Yale Startups in Formation (YSIF) | Oﬃce of Cooperative Research

Yale Startups in Formation (YSIF) is a program for entrepreneurial faculty founded and directed by the Office of Cooperative Research (OCR). Each YSIF meeting is designed to be partly educational and partly new venture seminar, aiming to serve Yale innovators and their co-founders as these teams launch their businesses and formulate their go-to-market strategies. Each session includes opening remarks from an OCR corporate partner, a featured presenter, and a highlighted faculty venture team.

ALL YSIF MEETINGS WILL BE HELD ON THE SECOND THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH. ALL YSIF MEETINGS WILL BE VIRTUAL (VIA ZOOM) AND CAN ACCOMODATE ATTENDEE LISTS OF ANY SIZE.

Spring 2021 Sessions

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2021, 4:30-6:00 PM (register here)

TOPIC: Rare Diseases: Inside the Veil of Business Development Evaluations

OVERVIEW: With investment levels in rare & ultra-rare diseases increasing, are they all attractive for biotechs & venture capital? What factors are executives & investors looking for in new opportunities? Please join a panel of industry veterans for discussion and Q&A “Inside the Veil” of rare disease business development evaluations.

HOST: Dr. James Boyle, Exec. Director of Venture Development, OCR

MODERATOR: Dr. Akansha Bhargava, Blavatnik Fellow, Yale University

PANELISTS

Richard Brodsky, Founder & Strategy Lead, Naveos Biopharma Consulting, Yale Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Behrad Derakhshan, PhD, Chief Business Officer at Edgewise Therapeutics
Jeremy Springhorn, Ph.D., Chief Business Officer, Syros Pharmaceuticals

2020 Fall Session Recaps

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2020, 4:30-6:00 PM

TOPIC: How to Raise Angel Capital (VIDEO) (PRESENTATION DECK)
HOST: Dr. James Boyle, Exec. Director of Venture Development, OCR
MODERATOR: Kristin King, MBA, VP of Corporate Development & Strategy: Defibtech
PRESENTERS/AGENDA:
• Ziad H. Moukheiber: President and CEO, Boston Harbor Angels Inc.
• Anthony Gellert: Founder, Livingston Ventures
Alva Health Spotlight:
• Sandra Saldana, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Alva Health
• Kevin Sheth, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Alva Health & Professor of Neurology and
Neurosurgery, Yale University
• Hitten Zaveri, PhD: Chief Technical Officer of Alva Health & Assistant Professor, Yale
University
• Julie Gionfriddo: Director, FML

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2020, 4:30-6:00 PM

HOST: Dr. James Boyle, Exec. Director of Venture Development, OCR
OPENING REMARKS: Deloitte (Powerpoint)
PRESENTER: Colin Foster (Entrepreneurial Assessment of Opportunities)
FACULTY SPEAKER: Prof. Rajit Manohar, EE/CS (HABIT: Hardware-Assisted Bluetooth-based Infection Tracking)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020, 4:30-6:00 PM

HOST: Dr. James Boyle, Exec. Director of Venture Development, OCR
OPENING REMARKS: Wiggin & Dana (Powerpoint)
PRESENTER: Kenneth Olivier, PhD Orange Grove Bio (Yale Toxicology & IND-enabling studies)
FACULTY SPEAKER: Prof. Rong Fan (BME) (AtlasXomics) and CEO Ken Wang, AtlasXomics (Atlas OCR deck)

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020, 4:30-6:00 PM

HOST: Dr. James Boyle, Exec. Director of Venture Development, OCR
OPENING REMARKS: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR)
PRESENTER: Susan Kelley, MD, Independent Consultant (PDF)
FACULTY SPEAKER: Ya Ha, Yale Associate Professor of Pharmacology

Past Speakers

For Yale investigators seeking to participate as well as external business experts seeking to join the EIR corps, please contact Jim Boyle at OCR.