News

Seattle, WA – October 1, 2024

Washington Research Foundation (WRF) has selected its seventh cohort of WRF Venture Analysts to assist with its grantmaking and investment activities. A total of 29 analysts have now worked with the foundation since the program’s launch in 2019.

Venture analysts work part-time with WRF staff while undertaking graduate studies in science or business, or postdoctoral research, in Washington state. In this role, analysts apply their expertise across a wide range of scientific fields to assist in the review of grant and investment opportunities under consideration for funding by WRF. Analysts gain working experience in commercialization and entrepreneurship, in addition to expanding their professional networks.

The following WRF Venture Analysts will begin their roles with the Foundation this month:

• Joseph Albe, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Immunology at the University of Washington (UW), specializes in public health and infectious diseases
• Kayla Fasano, a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the UW Department of Immunology, specializes in immune interactions involved in the development of ulcerative colitis
• Miranda Lyons-Cohen, Ph.D., an Invent at Seattle Children’s Postdoctoral Scholar, develops next generation cell therapies for pediatric central nervous system cancers
• Kaylie McCraken, a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemistry at Washington State University, specializes in battery technologies and the electrochemical reduction of nitrate on low-cost materials
• Bhargav Vemuri, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical and Health Informatics at UW, specializes in novel applications of deep learning methods on biomedical datasets

Cade Ito and Kevin Jiang, UW Ph.D. candidates who became WRF Venture Analysts in 2023, will continue with the foundation as senior venture analysts.

Kim Emmons, WRF’s manager of research and information services, runs the venture analyst program.

“I and the other managers at WRF go through a rigorous process to select the venture analyst talent and ensure that they extend the scientific depth of our organization, while at the same time being excellent communicators and contributors to our funding decisions,” said Emmons. “I believe we have yet another exceptional team this year.”

Venture analysts are initially appointed to work with WRF for one year during their studies or postdoctoral research. Many have progressed to positions in academia, industry, and with early-stage startups after completing their programs.

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About Washington Research Foundation

Washington Research Foundation (WRF) supports research and scholarship in Washington state, with a focus on life sciences and enabling technologies.

WRF was founded in 1981 to assist universities and other nonprofit research institutions in Washington with the commercialization and licensing of their technologies. WRF is one of the foremost technology transfer and grantmaking organizations in the nation, having earned more than $445 million in licensing revenue for the University of Washington and providing over $158 million in grants to the state’s research institutions to date.

WRF Capital, the investment vehicle for Washington Research Foundation, has backed 132 local startups since 1996. Returns support the Foundation’s investment and grantmaking programs.

For additional information, please visit wrfseattle.org.