Michael Benzinou

Michael Benzinou has a diverse work experience in the field of business development, primarily in the life sciences industry. Michael is currently the Head of Business Development at Biotia, a position they started in April 2023. Prior to this, they worked as the Business Development, Search and Evaluation at Verge Genomics from May 2022 to March 2023. Michael also served as the Director of Business Development at InSphero from January 2021 to April 2022.

Before transitioning to business development roles, Michael founded nanomolar.com in 2017 and worked as the Founder until May 2020. Prior to that, they gained experience in licensing and business development at UCSF from October 2014 to September 2016, where they managed an intellectual and tangible research properties portfolio.

Additionally, Michael has experience in strategic partnerships and entrepreneurial roles. Michael worked at Science Exchange as part of the Strategic Partnerships team from October 2013 to September 2014, where they established partnerships with incubators, start-ups, and CROs. At Crown Bioscience, Inc., they held positions as the Director of Business Development and Associate Director, Genomics and Proteomics, where they established collaborations and led metabolic disease translational teams.

Michael's work experience also includes roles as a Molecular Biologist - Genetics and Genomics at the University of California, San Francisco from January 2008 to February 2011, and as a Postdoctorate Fellow at Institut Pasteur from January 2006 to December 2007, where they conducted research on pharmacogenetics and epidemiology. Michael began their career as an Assistant Lecturer at Imperial College London in 2004.

Michael Benzinou holds a Bachelor's Degree in Biology, Biochemistry, and Genetics from the University of Lille 1 Sciences and Technology, which they completed in 2000. Michael then pursued a Master's Degree in Molecular Biology at Imperial College London, starting in 2000 and completing it in 2001. Subsequently, they enrolled in Imperial College London again and earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Molecular Biology in 2006. During the same period, they also completed a PhD in Genetics from Imperial College London. In 2013, they attended the University of California, San Francisco, where they participated in the Lean Launchpad program, specifically the Digital Health Track. Finally, in 2014 and 2015, they completed a degree in Entrepreneurship from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, focusing on Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations.