Program Process & Timeline
The MassCONNECT process involves a two-month mentorship where industry experts guide entrepreneurs as they seek to develop business plans, launch companies, and raise capital. MassCONNECT mentors evaluate and provide feedback on commercial feasibility; identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; and team up to furnish industry-specific business advice for innovative ideas in therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, and health IT. Entrepreneurs gain invaluable advice and coaching on defining their value proposition, developing pitches, and building professional networks.
In addition to entrepreneurs and industry mentors, the MassCONNECT program relies on MBA students with life sciences knowledge or interest to serve as project managers for a MassCONNECT team. For MBAs, MassCONNECT offers invaluable experience, VIP connections, and the potential opportunity for course credit.
Applications for entrepreneurs and mentors are considered on a rolling basis. Please contact Rachele Ryan for more information.
Individuals interested in volunteering as a project manager, please contact Rachele Ryan for more information.
MassCONNECT partners and supporters include LabCentral, Harvard Medical School, Harvard iLab, MassChallenge, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University, Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s iHub, North Shore Innoventures, Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives, MTTC, Platform, MDG, UMass, and WPI.
Entrepreneur Application
There is no official application form for MassCONNECT. Interested entrepreneurs should contact Rachele Ryan. The MassBio team will meet with entrepreneurs to learn more about their technologies and share more details on the MassCONNECT program. All qualified applicants will be evaluated based on mutual fit between the entrepreneur and the program.
Technology Showcase
Chosen entrepreneurs will pitch their ideas to a group of mentors and articulate the areas with which they need help at an initial Technology Showcase. MassBio will then match each entrepreneur with a team of five to seven mentors who are best qualified to provide targeted advice, connections, and other resources.
Mentoring Team Meetings
Once matched, entrepreneurs meet with their mentoring teams in focused, one-hour sessions that are held in-person each week for eight weeks. MassBio coordinates the team meetings and hosts them at the MassBio offices.
Final Presentation
Armed with business plan pitch decks and a refined strategy, entrepreneurs pitch to a large audience of industry mentors and other members of the life sciences startup community.
2020 Participants
MassCONNECT
Spring
- Cila Therapeutics
- Signet Therapeutics
- VeraMorph
Summer
- Asylia Diagnostics
- Celata Bioinnovations
- Sidereal Therapeutics
- Vacuum Therapeutics
Fall
- Limax Biosciences
- Mark Therapeutics
- Prime-Vax Immuno-Oncology
MassCONNECT.DH
Spring
Summer
Fall
- Step Up IC / Alchemy CGI
- Watershed Informatics
Meet the Mentors
MassCONNECT mentors provide entrepreneurs with legal, business, and scientific expertise.
For seasoned life sciences industry professionals, becoming a MassCONNECT mentor provides the chance to give back, build relationships with up-and-coming entrepreneurs and other mentors, and access the region’s most exciting opportunities. If you are interested in learning more or getting involved, please contact Rachele Ryan.
Meet the mentors
Name | Company | Position |
Tatyana Abyzov | Shire | Due Diligence Lead |
Chris Adams | Cydan Development | CEO |
Mehdi Aghdaee | Quant Life Sciences | CEO |
Faraz Ali | Tenaya Theapeutics | CEO |
Christopher Allen | Takeda | Head Counsel, US Litigation and Investigations |
Richard Anders | Mass Medical Angels | Founder, Managing Director |
Django Andrews | Sarepta Therapeutics | Senior Patent Counsel |
Donald Apruzzese | Atentiv LLC | Chief Comercial Officer |
Bill Asher | MassVentures | Member Board of Directors |
John Bailey | Boston Startup CFO | CFO |
Farnaz Bakshi | Tufts University | Asstistant Director |
Alan Barber | Prestar Group | Principal |
Josh Barlow | Haug Partners LLP | Partner |
Mark Barrett | Frazier Healthcare Partners | Entrepreneur-in-Residence (VC) |
Glenn Batchelder | Kantum Bio | Chairman |
Maria Beconi | QuellTx | CSO |
Milka Bedikian | Independent | |
Kees Been | Lysosomal Therapeutics, Inc. | President and CEO |
Yaniv Bejerano | Excite Healhcare Consulting | President and CEO |
Nils Bergenhem | AstraZeneca | Director, Strategy & Externalization, CVMD iMed |
Ed Berger | Larchmont Strategic Advisors | Principal |
Charlie Blum | Amathus Therapeutics | Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry |
Frank Borriello | Alloplex Biotherapeutics, Inc. | President and CEO |
Michael Boss | Center for Integration of Science and Industry (Bentley University) | Executive-in-Residence |
Melissa Bradford-Klug | Keryx Pharma | CBO |
Diana Brassard | Takeda | Director |
Robert Bratzler | Mansitee Partners | Managing Director and Co-founder |
Scott Brown | Zoetis | External Innovation |
Andrea (Andi) Bruell | Independent Consultant | Independent Consultant |
Kristen Buteau | Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP | Patent Attorney |
Jay Cahill | Pepper Hamilton LLP | Intellectual Property Attorney |
Fred Callori | Xontogenv | SVP Corporate Development |
Miguel Camargo | UCB New Medicines | Director, Innovation Super Networks |
Walter Carney | Walt Carney Biomarkers Consulting, LLC | Founder & CEO |
Jennifer Carter | N of One | Chief Medical Officer, Founder and President |
Jennifer Chadwick | BioAnalytix | Vice President of Biologic Development |
Anirban Chatterjee | Elevate Bio | Senior Director |
Pravin Chaturvedi | Oceanyx Pharmaceuuticals | Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer |
Ying Chen | Wilson Sonsini Goodwin & Rosati | Associate |
Fangli Chen | Proskauer Rose LLP | |
Monica Cheng | Boehringer Ingelheim | Deputy Head, Business Development & Licensing, Cardiometabolic Diseases |
Thomas Collet | Phrixus Pharamaceuticals, Inc. | President, CEO and Director |
Gilles Cottier | Lonza | Head of Lonza Bioscience |
Peter Covitz | Biogen | Senior Director, Medical Evidence, Research and Innovation |
Geoff Cox | Independent Consultant | Independent Consultant |
Frank David | Pharmagellan | Founder and Managing Director |
Nate Davis | RA Capital Management, LLC | Jr Associate |
Christopher De Souza | Broadway Ventures | Director |
Amy DeCloux | Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP | Of Counsel |
Tom Defay | Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Senior Director, R&D Strategy and Alliance Management |
John Dellapa | Mintz Levin | Member |
John Delyani | Tmunity Therapeutics Incorporated | VP, Corporate and Business Development |
Chris Denn | Goodwin Procter | Partner |
Amit Deshpande | EMD Serono, Inc. | Associate Director, Biomarkers, Immunooncology Translational Innovation Program (TIP) |
Sheila Dewitt | DeuteRx | President and CEO |
Rakhshita Dhar | Roche | Business Development/Innovation Partnering |
Tony DiLeo | Chiamanti | Principal |
Greg Dombal | Halloran Consulting Group, Inc. | COO |
Angelos Dovletoglou | Origin BioSciences | Senior Vice President of Technical Operations |
Nan Doyle | Trillium | Principal |
Heather Duffy | Creative Innovation Consulting | Founder |
Bill Edelman | Paragonix Technologies | Chairman of the Board |
Ryan Egeland | Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. | EVP |
James Ellis | Nocion Therapeutics | CSO |
Tom Engellener | NelsonMullins Riley & Scarborough | Partner |
Greg Erman | EmpirMed, Inc. | President and CEO |
Eric Evans | Mass Medical Angels | Executive Committee |
Diala Ezzeddine | Xios Therapeutics, Inc. | CEO |
Martha Farmer | North Shore InnoVentures | Co-founder and Board Member |
Bonnie Fendrock | Cyta Therapeutics | Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer |
Brian Fenton | Translate Bio | Chief Business Officer |
Toby Ferguson | Biogen | Senior Medical Director |
Clare Fisher | Kaleido Biosciences | CBO |
Michelle Flores | Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Assistant General Counsel, Litigation & Business Development |
Roger Frechette | New England PharmAssociates, LLC | Co-founder & Partner |
Simon Fricker | Biopharma | Independent Consultant |
Brian Gallagher | Abingworth | Partner |
Manjori Ganguly | Sanofi | Senior Scientist – Pharmaceutical drug development |
Junjun Gao | Boehringer Ingelheim | Senior Associate Director |
Han Gao | Wilson Sonsini Goodwin & Rosati | Associate |
Jason Gardner | Magenta Therapeutics | CEO, President, and Co-founder |
Shahin Gharakhanian | Shahin Gharakhanian MD Consulting LLC | Principal and Founder, Executive Consultant/ Chief Medical Officer |
Richard Gill | ActiveCyte Holdings | President and CEO |
John Glasspool | Shire | Head of CSCO |
Brain Goldstein | Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP | Partner |
Leonid Gorelik | Fortress Biotech | Vice President of Drug Discovery |
Robert Gottlieb | RMG Associates, LLC | Principal |
Gena Gough | Clinical Ink | Project Director, ePRO and Engagement |
Vikas Goyal | SR One | Associate |
Philip Graham | Sojournix Inc. | SVP Development |
John Grant | Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. | Director of Business Development |
Luba Greenwood | Strategic Business Development and Corporate Ventures | |
Brenda Grimes | Eli Lilly | Publication Coordinator Global Scientific Communications |
Stephanie Hallam | Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp. | VP and Clinical Laboratory Director |
John Hallinan | MassBio | CBO |
Laurie Halloran | Halloran Consulting Group, Inc. | President |
Jeremy Halpern | Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP | Partner |
Kouki Harasaki | Andreessen Horowitz | Partner |
David Harburger | Wilson Sonsini Goodwin & Rosati | Associate Patent Attorney |
Maia Harris | Pepper Hamilton LLP | Partner |
Paul Hartung | Medical Development Group Boston | Board Member |
Joubin Hatamzadeh | Greentown Labs | VP of Operations |
John Hennessy | AstraZeneca Neuro | Head of Business Operations, R&D |
Steve Herbert | Formerly with Cytel | |
Arthur Hiller | Hiller Life Sciences Strategies | Interim CEO & Business Advisor |
George Hillman | ||
John Ho | Charles River Labs | Chief Strategy Officer |
Richard Howell | Aerian Pharma Consulting | Director of Business Solutions |
Shayne Huff | Nixon Peabody LLP | Senior Associate |
Irena Ivanovska | Celdara Medical | Director |
Eva Jack | Mersana Therapeutics | CBO |
Matthew Jarpe | Regancy Pharmaceuticals | VP of R&D |
Andrew Jay | Formerly with Siemens Medical Ventures | |
Rick Jones | BioAdvance | Partner |
Joel Kahn | JAK Health Consulting | Principal |
Rosanna Kapeller | Google Ventures | EIR |
Tariq Kassum | ||
James Kasuboski | Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund | Senior Director |
John Kethchum | Bonneyview Consulting , LLC | Founder and Principal |
Minji Kim | Jounce Therapeutics, Inc. | Head, BD & Alliance Management |
Jenn King | Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. | SVP, Business Development |
Jeffrey Kiplinger | Independent Consultant | Independent Consultant |
Alan Kugler | Coastal Pharma Group | CSO |
Anjali Kumar | Formerly with Shire/Takeda | Due Diligence Lead – Corporate Development |
Chuck Kunsch | Abbvie Ventures | Senior Director |
Stephanie Kwei | Mass Medical Angels | Member |
Sushmita Lahiri | Boehringer Ingelheim | External Innovation Research Beyond Borders |
Derek Lee | Athyrium Capital Management, LLP | Senior Advisor |
Reid Leonard | Twentyeight-Seven Therapeutics | Consultant |
Mark Leuchtenberger | Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics | Interim President and CEO |
Nancy Levy | Biohealth Management, LLC | Managing Partner |
Bob Licht | Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP | Partner |
Nimita Limaye | Applied Technol Solns Inc (ApTSi) | |
Debbie Lin | Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund | Executive Director |
Clark Lin | Wilson Sonsini Goodwin & Rosati | Associate |
Steve London | Pepper Hamilton LLP | Partner |
Rick Lundberg | 7S BioVentures | President |
John Lynch | CYTO Consulting | |
Karla MacDonald | Ipsen | VP, Communications and Patient Advocacy |
Geoff MacKay | AVROBIO | Founder, President and CEO |
Lynn Mallett | Anthos Therapeutics | VP and Head of Finance |
Raj Manchanda | Bill and Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute | Inovation Portfolio Leader |
Neal Mantick | Mantick Life Sciences Consulting, LLC | Founding Manger |
Katya Mantrova | Independent Consultant | |
Albine Martin | BioHealth Innovation | EIR |
Michael Maurer | Celgene | VP, Global Marketing – Inflammation and Immunology |
Kevin Mayo | PTC Therapeutics, Inc. | Global Head Market Access, New Products |
Jack McCullough | The CFO Leadership Council | President |
Philip McGurk | Pfizer | Business Development Lead, Inflammation and Immunology Business Unit |
John McKeague | Wilson Sonsini Goodwin & Rosati | Of Counsel |
Danielle McLaughlin | Solomon & Cramer LLP | Counsel |
Thomas McMurry | Boston University Office of Technology Development | Director, Life Sciences Business Development |
Catherine Mesner | Independent Consultant | Independent Pharmaceutical Consultant |
Colin Minchom | Independent Consultant | Independent Consultant |
Erin Mistry | Syneos Health | Senior Managing Director, Head of Value, Access and HOER |
Jay Mohr | Locust Walk, LLC | Partner Emeritus and Founding Member |
Reza Mollaaghababa | Pepper Hamilton LLP | Partner |
David Moller | Sigilon Therapeutics, Inc. | CSO |
Joep Muijers | PureTech Health | CFO |
Inhua Muijrers-Chen | Ripplet Health | Co-founder |
Joseph F. Murphy | immunePCS LLC | Founder and President |
Adam Muzikant | Flexion Therapeutics | SVP, Business Development |
Imran Nasrullah | Boehringer Ingelheim | Director, Strategic Partnering, BD&L |
Wendy Nelson | LeadingBioTech | CEO and President, Life Sciences, Boston |
Gordon Ng | AbbVie Inc. | Search and Evaluation, Corporate Strategy Office |
Vinit Nijhawan | Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center | Interim Executive Director |
Corrinne Noyes | Lyra Therapeutics | |
Cheryl Nutter | HuLow Medical | |
Kenneth O’Hara | KPMG | Managing Director |
Walter Olesiak | Remiges Ventures | Partner |
Doug Onsi | Leap Therapeutics | CFO |
Matthew O’Rourke | Invest in Northern Ireland | Associate Business Development Director |
Nandan Padukone | NeuroBio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | SVP, Business Development |
Rekha Paleyanda | Servier | Director |
Robert Perni | JMD Pharma Creativity LLC | Founder and Principal |
Parika Petaipimol | Pandion Therapeutics | Associate Director, Program Management |
David Pollard | Sartorius Stedim Norh America, Inc. | Head of New Materials & Components, Corporate Research, Sartorius Stedim |
Drew Prigodich | Pfizer | Senior Director Global R&D Strategy |
Brad Prosek | All Terrain BioPartners LLC | President |
Prakash Purohit | Takeda | Corporate Development, Alliance Mangement Lead |
Imran Qidwai | Intel Corporation | Program Manager |
Gail Radcliffe | Radcliffe Consulting, Inc. | President, Independent Consultant |
Mark Ralph | Boehringer Ingelheim | Executive Director, Global Head, Contracts and Alliance Management |
Chandra Ramanathan | Bayer | VP and Head, East Coast Innovation Center |
Julia Rashba- Step | Phosphorex | |
John Rearick | Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP | Patent Attorney |
Kiran Reddy | Blackstone Life Sciences | |
John Reilly | Apic Bio, Inc. | Co-founder/President and CEO |
Paul Rennert | Aleta Biotherapeutics | President & CSO |
Charlie Richard | Oxyrane UK | Member Board of Directors |
Tim Richards | Seventh Sense Biosystems | COO |
John Ripple | Exonics Therapeutics | CEO |
Andrew Sage | KPMG | Partner |
Rob Sahr | Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP | Patent Attorney |
Uciane Scarlett | Atlas Venture | Associate |
Alison Schecter | Sanofi Genzyme | |
Leora Schiff | Altius Strategy Consulting | Principal |
Daniel Schöner | Perkin Elmer, Inc. | Senior Director Diagnostics R&D |
Margrit Schwarz | Genevant | CSO and Head of R&D |
Joachim Seidel | Medsight LLC | Principal |
James Shanahan | SynDevRx, Inc. | Co-founder and CBO |
Fei Shen | Boehringer Ingelheim | Senior Associate Director, Immunology and Respiratory Therapeutic Area |
Mansi Shinde | Health Advances | Consultant |
Leslie Shinobu | Biogen | |
Lisa Shmerling | Decibel Therapeutics | Vice President and Legal |
Bill Skillman | Velico Medical, Inc. | President and CEO |
Kevin Slatkavitz | ThinkQuality, LLC | President and Founder |
Craig Sorensen | Independent Pharma Consultant | Independent Consultant |
John Sorvillo | ReForm Biologics | Executive Officer |
Avi Spier | Novartis | Director of BD&L in NIBR, Search and Evaluation |
Jeremy Springhorn | Syros Pharmaceuticals | CBO |
Arto Suren | KPMG | Managing Director – Valuation Services |
John Tagliamonte | MassBio | Entrepreneur in Residence |
Brad Tait | Frequency Therapeutics | VP Medicinal and Proces Chemistry |
Maude Tessier | Kyn Therapeutics | VP Business Development |
Tunc Toker | Galen Therapeutics | Head of Strategy |
Dominic Tong | DMM&RS | CEO and Principal |
Stephan Toutain | Anavex Life Sciences | SVP Operations |
Christopher Tsu | Independent Consultant | |
Stephen Turkowiak | TCR2 Therapeutics, Inc. | Vice President, Finance |
Katherine Turner | ||
Arthur Tzianabos | Homology Medicines, Inc. | President & CEO |
Ramani Varanasi | X-Biotix Therapeutics, Inc. | Co-founder, President and CEO |
Ajay Verma | Precision for Medicine, Llama Therapeutics, Annexon Biosciences | Scientific Advisor |
John Viliesis | L3T – Space & Sensors Division | Director of Program Controls |
Chris Vlahos | Ipsen | Global Head, Rare Disease External Innovation |
Chris Von Seggern | ClearView Healthcare Partners | Partner |
Alex Waldron | Pear Therapeutics | Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Commercial Officer |
Bob Wassman | Life Designs Ventures | Principal, CEO and CMO |
Nigel Waters | Black Diamond Therapeutics | Vice President, Preclinical Development |
Alan Watson | SSRP Associates | Principal |
Mike Webb | IntrinsicBio Life Sciences Consulting LLC | Principal |
Howard Weisman | Sofregen Inc. | Executive Chairman |
Charles Wilson | Unum Therapeutics | President and CEO |
Larry Wittenberg | Goodwin Procter LLP | Partner, Co-Chair of Life Sciences |
Adam Wolfberg | Ovia Health | CMO |
Michael Wyand | Oxeia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. | CEO |
Nader Yaghoubi | PathMaker Neurosystems, Inc. | Co-founder and CEO |
Shinjin Yue | CorTechs Labs | Channel and Alliance Management |
Sue Zelt | Johnson & Johnson, Global Public Health | Global Market Access Director |
MassCONNECT Testimonials
See what MassCONNECT participants have to say about their experiences in the MassBio entrepreneur mentorship program.
“Our faculty have great ideas and the MassCONNECT program provides the essential real world flavor, advice, and connections to catalyze and transform those ideas into business plans, commercial products, and companies.”
Isaac (Zak) Kohane, MD, PhD, Lawrence J. Henderson Professor of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital Informatics
“MassCONNECT’s mentoring program for our clinician entrepreneurs is the top mentoring program in a crowded sea of programs vying for innovation. What makes MassCONNECT unique is the unparalleled investment of time from top talent whose unique insight unlocks commercial value for impactful results. All of Tufts Medical Center teams have emerged stronger both financially and strategically as a result of our MassCONNECT experience.”
Nancy Wetherbee, Director, ORBIT, Tufts Medical Center
“We have put together a diverse and solid advisory team in large part due to MassCONNECT. We have participated in a number of accelerator and incubator programs, and MassCONNECT was invaluable. We particularly liked the ability to have “focus group” sessions on specific questions-this seemed to work well for both us and our mentors. Several of them have continued to help us in meaningful ways.”
Michio Painter, Co-Founder, Blue Therapeutics
“MassCONNECT was a very valuable program for our team. It connected us to a number of industry advisors who we remain in touch with to this day. These are individuals who provided critical formative thought in the early days of VitaThreads when we were still working to focus our vision of what the company could and should be. Transitioning from a unique and exciting academic technology into a usable commercial product with accompanying strategy and logistics train to bring it to market is a non-trivial exercise and not one done in a vacuum. The MassCONNECT program provided key learning opportunities and outstanding mentors in helping to ease this transition for VitaThreads.”
Adam Collette, CEO, VitaThreads