August 10, 2021 (CAMBRIDGE, MA) – Today, the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio®) announced the appointment of Gauri R. Nair, Ph.D., as its new Vice President of Innovation Services. In this role, Nair will lead MassBio’s innovation practice, which convenes, connects, and catalyzes the innovation ecosystem to ensure that breakthrough science gets from the lab bench to the patient bedside.
With more than a decade of experience in early-stage life sciences innovation and technology transfer across the corporate and academic sectors, Nair has a proven track record for accelerating innovation in the industry. Nair joins MassBio from the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, where she served as Associate Director of External Research Collaborations on the Academic Partnerships and External Innovation team. Prior to Novartis, she served in a business development role at Harvard University’s Office of Technology Development, where she supported the initiative to build strategic partnerships between emerging entrepreneurs and industry leaders to enable effective development and commercialization. Nair holds a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Pennsylvania and a M.S. in Innovation from Northeastern University’s D’Amore McKim School of Business.
“MassBio’s more than 1,400 members operate on the forefront of innovation and are dedicated to developing life-saving therapies and cures so patients everywhere can have hope for a new tomorrow. Our goal is to ensure the emerging startups that make up the backbone of our cluster have the opportunities they need to make the impossible possible,” said Kendalle Burlin O’Connell, President and COO, MassBio. “It is both an honor and a privilege to welcome Gauri to the MassBio team. As an expert in the biopharmaceutical industry, her wealth of experience will, without a doubt, advance MassBio’s support for emerging entrepreneurs and accelerate Massachusetts’ leadership in the life sciences.”
Since 2010, MassBio has facilitated more than 1,000 connections between emerging entrepreneurs and established biopharmaceutical companies through Pharma Days® and other partnering initiatives and has accelerated more than 100 startups that have raised more than $180 million in revenue through MassCONNECT®. In this role, Nair will leverage the existing infrastructure and relationships within Massachusetts’ innovation ecosystem to advance the Innovation Services practice and further its mission. Nair will work alongside MassBio’s President and COO, Kendalle Burlin O’Connell, to expand the department’s current programming, accelerate external innovation opportunities between established biopharma companies and early-stage startups and academic institutions, and enable early-stage entrepreneurs to access renowned industry expertise from seasoned mentors.