News

SEATTLE, WA – September 2, 2026

Washington Research Foundation has welcomed its ninth cohort of WRF Venture Analysts. The analysts have started their one-year assignments supporting the Foundation’s grantmaking and investment activities, bringing the program’s total participation to 39 analysts since its 2019 launch.

WRF Venture Analysts are Washington state graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who work part time evaluating grant applications and investment opportunities that WRF is considering for funding. Analysts gain experience in technology commercialization and entrepreneurship, working closely with WRF’s staff and expanding their professional networks within Washington’s innovation ecosystem. Alumni of the program have gone on to a range of careers that include academia, industry and startups, some of which are commercializing technologies developed in Washington state research institutions.

The 2026 cohort of WRF Venture Analysts includes:

• Jessica Ayers, a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the University of Washington’s (UW) Departments of Dermatology and Pathology specializing in genetic skin diseases, organotypic modeling and drug repurposing.
• Ankit K. Azad, an MBA candidate at the UW Foster School of Business and a former ZS Associates consultant with five years of experience in healthcare commercial strategy and life science market analysis.
• Nello Gu, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the UW Department of Bioengineering, specializing in the development of point-of-care diagnostics for infectious diseases.
• Michael Malone, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the UW Department of Mechanical Engineering, specializing in 3D bioprinting for cardiac tissue engineering and the co-founder of a medical device startup.
• Elya Shamskhou, a postdoctoral research fellow at Fred Hutch Cancer Center specializing in computational systems immunology approaches to HIV infection and cancer.

Rhett Britton, Kaylie McCracken and Aquene Reid will continue their work with WRF as Senior Venture Analysts, providing continuity and mentorship for the incoming cohort.

Joe Albe, Ph.D., is WRF’s manager of grants and venture research and leads the venture analyst program. He first began working with WRF as a Venture Analyst in the 2024 cohort while completing his doctorate in immunology at UW.

“We’re excited to welcome our newest cohort of Venture Analysts. We look forward to the fresh perspectives they’ll bring as we explore emerging Washington state technologies and how their translation into products and services can drive real-world impact,” Albe said.

For more information on the WRF Venture Analyst program, visit wrfseattle.org/about-us/venture-analysts/.

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About Washington Research Foundation:

Washington Research Foundation (WRF) supports research, scholarship and entrepreneurship 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 became one of the foremost technology transfer organizations in the nation, earning more than $445 million in licensing revenue for the University of Washington. To date, WRF has provided over $192 million in grants to the state’s research institutions.

WRF Capital, the investment vehicle for Washington Research Foundation, has backed more than 130 local startups since 1996. Returns support the Foundation’s grantmaking and investment programs.