molecular technologies for the delivery of transdermal formulations, a lipid-targeting drug to treat cancer and neurodegenerative disorders, and AI-driven medical companions to help patients conquer sleep-related disorders and manage the symptoms during oncology treatment. They have collectively raised more than $520 million in funding and an additional $244 million from an IPO in June 2020. The Blavatnik Fellowship is guided by Peter Barrett, Harvard Business School executive fellow, PhD; and the key advisory board of 13 seasoned business and biotechnology leaders who serve as one-on-one mentors and provide strategic direction during the fellows' program year. “It is exciting to welcome the newest cohort of fellows into the program who represent a diverse background of academic and professional experience, from MDs, postdoctoral researchers, and joint degree MBAs, and who will begin their journey of life science venture creation. It is gratifying to be a part of the program to enable the next generation of entrepreneurs developing groundbreaking technology and biomedical innovation,” said Barrett. “I am excited to work with them as a mentor and carry on the program’s mission to inspire first-time life science entrepreneurs as they enter the Boston biotech ecosystem as Blavatnik Fellows.” The 2024-2025 Blavatnik Fellows are: 
Narek Dshkhunyan (MBA 2024) is the CEO and co-founder of SANSO, a biomanufacturing startup aiming to make biologics more accessible to patients worldwide. Sanso was created to commercialize the microporous water technology out of Jarad Mason's lab at Harvard, a novel solution to dramatically increase the oxygen capacity of most aqueous solutions. Previously, Narek was a computational biologist at 10x Genomics, developing algorithms for groundbreaking single-cell and spatial transcriptomics products. Before that, he was a bioinformatics intern at Illumina. Narek holds an MEng and BSc in computer science and molecular biology from MIT. 
Aaron Edwards (MS/MBA 2024) is the co-founder and CEO of KiraGen Bio, a biotech company that utilizes machine learning-driven multiplex gene editing to engineer CAR-T cells that can resist the immunosuppressive effects of solid tumor microenvironments. With extensive experience in the biotechnology industry, including notable roles at Novartis Vaccines, bluebird bio, and Beam Therapeutics, where he led in vitro biology for their clinical CAR-T program for T cell leukemias (BEAM-201), Aaron is dedicated to spending his year as a fellow advancing KiraGen's lead initiatives against non-small cell lung cancer and glioblastoma multiforme. He is committed to building a team that embodies scientific excellence and emotional intelligence, with the goal of translating innovative research into therapies that significantly improve patient outcomes. Aaron also holds a strong belief in aligning business practices with the greater good, positioning KiraGen Bio to create substantial value for all stakeholders. 
Stephen Linderman (MD, PhD 2019) is the CEO and co-founder of Absco Therapeutics (AbscoTx), an immune oncology company specializing in image-guided, intratumoral drug delivery. AbscoTx is based on research from Professor Gio Traverso’s lab at MIT and interventional radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Steve is an internal medicine clinician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, an engineer with expertise in immune modulation and biomaterials, and an entrepreneur passionate about advancing patient care through targeted drug delivery. As a fellow, Steve will expand the AbscoTx platform, conduct intratumoral pharmacokinetic and toxicology studies, and establish proof of concept of large-animal, image-guided delivery. Steve previously worked at Third Rock Ventures leading company building in cellular engineering, which became Abata Therapeutics. He founded the nonprofit biotechnology incubator Sling Health during his MD/PhD at Washington University in St. Louis. Steve holds a master's in drug development from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Churchill Scholar. He completed residency training at Emory University and a postdoctoral fellowship with Professor Andrés García at Georgia Tech. 
Somani Patnaik (MBA 2023) is the co-founder and CEO of TurnipCare, an AI-based referral management and care coordination platform aimed at simplifying specialist referral pathways and addressing inefficiencies that result in over $300 billion in lost value annually. Inspired by her personal experience navigating a high-risk pregnancy during her time at HBS, Somani is committed to developing TurnipCare into a comprehensive disease intelligence and personal care advisor platform, improving healthcare access and outcomes on a broad scale. Before HBS, Somani spent 10 years in the industry, managing software development teams building machine learning platforms at Oracle and Amazon Alexa. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in EECS from MIT. 
Andrew Thomson (MBA 2024) is co-founder and CEO of Modulate Bio, a biotechnology company developing next-generation therapies to treat neurological disorders, including tremors, epilepsy, and anxiety. Driven by personal and family experiences, Andrew is dedicated to advancing brain-related medicines. As a fellow, Andrew will be growing Modulate Bio’s drug discovery platform, focused on developing novel small molecule GABAa positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) with improved efficacy and safety. Andrew was previously a life sciences consultant at Charles River Associates, team lead with Social Venture Partners Boston, and holds a BA in biology from Brown University. |
Mark Cautela
mcautela+hbs.edu
617-495-5143
Established in 2013, the Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Science Entrepreneurship offers Harvard Business School alumni and Harvard-affiliated postdocs the opportunity to create new ventures around promising life science technologies while developing their leadership talents. This innovative one-year program provides promising scientists and entrepreneurs the opportunity to work with Harvard inventors and Harvard-affiliated hospitals to promote the commercialization of life science technologies with significant market potential. Fellows are given unique advantages, including mentorship, leadership opportunities, professional development, financial support, and working space at Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab.
ABOUT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOLFounded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston. Its faculty of more than 250 offers full-time programs leading to the MBA and PhD degrees, as well as more than 175 Executive Education programs, and Harvard Business School Online, the School’s digital learning platform. For more than a century, faculty have drawn on their research, their experience in working with organizations worldwide, and their passion for teaching, to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. The School and its curriculum attract the boldest thinkers and the most collaborative learners who will go on to shape the practice of business and entrepreneurship around the globe.