Dr. Michelle Kim-Danely is Senior Vice President of Operations at Autobahn Labs. Over the past 15 years, she has held business and scientific roles that span the life sciences early value creation chain within both academic and industrial settings. Prior to joining Autobahn Labs, she served as a consultant to venture capitalists and early stage biotech companies, advising on a range of topics from opportunity sourcing and scientific diligence to business / corporate development and negotiations. Dr. Kim-Danely has held operational roles in Series A and B venture-backed drug discovery platform companies, first as Vice President of Business Development at Vium where she managed strategic partnerships with both large pharma and startup companies, followed by management of the BD, sales and marketing team as Vice President of Business Development at Biodesy.
Prior to her startup experience, Dr. Kim-Danely held positions that focused on evaluating and developing the commercialization potential of academic research. Within the UCSF community, she supported efforts at QB3 and Mission Bay Capital to diligence investment opportunities and develop scientific projects of various faculty members. In addition, she worked within the technology transfer office to assess patentability and to market technology assets to commercial partners. Subsequently, she was the Portfolio Manager at Breakout Labs, a program operating out of Peter Thiel’s non-profit foundation that funds and supports academic spinout companies at the intersection of biology and technology. She managed a portfolio of 22 companies, advising management teams on Proof-of-Concept and prototype development, go-to-market strategy, partnering, and fundraising efforts from company inception to Series A financing.
Dr. Kim-Danely holds an AB in Biological Sciences from Cornell University, and a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from Columbia University, where she conducted her dissertation research in the laboratory of Richard Axel, MD (2004 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine). She completed her postdoctoral work in the Neuroscience group at Roche Palo Alto, followed by several years of drug discovery research as a Scientist at FibroGen.
Prior to her startup experience, Dr. Kim-Danely held positions that focused on evaluating and developing the commercialization potential of academic research. Within the UCSF community, she supported efforts at QB3 and Mission Bay Capital to diligence investment opportunities and develop scientific projects of various faculty members. In addition, she worked within the technology transfer office to assess patentability and to market technology assets to commercial partners. Subsequently, she was the Portfolio Manager at Breakout Labs, a program operating out of Peter Thiel’s non-profit foundation that funds and supports academic spinout companies at the intersection of biology and technology. She managed a portfolio of 22 companies, advising management teams on Proof-of-Concept and prototype development, go-to-market strategy, partnering, and fundraising efforts from company inception to Series A financing.
Dr. Kim-Danely holds an AB in Biological Sciences from Cornell University, and a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from Columbia University, where she conducted her dissertation research in the laboratory of Richard Axel, MD (2004 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine). She completed her postdoctoral work in the Neuroscience group at Roche Palo Alto, followed by several years of drug discovery research as a Scientist at FibroGen.
Speaking In
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM (PDT)
Wednesday, October 14
A “valley of death” in funding availability continues to endure between the academic researcher and…