​This conversation explores what it means to lead when science is personal, decisions are high-stakes, and the work truly matters.

​Join us for a candid conversation with Lieza Danan, Ph.D., scientist-founder and CEO of LiVeritas, as she shares her journey from biopharma scientist to entrepreneur—and how personal adversity, scientific rigor, and grit shaped her approach to leadership and company building.

​Lieza will reflect on her path into science and entrepreneurship, including how founding LiVeritas became part of her ikigai. She’ll unpack the broken realities of life sciences R&D that she experienced firsthand—fragmented tools, manual workflows, and disconnected data—and why she felt compelled to build the platform she wished had existed years earlier.

​We’ll explore the early days of LiVeritas: how the company came together, the first high-stakes decisions, and what it meant to build at the edge of Agentic AI, chemistry, and regulated science. Lieza will also share a high-level look at how LiVeritas uses AI to turn raw lab data into trusted, FDA-grade outputs that are already powering regulatory filings across the industry.

​Finally, Lieza will speak openly about the challenges she faced building the company, how she navigated them, and the lessons she’s learned along the way—offering hard-won advice for scientists and founders who want to build something meaningful while navigating uncertainty and adversity.

​This session is for scientists, founders, operators, and anyone curious about what it means to lead with both scientific integrity and grit.

​#AI #lifescience #founderjourney

​About the Speaker

​Lieza Danan, Ph.D., is the Founder and CEO of LiVeritas Biosciences, a company helping biopharma teams fast-track drug research and development through mass spectrometry and digital transformation. A scientist by training, Lieza brings deep industry expertise spanning drug design optimization, process development and characterization, and accelerating novel therapeutics toward Investigational New Drug (IND) milestones.

​​​Meet our Host:

​​​​​​Berkeley Pharma Tech Foundation is a nonprofit committed to expanding biotech understanding and improving access to the industry through education, mentorship, and networking. We host roundtables, speaker panels, and community events to connect aspiring scientists and entrepreneurs with industry leaders. Our goals: launch a funded research program within two years and build a state-of-the-art lab in the Bay Area within five. Follow us on LinkedIn or reach out to Vanloan Nguyen to get involved!