Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Science Entrepreneurship

Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Science Entrepreneurship

The Science of Today is the Business of Tomorrow

The Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Science Entrepreneurship offers Harvard Business School (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. This unique opportunity allows fellows to work closely with leading biotech industry and biomedical authorities, receive programmatic guidance and mentorship, and join a community of entrepreneurs shaping the future of science.
“Bringing life science innovations to the global population is more crucial than ever. The Blavatnik Fellowship mentors future leaders who want to make important advancements, take risks, and commercialize biomedical discoveries.”
Srikant M. Datar
George F. Baker Professor of Administration
Dean of the Faculty
“Bringing life science innovations to the global population is more crucial than ever. The Blavatnik Fellowship mentors future leaders who want to make important advancements, take risks, and commercialize biomedical discoveries.”
Srikant M. Datar
George F. Baker Professor of Administration
Dean of the Faculty

How to Apply 

Ideal candidates are HBS alumni who have graduated within the last 7–10 years and Harvard-affiliated postdoctoral researchers within the first 5 years of their training program in a Harvard program or research lab. Postdocs can continue technical and commercial development of their existing scientific research during the fellowship year. The applications for next year will open in the fall.

Videos 

Resources & Opportunities

Community

A network of over 90 business and life science leaders and 49 alumni Blavatnik Fellows can provide tactical and strategic guidance. Past fellows have created companies including devices, therapeutics, diagnostics, consumer health, and health IT and raised more than $500 million through angel investors, seed and funding rounds, seed, grants, and venture funding. An additional $244M was raised when a Blavatnik Fellow's venture went public.

Leadership

The Fellowship is led by executive fellow Debra Peattie, PhD, MBA and Tracy Perry, associate director. The members of the Key Advisory Board, leading industry and biomedical authorities, provide programmatic guidance as well as one-on-one mentorship to Blavatnik Fellows. The Health Care Leaders Network provides opportunities for developing industry contacts and networking in the Boston area through a variety of programs.

Professional Development

The program has hosted over 100 seminars with key industry experts. Workshop topics are based on Blavatnik Fellows’ current needs to build business acumen and executive leadership skills. Past topics include “Effectively Communicating to Win Financing,” “How to Lead as a First-Time CEO,” and “Building a Team in a Startup Culture.”

Industry Access

Fellows build a network of connections across the life science industry in various ways. They are matched with Key Advisory Board members who serve as their mentors throughout the program and attend industry conferences and events.

45
Companies created
$
530m+
In collective funding

2025–26 Fellows

Erik Aznauryan

PhD 2021
Erik Aznauryan is the co-founder and CEO of HarborSite, a genetic engineering platform company pioneering novel gene insertion tools to treat inherited and age-related diseases. A spinout from George Church’s lab, HarborSite leverages large-scale computational genome mining and high-throughput experimental screening to discover and engineer potent, safe enzymes capable of integrating full-length therapeutic genes into desired genomic locations. As a scientist-entrepreneur, Erik combines extensive domain expertise in the genome editing space with a profound interest in life science company creation. He earned his PhD in bioengineering from ETH Zurich, served as a venture fellow at Flagship Pioneering, and later joined the Wyss Institute at Harvard as a technology development fellow, where he secured multiple internal and external grants to advance HarborSite’s early progress and IP. As a 2025 Blavatnik Fellow, Erik will be validating HarborSite’s platform through in vivo proof-of-concept studies and building the foundation for strategic partnerships.
Erik Aznauryan is the co-founder and CEO of HarborSite, a genetic engineering platform company pioneering novel gene insertion tools to treat inherited and age-related diseases. A spinout from George Church’s lab, HarborSite leverages large-scale computational genome mining and high-throughput experimental screening to discover and engineer potent, safe enzymes capable of integrating full-length therapeutic genes into desired genomic locations. As a scientist-entrepreneur, Erik combines extensive domain expertise in the genome editing space with a profound interest in life science company creation. He earned his PhD in bioengineering from ETH Zurich, served as a venture fellow at Flagship Pioneering, and later joined the Wyss Institute at Harvard as a technology development fellow, where he secured multiple internal and external grants to advance HarborSite’s early progress and IP. As a 2025 Blavatnik Fellow, Erik will be validating HarborSite’s platform through in vivo proof-of-concept studies and building the foundation for strategic partnerships.

Joseph Sedlak

MD/PhD 2025
Joseph Sedlak is the co-founder and CEO of Adeno, a biotechnology company developing a first-in-class therapeutic targeting the underlying driver of 95 percent of colorectal cancers (CRC) and colonic adenomas. Supported by compelling preclinical data, Adeno aims to outperform standard chemotherapy while rejuvenating healthy colon tissue. Adeno builds on groundbreaking discoveries from Professor Omer Yilmaz’s Lab at MIT, where Joe completed his PhD. As a Blavatnik Fellow, Joe will lead Adeno toward clinical proof of concept in both familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and metastatic CRC. Previously, Joe co-founded Mercy BioAnalytics, serving as the founding CEO. There, Joe raised initial funding, recruited the founding team, and advanced a platform for early cancer detection, culminating in FDA “Breakthrough Device” designation for its ovarian cancer screening test and over $68 million in venture financing. Joe earned his BS in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan (summa cum laude), a PhD in biophysics from Harvard University, and an MD from Harvard Medical School.
Joseph Sedlak is the co-founder and CEO of Adeno, a biotechnology company developing a first-in-class therapeutic targeting the underlying driver of 95 percent of colorectal cancers (CRC) and colonic adenomas. Supported by compelling preclinical data, Adeno aims to outperform standard chemotherapy while rejuvenating healthy colon tissue. Adeno builds on groundbreaking discoveries from Professor Omer Yilmaz’s Lab at MIT, where Joe completed his PhD. As a Blavatnik Fellow, Joe will lead Adeno toward clinical proof of concept in both familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and metastatic CRC. Previously, Joe co-founded Mercy BioAnalytics, serving as the founding CEO. There, Joe raised initial funding, recruited the founding team, and advanced a platform for early cancer detection, culminating in FDA “Breakthrough Device” designation for its ovarian cancer screening test and over $68 million in venture financing. Joe earned his BS in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan (summa cum laude), a PhD in biophysics from Harvard University, and an MD from Harvard Medical School.

Christina Vosbikian

MBA 2025
Christina Vosbikian is the founder and CEO of Coord Health, a healthcare startup focused on leveraging technology to support patients and providers across women’s health settings by delivering virtual lifestyle medicine interventions. Christina’s drive to improve women’s health care delivery stems from experience delivering humanitarian aid in Eastern Europe. She built upon this passion through digital women’s health operating roles in the United States, focusing on virtual patient-centered care and streamlining clinical workflows. At HBS, Christina co-led the Women’s Health Student Interest Group and spearheaded Harvard’s first-ever Women’s Health Summit, which brought over 100 top industry leaders to campus. She is dedicated to transforming how women access and engage with healthcare, alleviating OB/GYN burden and improving patient outcomes. As a fellow, Christina will be scaling Coord Health’s technology in clinical settings. She previously worked in private equity investing at Berkshire Partners and in investment banking at Goldman Sachs. Christina holds a degree in public policy from Princeton University, with a minor in Eastern European studies. Christina is also a recipient of the Robert F. Jasse Award for entrepreneurship at Harvard.
Christina Vosbikian is the founder and CEO of Coord Health, a healthcare startup focused on leveraging technology to support patients and providers across women’s health settings by delivering virtual lifestyle medicine interventions. Christina’s drive to improve women’s health care delivery stems from experience delivering humanitarian aid in Eastern Europe. She built upon this passion through digital women’s health operating roles in the United States, focusing on virtual patient-centered care and streamlining clinical workflows. At HBS, Christina co-led the Women’s Health Student Interest Group and spearheaded Harvard’s first-ever Women’s Health Summit, which brought over 100 top industry leaders to campus. She is dedicated to transforming how women access and engage with healthcare, alleviating OB/GYN burden and improving patient outcomes. As a fellow, Christina will be scaling Coord Health’s technology in clinical settings. She previously worked in private equity investing at Berkshire Partners and in investment banking at Goldman Sachs. Christina holds a degree in public policy from Princeton University, with a minor in Eastern European studies. Christina is also a recipient of the Robert F. Jasse Award for entrepreneurship at Harvard.

Cody Tranbarger

MS/MBA 2025
Cody Tranbarger is the co-founder of Revision Bio, which is pioneering novel gene writing technologies, and founder, acting CEO of Mithril Medicine, which is developing antibody therapeutics for genetic diseases. As a fellow, he will continue to leverage the Harvard ecosystem—including Harvard’s Pagliuca Life Lab, where Revision has been incubating since its founding in 2023—to advance both companies’ efforts toward patients. Cody is also an entrepreneur-in-residence at Atlas Venture, a board member at Cure Rare Disease, and an advisor at Accelerating Breakthroughs in EB. Previously, Cody held leadership roles at Prime Medicine and Casdin Capital, and earned a BA in biology and economics from Amherst College.
Cody Tranbarger is the co-founder of Revision Bio, which is pioneering novel gene writing technologies, and founder, acting CEO of Mithril Medicine, which is developing antibody therapeutics for genetic diseases. As a fellow, he will continue to leverage the Harvard ecosystem—including Harvard’s Pagliuca Life Lab, where Revision has been incubating since its founding in 2023—to advance both companies’ efforts toward patients. Cody is also an entrepreneur-in-residence at Atlas Venture, a board member at Cure Rare Disease, and an advisor at Accelerating Breakthroughs in EB. Previously, Cody held leadership roles at Prime Medicine and Casdin Capital, and earned a BA in biology and economics from Amherst College.

Oliver Weisser

MBA 2019
Oliver Weisser is the co-founder and CBO of Boston Interactome, a biotech company pioneering a new class of precision therapeutics by targeting the human protein interactome—an exponentially larger druggable space than the traditional druggable genome. Boston Interactome is powered by a proprietary platform developed by Dr. Soon Gang Choi at HMS that can modulate the interactions of multisubunit protein complexes, unlocking many first-in-class targets with the potential for significantly enhanced safety and efficacy. We're initially targeting neuropsychiatric diseases characterized by aberrant PPIs of epigenetic protein complexes. Oliver's background includes six years at Ginkgo Bioworks, where he led pharma alliance management, overseeing more than $200 million in R&D spend across 45 biopharma partners. He also led marketing for Ginkgo Datapoints, successfully launching the Datapoints brand from $0 to $8.5 million bookings in six months. He held roles at Deloitte Consulting and Solazyme and an MS in biotechnology from Northwestern University.
Oliver Weisser is the co-founder and CBO of Boston Interactome, a biotech company pioneering a new class of precision therapeutics by targeting the human protein interactome—an exponentially larger druggable space than the traditional druggable genome. Boston Interactome is powered by a proprietary platform developed by Dr. Soon Gang Choi at HMS that can modulate the interactions of multisubunit protein complexes, unlocking many first-in-class targets with the potential for significantly enhanced safety and efficacy. We're initially targeting neuropsychiatric diseases characterized by aberrant PPIs of epigenetic protein complexes. Oliver's background includes six years at Ginkgo Bioworks, where he led pharma alliance management, overseeing more than $200 million in R&D spend across 45 biopharma partners. He also led marketing for Ginkgo Datapoints, successfully launching the Datapoints brand from $0 to $8.5 million bookings in six months. He held roles at Deloitte Consulting and Solazyme and an MS in biotechnology from Northwestern University.

Executive Fellow

Debra Peattie, PhD, MBA

Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School

In addition to her work at HBS, Debra is Managing Partner at SV Investment, a venture capital and private equity firm based in Seoul, South Korea. She leads the company’s US team, which concentrates on early-stage biotechnology investments.

Dr. Peattie has led a variety of innovation sourcing and R&D efforts at organizations in both industry and academia, including Valo Health, GSK, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Harvard University and Stanford University. In addition to SV Investment, her venture capital experience includes MPM Capital, RCT BioVentures NE and Eurofarma Ventures.

As a founding scientist and the sixth employee at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Peattie established and led the company’s molecular biology division for four years before transitioning to business development. She subsequently joined MPM Capital, where she co-led the raise and early deployment of the firm’s inaugural fund, and then founded RCT BioVentures NE to advance emerging academic technologies and Valeo Medical, a diagnostics startup focused on women’s health. She also spent several years as an independent consultant, evaluating and implementing strategic initiatives for life sciences clients.

Dr. Peattie holds advisory board positions at Harvard Business School and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, and she sits on the Investment Committees of Eurofarma Ventures and SV Investment US. She has served on boards at a variety of life sciences startups, including Epiphany Biosciences, GRO Biosciences, InfiMed Therapeutics, Sedecim Therapeutics and t Breeders (now ViaCord, a Revvity company). Dr. Peattie holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School and was a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University.

In addition to her work at HBS, Debra is Managing Partner at SV Investment, a venture capital and private equity firm based in Seoul, South Korea. She leads the company’s US team, which concentrates on early-stage biotechnology investments.

Dr. Peattie has led a variety of innovation sourcing and R&D efforts at organizations in both industry and academia, including Valo Health, GSK, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Harvard University and Stanford University. In addition to SV Investment, her venture capital experience includes MPM Capital, RCT BioVentures NE and Eurofarma Ventures.

As a founding scientist and the sixth employee at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Peattie established and led the company’s molecular biology division for four years before transitioning to business development. She subsequently joined MPM Capital, where she co-led the raise and early deployment of the firm’s inaugural fund, and then founded RCT BioVentures NE to advance emerging academic technologies and Valeo Medical, a diagnostics startup focused on women’s health. She also spent several years as an independent consultant, evaluating and implementing strategic initiatives for life sciences clients.

Dr. Peattie holds advisory board positions at Harvard Business School and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, and she sits on the Investment Committees of Eurofarma Ventures and SV Investment US. She has served on boards at a variety of life sciences startups, including Epiphany Biosciences, GRO Biosciences, InfiMed Therapeutics, Sedecim Therapeutics and t Breeders (now ViaCord, a Revvity company). Dr. Peattie holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School and was a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University.

Past Blavatnik Fellows

Key Advisory Board

Initiatives focus on societal challenges that are too complex for any one discipline or industry to solve alone.