2025 ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
BIOCT ENTREPRENEUR AWARD ABOUT THE
The Entrepreneur of the Year Award was established by BioCT and Shipman & Goodwin in 2013 to acknowledge the importance of showcasing the unique accomplishments of entrepreneurs in our community. The award recognizes individuals who are imaginative, passionate and game-changers in Connecticut bioscience.
SELECTION FACTORS CONSIDERED
An outstanding innovator who has:
• Demonstrated leadership in advancing the pursuit of scientific breakthroughs applied to real-world problems
• Built and funded a successful/disruptive business model for a company based in life or health sciences, information technology or medical devices
• Made exceptional contributions to the growth of Connecticut’s bioscience cluster
• Demonstrated collegiality, openness to mentoring and sharing of experiences
2025 SELECTION COMMITTEE
DORMER STEPHEN, J.D.
Partner | Shipman & Goodwin LLP
Chair of the Selection Committee
Entrepreneur of the Year Award Sponsor
Dormer Stephen is chair of the law firm Shipman’s Business and Corporate Practice Group and focuses on advising emerging growth companies and investors in the life sciences, technology, financial services, and manufacturing industries. In the life sciences sector alone, Dormer has worked with hundreds of biotechnology companies whose research activities, products, and services include biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, drug delivery, genomics, healthcare informatics, medical devices, nanotechnology, pharmaceuticals, therapeutics, and vaccines. He is actively involved in the Connecticut biotechnology community and serves as a member of the board of directors of BioCT.
ROB BETTIGOLE, MPPM
Founder & Managing Partner | Elm Street Ventures
Founder and Managing Partner of Elm Street Ventures (ESV), Rob Bettigole currently serves on the boards of BioCT, the New Haven Innovation Collaborative, P2 Science (where he is Chairman), and Allyx Therapeutics. Earlier in his career, he ran an infrastructure business, helped found several start-ups, and was a venture capitalist with Rothschild Inc. and Investor AB. He received a B.S. in Engineering and Applied Science from Yale University and an MPPM from the Yale School of Management, where he is currently a Lecturer but has also been an Executive Fellow and Entrepreneur in Residence there. Rob served on the Operating Board of the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute from its inception in 2007 and he’s on the Investment Committee of the College Street Innovation Fund, which Elm Street Ventures also manages. He is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Yale Ventures. Additionally, he’s a licensed professional engineer and holds several U.S. and foreign patents.
COLLEEN CUFFARO, PH.D.
Partner | Canaan
At Canaan, an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in entrepreneurs with visionary ideas, Dr. Colleen Cuffaro’s investment focus is early-stage biopharmaceutical companies. In her time at Canaan, Colleen helped launch the Canaan-Yale Fellowship program. Since 2017, she has served on the New England Venture Capital Association board. Previously, Colleen worked as a chemist at PMRS, Inc. (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Research Services, Inc). She holds a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Physiology from Yale University and a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania.
2025 SELECTION
BRIAN DOWD, PH.D.
Director, Investments | Connecticut Innovations (CI)
Dr. Brian Dowd is director of investments on the bioscience team at CI. He has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including seed round startups, and he comes to CI from Pfizer, where he provided business development support for the Nurtec franchise. Previously, he worked at two successful Connecticut Innovations–backed companies, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals and Kleo Pharmaceuticals.
After earning his Ph.D. at Yale, he began his career in oncology and neurology research, later moving into business development and portfolio strategy roles in Utah’s pharmaceutical sector. He returned to his home state of Connecticut, where he is passionate about continuing the growth of the state’s biotech community.
JODIE GILLON
President & CEO | BioCT
Jodie Gillon brings over 25 years of experience in large pharma and biotech, having started her career in advocacy and hospitals in the U.S. and abroad. She is sought after as an advisor to Incubators and Innovation Centers and a consultant for biotech, AI, RWE, digital health, and non-profit organizations. Most recently, Jodie served as the SVP of Corporate Affairs and Patient Advocacy, building out the Patient, Medical, and Corporate Affairs functions at Peptilogics, a Phase I, and Machine Learning startup. She holds a Master’s of Public Health with a dual degree in Health Economics and Epidemiology from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a BSFS from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. She serves on several industry-wide Boards and Committees, has published and spoken externally across various topics, and mentors students and female professionals across our industry.
MORAG GRASSIE, PH.D.
Director, The Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale | Yale Ventures
Dr. Morag Grassie is the Director of the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale. She has over 30 years of experience in the pharma industry, entrepreneurship, and academic research. After graduating from Glasgow University with a BSc in molecular biology and a Ph.D. in virology, Dr. Grassie held positions in the pharmaceutical industry and a Yale biotech start-up before joining Yale in 2018. She has advised, expanded, and advanced the portfolio of Blavatnik proposals and projects. In 2020, she co-founded amplifyHERScience, an initiative within Yale Ventures to advance parity of Yale entrepreneurs to reflect the diversity of the community and ensure innovation support is utilized by all.
COMMITTEE
BRUCE T. LIANG, M.D.
Dean | UConn School of Medicine
Director, Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center | UConn Health
Dr. Bruce T. Liang is an internationally recognized cardiovascular physician-scientist and national leader in academic medicine. He is the UConn School of Medicine dean and the Ray Neag Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine. As dean, he has UConn’s advancement of medicine, medical education, and research to new heights. Widely published in cardiac myocyte, intact heart biology, and heart failure translational research, his latest research investigations have developed a new potential medication for advanced heart failure patients. This research, jointly performed with scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has received patents from the U.S. and E.U. Dr. Liang received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard in biochemistry and molecular biology and his medical degree from Harvard Medical College. He has been consistently named one of America’s Top Doctors and Best Doctors in America for cardiovascular disease care.
USHA PILLAI, PH.D., PMP
Founder & President | Aria Management Consulting, LLC
Dr. Usha Pillai is the Founder and President of Aria Management Consulting, LLC, specializing in critical thinking, strategic planning, business operations, and program management. With over three decades in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and consulting, she has deep knowledge of the life sciences industry and a passion for entrepreneurship and education.
She is also a senior consultant for Leading Now, an organization dedicated to leadership development and advancement of diversity at all the levels in an organization. Dr. Pillai serves on the Connecticut Bioscience Growth Council, on the Boards of Garde Arts Center in New London, CT and the Interfaith Volunteer Care Givers of Greater New Haven (IVCG).
Prior to founding Aria Management Consulting, she held various positions with increasing responsibilities and complexities at Pfizer, Inc. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Dr. Pillai holds a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy; an Executive Masters in Technology Management; and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences. She trained as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ.
2025 ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
REID WALDMAN, M.D.
Chief Executive Officer, Veradermics
Dr. Reid Waldman is the CEO of Veradermics. Under his stewardship, he has positioned Veradermics for rapid growth by implementing a differentiated strategy centered on advancing first-in-class therapeutics for under-innovated markets in aesthetics and dermatology. He has also successfully led the company through multiple equity financings, most recently raising $150M in Veradermics’ Series C round, and has advanced Veradermics lead asset, VDPHL01, a non-hormonal oral therapeutic for pattern hair loss into Phase 3 trials.
Dr. Waldman is a board-certified dermatologist with more than 10 years of clinical experience. Prior to founding Veradermics, Dr. Waldman was a prolific researcher authoring more than 100 publications including a textbook titled, “Dermatology for the Primary Care Provider.” He has been the recipient of numerous accolades including the American Academy of Dermatology’s “Excellence in Patient Care”
award. He earned his BA and his MD degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City 6 Year BA/MD Program and completed his dermatology residency with a “Distinction in Clinical Trials” at the University of Connecticut.
PAST AWARD RECIPIENTS
2024 ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
KAT KAYSER-BRICKER, PH.D.
Dr. Kat Kayser-Bricker is an accomplished drug discovery leader with experience across several therapeutic areas and target families, with core expertise in small molecule cancer drug discovery. She has a long record of work with women in biology and contributions to Connecticut’s life sciences ecosystem.
Currently, Dr. Kayser-Bricker is Chief Scientific Officer at Halda Therapeutics, which is being acquired by Johnson & Johnson. She is responsible for scientific and corporate strategy, directing the use of the organization’s $126 million in funding for oncology research. In addition, Dr. Kayser-Bricker oversaw the development of Regulated Induced Proximity Targeting Chimeras (RIPTAC) therapeutics, a novel drug modality for treating cancer.
Previously, she spent 10 years as a key scientific leader at FORMA Therapeutics, a public company that was acquired in 2022 by Novo Nordisk for $1.1 billion. She was part of the team that developed FORMA’s first drug candidate that was exclusively licensed to Celgene in 2018.
Dr. Kayser-Bricker is a member of the Humanity Talent Network (HTN) Advisory Board and volunteer leader with Executive Women in Bio for the Connecticut Chapter. She received her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Yale University and her B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland, College Park.
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STEPHEN BLOCH, M.D.
Dr. Stephen Bloch is co-founder and CEO/Chairman of EvolveImmune Therapeutics, a leader in next generation immuno-oncology therapeutics. He is also co-founder and CEO/Chairman of Allyx Therapeutics.
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RANJIT S. BINDRA, M.D., PH.D.
Dr. Ranjit Bindra is an internationally recognized academic physician-scientist at the Yale School of Medicine who has also founded and/or co-founded several companies including Modifi Bio, B3 Therapeutics, Alphina Therapeutics, Cybrexa Therapeutics, and Helix Therapeutics.
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JONATHAN ROTHBERG, PH.D.
Dr. Jonathan Rothberg founded 4Catalyzer and has founded and led several other bioscience initiatives. In 2021, he took Butterfly Network (NASDAQ: BFLY), Quantum-Si (NASDAQ: QSI), and Hyperfine (NASDAQ: $HYPR) public.
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NICOLE WAGNER, PH.D.
Dr. Nicole Wagner is President and CEO of LambdaVision, which hopes to one day help patients regain vision. She received BioCT’s first Rising Entrepreneur of the Year award.
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ERIC SCHADT, PH.D.
Dr. Eric Schadt founded Sema4 (NASDAQ: WGS), a patient-centered health intelligence company that grew rapidly under his CEO leadership, and signed a merger agreement with GeneDx just six months after going public.
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SEAN MACKAY, M.B.A.
Sean Mackay is an experienced CEO at the convergence of precision medicine and therapeutics. He received the award when he was CEO and co-founder of IsoPlexis (NASDAQ: ISO), a life science tools company.
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ERIKA SMITH, M.B.A.
While CEO of ReNetX Bio, Erika Smith received the award for securing significant investment and for her leadership in advancing the company’s technology to treat spinal cord injuries into clinical trials.
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PAST AWARD
JOHN G. HOUSTON, PH.D.
Dr. John Houston received the award while President and CEO of Arvinas (NASDAQ: ARVN), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing first-in-class protein degradation therapeutics for cancers and other difficult-to-treat diseases.
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JENNIFER GOOD
Jennifer Good is the co-founder of Trevi Therapeutics (NASDAQ: TRVI), a clinicalstage biopharmaceutical company. She serves as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
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VLAD CORIC, M.D.
Dr. Vlad Coric, CEO of Biohaven (NYSE: BHVN), has led the company in the pursuit of its bold vision from an entrepreneurial startup to a modern company.
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MICHAEL WEINER, PH.D.
Dr. Michael Weiner received the award while with Abcam (NASDAQ: ABCM), the leading supplier of protein research tools to life scientists. Currently, he is the founder and CEO of AbbraTech and Precision Biotools.
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MILIND DESHPANDE, PH.D.
A business and scientific leader, Dr. Milind Deshpande received the award for his work with Achillion Pharmaceuticals. He is currently a Venture Partner with RA Capital Management, LLC.
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PATRICK FOURTEAU
Patrick Fourteau received the award while CEO of New Haven Pharmaceuticals.
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PAST AWARD RECIPIENTS
LEARN MORE HERE 2014 ACADEMIC ENTREPRENEUR
CATO T. LAURENCIN, M.D., PH.D.
Dr. Cato Laurencin is internationally renowned for work in biomaterials, stem cells, nanotechnology, drug delivery, and regenerative engineering. A UConn professor, he cofounded Soft Tissue Regeneration, Inc.
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JOSEPH W. REILLY, M.D.
Dr. Joseph Reilly is a proven CEO/entrepreneur who has been involved in several successful biotech/life sciences startups. He received the award while co-founder, President, and CEO of Soft Tissue Regeneration, Inc.
CRAIG M. CREWS, PH.D.
Dr. Craig Crews received the inaugural award for his longstanding commitment to entrepreneurship and the translation of fundamental basic research into new medicines. At the time, he founded Arvinas (NASDAQ: ARVN).
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