Sam joins Lupus Ventures as its first associate with a background in immunology and autoimmune disease research. In his role, Sam supports all aspects of the firm’s investment activities, including due diligence, deal sourcing and screening, business development and operations, and investment execution.
Sam brings over seven years of research experience in immunology applied in both academic and industry settings. He pursued PhD training in immunology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the University of Cincinnati where his dissertation work focused on the role of IRF7 in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), and he led several publications on the genetic basis of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. During his PhD, he completed an internship at Merck & Co where he contributed to the validation of a key pathway for a SLE portfolio program.
Prior to joining Lupus Ventures, he was a research and development scientist in the Bioscience Immunology department at AstraZeneca where he led the development of pre-clinical models and platforms for SLE and other inflammatory diseases to support the immunology portfolio.
Sam holds a B.S. in Chemistry cum laude with a minor in international politics from Wheaton College (IL) and a PhD in immunology from the University of Cincinnati.
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