Scientist Founders - The Real Story

​Learn for scientists founders how to build biotech companies (and raise money).

​Janine Sengstack, PhD (Founder & CSO, Junevity)

​Janine Sengstack, PhD, is a cell biologist and entrepreneur advancing siRNA cell reset therapeutics for age-related and metabolic diseases. She co-founded Junevity in 2023 to develop novel siRNA therapeutics, securing $20 million in venture capital seed funding. During her PhD in cellular aging at UC San Francisco (UCSF), Sengstack created the foundation for the Junevity RESET discovery platform where she was the first to show that repressing a single transcription factor can reset cells back to health.

​Armon Sharei, Ph.D. (Founder & CEO, Portal Biotechnologies)

​Armon Sharei is a scientist turned founder who has built his career around cell engineering. He previously founded SQZ Biotechnologies (NYSE: SQZ), where he raised over $300M, established a $1B+ collaboration with Roche, led three oncology clinical trials, and took the company public — all built on technology from his doctoral research at MIT.

​Today, Armon is Founder & CEO of Portal Biotechnologies, developing the next-generation cell engineering platform with over 100 customers, including the top 10 pharma, and a major $8M DARPA contract. A Stanford and MIT graduate and former Harvard Medical School postdoctoral fellow, he joins us to share his journey from the lab bench to the CEO seat.

​

​Nest Catalyst - For Scientists, by Scientists.

​A 6-month entrepreneurship program tailored for early-stage life science ventures. Learn from world-class experts in R&D, business, product development, marketing, fundraising, and more.

​

​Please reach out if you’d like to partner with us: [email protected]

​

​By registering for this event, you agree to release Nest Catalyst Ventures from all liability related to your participation in the event. You also consent to be subscribed to the Nest Catalyst newsletter for updates and future events. You also consent that your contact details will be shared with our sponsors. You may unsubscribe at any time.