Geoffrey von Maltzahn

Last updated
Geoffrey von Maltzahn
Geoffrey von Maltzahn 2018.jpg
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Massachusetts Institute of Technology (S.B.)
University of California, San Diego (M.S.)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D.)
Awards Lemelson-MIT Student Prize (2009)
National Inventors Hall of Fame Collegiate Inventors Competition Graduate Prize (2009),
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Randolph G Wei Award (2003)
Scientific career
Fields Bioengineering

Geoffrey von Maltzahn (born July 22, 1980) is an American biological engineer and businessman in the biotechnology and life sciences industry. Von Maltzahn has cofounded companies including Indigo Agriculture, [1] Generate Biomedicines, [2] Seres Therapeutics, [3] Tessera Therapeutics, [4] and Quotient Therapeutics. [5]

Contents

Early life and education

Geoffrey von Maltzahn was born in Arlington, Texas, and subsequently moved to Alexandria, Virginia where he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. [6] He was awarded his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2003, [7] his Master of Science degree in Bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego in 2005, and his PhD from the Harvard–MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010. [8] His thesis advisor was Sangeeta Bhatia. [9]

Career

In 2009, von Maltzahn joined Flagship Pioneering, [10] a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based venture capital firm investing in life sciences biotechnology, and sustainability startups. [11] In his first few years at Flagship, von Maltzahn helped launch several such companies, including Seres Therapeutics [12] and Indigo Agriculture. [13] He served as chief technology officer at Seres when the company developed SER-109, one of the first microbiome therapeutics. [14]

In 2018, von Maltzahn cofounded two biotechnology startups, Generate Biomedicines [15] and Tessera Therapeutics. [16] Two years later he became a general partner at Flagship. [17]

In 2023, von Maltzahn and another Flagship partner, Jacob Rubens, co-founded Quotient Therapeutics, a biotechnology startup with offices in both Massachusetts and the UK. [18] Quotient uses genome sequencing technology to develop medication for diseases caused by somatic mutations. [19]

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References

  1. ↑ Mabe, Annalise (November 8, 2022). "The Tiny, Unexpected Key to Reversing a Future Food Shortage". The Daily Beast. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  2. ↑ Brian, Gormley (September 10, 2020). "Flagship Pioneering Hatches a New Biotech Startup, Generate Biomedicines". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  3. ↑ Walrath, Rowan (April 19, 2023). "Microbiome Comes of Age". Boston Business Journal. American City Business Journals . Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  4. ↑ Orelli, Brian (July 13, 2020). "From gene editing to gene writing". BioWorld. Clarivate . Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  5. ↑ Bayer, Max (November 21, 2023). "Flagship launches first UK biotech Quotient with genome sequencing platform". Fierce Biotech. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Geoffrey von Maltzahn" . Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  7. ↑ Norman, Katrina (May 14, 2002). "MIT senior lands story in journal, trip to D.C." MIT News. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  8. ↑ "MEMP Alumni Profile: Geoffrey A. von Maltzahn, PhD, '10". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. September 16, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Inveterate Inventor". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  10. ↑ DeAngelis, Allison (October 6, 2021). "Power players: These 12 young serial founders are building the next generation of biotech startups". Business Insider. Retrieved June 3, 2024. Geoffrey von Maltzahn cofounded two companies while getting his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2009, he joined biotech investment giant Flagship Pioneering. He is now a partner at the firm and has created microbiome, cell and gene therapy companies.
  11. ↑ National Research Council, Division on Earth and Life Studies, Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, Committee on Challenges in Chemistry Graduate Education (2012). Challenges in Chemistry Graduate Education: A Workshop Summary. National Academies Press. p. 42. ISBN   978-0-309-25708-4 . Retrieved June 3, 2024. Graduate education is not preparing students sufficiently for the entrepreneurial workplace, said David Berry, a venture capitalist from Flagship Ventures, which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Flagship Ventures, which invests mainly in life sciences and sustainability companies and currently has about 70 companies in its portfolio, runs its own laboratories in which it can develop technologies to address big problems, such as energy security, food security, and a cure for cancer.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ Walrath, Rowan (April 19, 2023). "Microbiome Comes of Age". Boston Business Journal. American City Business Journals . Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  13. ↑ McGowan, Kat (July 7, 2017). "Agriculture's extremely tiny saviors". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  14. ↑ Walrath, Rowan (April 23, 2023). "Here's a timeline of Seres' 12-year trek to one of the first microbiome drugs". Boston Business Journal. American City Business Journals . Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  15. ↑ Brian, Gormley (September 10, 2020). "Flagship Pioneering Hatches a New Biotech Startup, Generate Biomedicines". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  16. ↑ Orelli, Brian (July 13, 2020). "From gene editing to gene writing". BioWorld. Clarivate . Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  17. ↑ Sagonowsky, Eric; Kansteiner, Fraiser; Park, Andrea; Armstrong, Annalee; Dunleavy, Kevin (May 16, 2022). "Most influential people in biopharma—the entrepreneurs". Fierce Pharma. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  18. ↑ Bayer, Max (November 21, 2023). "Flagship launches first UK biotech Quotient with genome sequencing platform". Fierce Biotech. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  19. ↑ Saltzman, Jonathan (November 21, 2023). "Flagship Pioneering launches new biotech with Mass., UK offices". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
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