Marcus Gerhard studied medicine in Heidelberg and Hamburg and earned his MD in 1996. From 1997 to 2004 he completed his medical training leading to German medical board certification in internal medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine at Klinikum rechts der Isar. From 2006 he headed a research group in the Department of Internal Medicine at TUM, where he also acquired his postdoctoral teaching qualification (habilitation) in internal medicine in 2009. In 2010 he was appointed associate professor of medical microbiology and immunology at the Institute for Medical Microbiology and Immunology, a unit within TUM. He also serves as academic director of the TUM Venture Lab Healthcare, TUM`s biotech incubator.

The research work of Professor Gerhard explores how pathogens interact with the host in gastrointestinal infections. Professor Gerhard’s research group investigates the mechanisms that suppress the immune response of the host to allow the establishment of chronic infection as well as inflammatory factors involved in the development of cancer, in order to leverage this know-how for the development of novel preventive and therapeutic strategies.

Prof. Gerhard has published > 120 papers, many in prestigious journals such as Nature Medicine, Nature Microbiology, Gastroenterology, GUT, NEJM etc.

Chris Bladen received his PhD in Molecular Neuroscience from the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary in 2014. His thesis was based on using Electrophysiology and Molecular Biology to develop drugs and small molecules for Pain and Epilepsy research as well as other clinical purposes. He has a B.Sc. in Freshwater Chemistry and a degree in Environmental management and has extensive experience in both academia and industry. His previous work experience includes several years as an independent environmental consultant for the oil and gas industry in Alberta and several years working in the biopharma industry.  He has developed a world-wide collaborative network in the fields of Electrophysiology, Molecular Biology and Drug design. In addition to being CEO of Zymedyne therapeutics, he is currently an (Online) Lecturer at Macquarie University’s Department of Biomedical Sciences, where he teaches Pharmacology and conducts research into the therapeutic potential of Synthetic and Phyto Cannabinoids.

Jared Auclair serves as the Dean of the College of Professional Studies. Appointed in December 2024, Jared leads all academic and administrative functions of the college.

With more than a decade of experience at Northeastern, starting first as a post-doc and most recently, Vice Provost Research Economic Development and Director of Bioinnovation, Jared is a champion of innovation and collaboration and deeply values the promise that the College of Professional Studies brings to students as one of Northeastern’s most diverse and dynamic colleges committed to meet students where they are.

Prior to his role as Vice Provost Research Economic Development, Jared served as the Associate Dean of Professional Programs and Graduate Affairs in the College of Science, and still holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. His past experience with the College of Professional Studies includes leadership on a variety of economic and workforce development and research programs, including PlusOne, a dynamic program that gives students the opportunity to accelerate their education by earning both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in five years.

With an extensive leadership background, Jared’s passion for progress drives essential strategic initiatives for the College of Professional Studies. His focus on strengthening the connections between education, research, and community, along with fostering a global mindset is core to the College of Professional Studies’ commitment to delivering a world-class experiential education tailored to students’ needs.

Prior to joining Northeastern, Jared held a variety of research and consulting roles for leading biopharmaceutical firms. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a PhD in Biomedical Science from the University of Massachusetts Medical.

Claire holds a degree in agriculture and a PhD in biochemistry and has worked in the leadership of scientific associations for 20 years. She started her career within the UK Cambridge biotech cluster and was a co-founder and Manager of the Council of European BioRegions, a network of biotechnology clusters across Europe in Brussels, she also took on the role of SG for the European Biotechnology Network (EBN) in 2012, working across sectors, organisations and countries as part of the EBN mission to facilitate collaboration. 

In 2017, Claire became Director General of the globally-focussed Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) which she successfully led until November 2020 when she joined EuropaBio as Director General. In addition to her current role at EuropaBio, she is also the Chair of the International Council of Biotechnology Associations (ICBA) and Governing Board Member for the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI). 

She has a driving interest in collaboration across the value chain to develop the business of science, and the role of internationally networked policies, programmes, skills, finance and infrastructures to create a strong landscape. 

Sara has a decade of experience in commercialization of research-based innovations to spin-outs and licensing. After receiving her PhD from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Sara worked as a postdoc and academia-industry liaison at the Finnish Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland. Before joining Innovestor, she was Head of Innovation at Helsinki Innovation Services, and IPR Manager at Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT. Sara serves in the boards of Finnish Bioindustries as well as several of Innovestor’s portfolio companies.

Miruna brings over 19 years of investment expertise across direct equity, debt, and fund investments in Europe. She currently serves as an Investment Manager at the European Investment Fund (EIF), where she leads investments in venture capital and private equity funds, with a particular focus on life sciences and healthcare. Since joining EIF in 2016, Miruna has represented the organisation on the Advisory Boards of more than 30 funds across several geographies and strategies. Her prior experience includes roles in private equity with Advent International and UniCredit, as well as lending products with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Murat is the CEO of Antiverse with background in software engineering and bioinformatics. Mid-career he developed high-frequency trading systems. After switching to biotech, he built cell imaging software and lab robots to accelerate cancer research and automated Thermo Fisher Scientific’s gene synthesis workflows. He also co-founded consultancy and biotech companies Svarlight and Antiverse. Murat is currently focusing on to realise Antiverse’s mission: engineering the future of drug discovery.