Yale Alumni Innovation Discussion (Virtual Gathering)
Event Description
The Yale Alumni Innovation Network is a growing community centered around Yale alumni, bringing together individuals interested in innovation, entrepreneurship, startups, investment, and emerging technologies.
This upcoming session is part of our YAIN Frontiers series, highlighting innovators working at the frontier of science, technology, and commercialization.
For this session, we will explore how AI and next-generation experimental platforms are reshaping the future of healthcare and drug development.
The goal is simple:
👉 create a space for thoughtful exchange
👉 surface real-world insights from builders and operators
👉 foster meaningful connections across disciplines
In addition to the speaker session, we will include a virtual networking segment, allowing participants to engage more directly with one another.
Featured Speakers
🧬 Max Rye
CEO, Intertwined Biosciences
What if nature has already solved some of humanity's toughest diseases?
Intertwined Biosciences is developing an AI-powered platform that studies disease-resistant and exceptionally long-lived animals to uncover biological mechanisms that may be translated into human therapies. The company is supported by a distinguished scientific network that includes renowned geneticist George Church and other leaders in synthetic biology, longevity, and translational medicine.
Max will share the vision behind the company, how AI is being used to unlock insights from evolution, and what it takes to build a frontier biotech platform.
🔬 Haiqing Bai
Senior Director of Advanced Research, Xellar Biosystems
More than 90% of drugs entering clinical development ultimately fail, often because traditional testing models do not accurately predict human responses.
Xellar Biosystems is developing advanced organ-on-a-chip platforms designed to create more predictive, human-relevant models for drug development. The company has attracted significant investor and industry interest, raising over $40 million in a relatively short period of time to advance its platform and commercialization efforts. The strong support from the investment community reflects growing confidence in the potential of organ-on-a-chip technologies to transform the future of drug discovery and development.
Haiqing will discuss the promise of organ-on-a-chip technologies, emerging industry trends, and the opportunities and challenges of bringing innovative healthcare platforms to market.
What We'll Explore
Rather than a highly technical scientific seminar, this session will focus on:
• What these innovators are building
• Why it matters
• Why investors and industry leaders are paying attention
• Lessons learned from building frontier innovation companies
• What may come next for healthcare innovation
Event Format
Virtual Speaker Session + Q&A + Networking
Agenda
• Welcome and introductions
• Max Rye, Intertwined Biosciences (~15 min)
• Q&A (~5 min)
• Haiqing Bai, Xellar Biosystems (~15 min)
• Q&A (~5 min)
• Open discussion & virtual networking (20–30 min)
👉 If time allows, we will invite optional 1-minute introductions from participants.
Duration
~60 minutes
(may extend slightly depending on discussion)
Who Should Join
We welcome:
• Yale alumni interested in innovation and entrepreneurship
• founders, investors, operators, and researchers
• individuals working across AI, biotech, healthcare, and emerging technologies
• anyone curious about how breakthrough innovations move from discovery to real-world impact
A limited number of Innovation Guest Passes (Curated) are available for non-Yale participants.
Registration Notes
Participants are encouraged to register using a @yale.edu or @aya.yale.edu email address if applicable.
If you do not have one:
https://alumni.yale.edu/yalemail-alumni-email-helpA limited number of curated guest spots are available.
Participants are required to complete the registration questions for approval. We review responses to ensure a thoughtful mix of attendees and to support more targeted discussions and connections.
Note
This is an independent gathering organized by Yale alumni and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Yale University.
This session may be recorded for internal documentation. Participants may keep their cameras off if preferred.
Location
Virtual (Google Meet link shared upon confirmation)