Nucleate Bio Update #1
Welcome! We can’t wait to tell you about our recent news.
Thank You + Contents
Nucleate Bio LA would not be possible without your support. We are grateful for and humbled by your generous help!
Executive Summary
About Nucleate Bio
Goals
Updates
Conclusion
Executive Summary
Updates
Nucleate Bio LA is rapidly expanding. Our network encompasses USC, UCLA, Caltech, Cal State LA, UCI and we are adding CHLA, Cedars Sinai and City of Hope in the next few weeks.
We have built a world-class team of advisors, mentors, and workshop experts.
We are changing our branding. We have a new name and our branding and website will change in the next couple of months.
What you can do to help
Connect us with colleagues at your organization who may be interested in volunteering as advisors, mentors, or workshop experts.
Connect us with colleagues outside of your organization who we have not partnered with yet but you think would be willing to volunteer for us.
Help us recruit promising scientists/biotech talent to participate in our program.
About Nucleate Bio
Nucleate Bio is a nonprofit, non-dilutive entrepreneurship program for aspiring biotech startup founders. The program is advised nationally by George Church and Robert Langer, among 100+ world-class innovators/startup founders and investors hailing from Atlas Venture, RA Capital, Polaris Partners, 5AM Ventures and many more.
Nucleate Bio is launching in Fall 2021 in Los Angeles. Participating teams will be early-career scientists and business-minded graduate students with an ambitious biology-driven vision. Teams will meet potential co-founders, receive one-on-one mentorship, and gain opportunities for non-dilutive funding and perks offered by various Los Angeles and national level sponsors.
Mission
To strengthen the Los Angeles life sciences ecosystem by empowering scientists and business students to build new ventures.
Program features
Cross-institutional team formation.
Practical advice for trainees building biotech ventures.
Additional resources for founders (legal/IP, opportunities for free space + non-dilutive funding).
Timeline
We will launch in November 2021, and workshops/office hours will begin February 2022.
Advisor Composition
We have been amazed by the strong support for the Nucleate LA mission. Since February 2021, we’ve added:
Venture Advisors/Partners
Joining from: Westlake Village BioPartners, Embark Ventures, Upfront Ventures, MarsBio, Undeterred Capital, Fifty Years, and RiverVest Venture Partners.
University Advisors/Partners
Joining from: Merkin Institute for Translational Research at Caltech, USC Keck MESH Academy, Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at USC Marshall, UCLA Biodesign, Magnify at CNSI, Beall Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UCI, The Lundquist Institute, and LA BioStart at Cal State LA.
Student Organizations:
Biotech Connection Los Angeles, USC Healthcare Leadership Association, UCLA Healthcare Business Association, Caltech Biotech Club, and Caltech Entrepreneurship Club.
Incubator Advisors/Partners
Joining from: Biolabs, University Lab Partners, Lab Launch, Braid Theory, ScaleHealth, MedTech Innovator, and Brazen Bio.
Ecosystem Advisors/Partners
Joining from: BioscienceLA, Biocom, Los Angeles Venture Association (LAVA), and Office of Los Angeles City Council-member Mark Ridley-Thomas.
Legal Advisors/Partners
Joining from: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Crowley Corporate Legal Strategy, and NovusGC.
Goals
To achieve our mission and run our first successful cohort later this year, in the short term, we aim to:
Recruit university advisors from the remaining entrepreneurial offices.
Bring on local faculty advisors for the program.
Recruit at least 5 high quality teams for the 2022 cohort.
Bring on additional industry advisors + startup founders for the program.
Raise local sponsorship funds to host an in-person program and offer incentives to the winning teams.
Team Updates
Team
Our team members now includes 5 PhD and 3 MBA candidates from USC, UCLA and Caltech.
Adhirath Sikand, PhD candidate, USC
Alex Kim, MD/PhD student, UCLA DGSOM
Valentina Alonso, PhD student, UCLA
Bryan Gerber, PhD candidate, Caltech
Zipeng Zeng, PhD candidate, USC
Kelly Zhang, MBA candidate, UCLA Anderson School of Management
Eric Goytia Nummedal, MBA candidate, USC Marshall School of Business
Tony Ma, MBA candidate, UCLA Anderson School of Management
Outreach Strategy
We are planning monthly info sessions at our member institutions from July onwards to connect with students and recruit participants for our program.
Conclusion
Nucleate Bio LA is growing rapidly, targeting a November 2021 launch date. We could use your help identifying stakeholders in the life sciences ecosystem who we have not connected with, as well as entrepreneurial scientists and business students who would be a good fit for our program.