BOSTON—Harvard Business School (HBS) announced this year’s Robert S. Kaplan (MBA 1983) Announces Life Sciences Fellowship Recipients In the year Founded in 2008, the fellowship was created by Robert S. Kaplan, former president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs Group, and the Martin Marshall Professor of Practice at HBS.
Kaplan Fellowships encourage students with academic credentials in the life sciences to attend HBS by awarding up to $20,000 to incoming MBA students. Past recipients of the award have demonstrated achievements in academic science and professional leadership roles in industry. This year, many recipients are joint degree students in the MS/MBA Biotechnology: Life Sciences program, which builds on students’ existing biotech and life science knowledge and equips them with the latest business and scientific insights. Kaplan Fellows demonstrate a strong commitment to pursuing a life science career after graduation, including applying for and completing the Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Science Entrepreneurship, which provides HBS students with the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and build life sciences.
“This year’s Kaplan Fellows begin their HBS journey with diverse scientific backgrounds and will add tremendous value to the school and to Boston’s business and biotech communities,” said Robert Hackman, Albert J. Climate 3 Professor of Business Administration and Howard Cox Health said. Care Initiative Faculty Chair. “We are excited to welcome this new generation of leaders to Harvard’s thriving life sciences ecosystem.”
The 2022-2023 Kaplan Fellows are:
Gabriela (Beauty) Steel (MS/MBA 2024)
Prior to HBS, Bella spent five years working as a benchtop scientist in the biotechnology industry. She began her career at Genentech where she learned the steps necessary to create and scale up end-to-end manufacturing processes for large molecule biotherapeutics. Most recently, she moved into the cell therapy space to support analytical methods for early-stage T cell therapies. Outside the lab, she has applied her passion for diversity and inclusion to lead relationships with historically black colleges and universities with the goal of increasing minority representation in the biotechnology industry. As an MS/MBA Biotechnology candidate, Bella is excited to “combine my technical background with the HBS curriculum to bridge the gap between science and business and ultimately launch new medicines that benefit underserved patients.”
Aaron Edwards (MS/MBA 2024)
Aaron joins HBS after ten years as a scientist at several companies in Boston’s biotech sector. His passion for developing innovative treatments to help patients suffering from chronic disease has led him to work on mRNA vaccines at Novartis, gene therapies at Bluebird Bio, and most recently Beam Therapeutics’ gene-engineered CAR-T programs. “Joining the third cohort of the MS/MBA: Biotechnology program as a Kaplan Fellow is an opportunity I do not take lightly,” says Aaron. “As the next generation of startup companies are founded almost every day in the environment, they need leaders who not only have a strong drive to alleviate human suffering, but also specially designed education and training to take on such a monumental task.”
Adam Esposito (MBA 2024)
Adam joins HBS after eight years at Moderna, where he worked in early stage R&D. There he designed nanotechnologies to deliver mRNA drugs into the body. Proud to have contributed to one of the world’s first Covid-19 vaccines and Moderia’s first commercial product. Outside the laboratory, Adam championed program development efforts exploring new applications of mRNA oncology. Adam said, “As a Kaplan Fellow, I hope to use my scientific background and business training to ultimately reduce the barriers to bringing new medicines to patients in need.
Claudia Hill, PhD (MS/MBA 2024)
Prior to HBS, Claudia earned a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Oxford University’s UCentre of Drug Delivery and Devices, an interdisciplinary research area combining biology, chemistry and medical device engineering to improve drug delivery. Her thesis explored ways to improve the pharmacokinetics and targeting of oncolytic (cancer-killing) viruses, and her research has been published in peer-reviewed publications and book chapters in Oncolytic Virotherapy. In addition to her academic work, she founded NewMind, a digital health company dedicated to providing accessible world-class rehabilitation therapy to patients with brain injuries and neurological disorders. Claudia said, “I am excited to combine my technical expertise and strategic expertise in the MS/MBA Biotechnology program while leveraging Harvard’s incredible resources to achieve my ambition to deliver world-class treatments to patients in an equitable manner.
Nidin Laji, MD (MBA 2024)
Nidin graduated in medicine from King’s College London and completed his foundation residency at Cambridge University Hospitals. While in training, Nidin raised funding from Trinity College Cambridge and Judge Business School to patent a software algorithm that uses 3D printing to help surgeons perform aortic arch reconstructions in newborns. After leaving clinical practice, Nidin worked as a life sciences consultant at Charles River Associates, leading strategy teams and advising biopharmaceutical clients on business strategy, pricing and market access. Nidin said, “As an MBA candidate, I am excited to develop my experience in measuring unmet needs and working with academics to deliver treatments that meaningfully change standards of care.
Dalia Laredo (MBA 2024)
Prior to HBS, Dalia worked at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in clinical R&D developing cancer immunotherapies. Dalia is a chemical and biomedical engineer from Carnegie Mellon University with experience in four academic labs. In this study, she studied collagen fatigue in the Achilles tendon in ex vivo tissue models and investigated the mechanical properties of graphene nanoplatelets. Dalia volunteers as a science research consultant for the American Cancer Society and Yonkers Partners in Education. “I am very excited to join and grow a healthcare community focused on increasing access and equity in medicine,” said Dalia.
Michael Lee (MS/MBA 2024)
Michael has spent the past six years as a scientist at early stage biotechnology companies, helping to lead the R&D pipeline in the diagnostic and therapeutic areas. He began his career at Stratos Genomics, where he developed novel chemistry to improve the speed, accuracy and cost of DNA sequencing. After a successful acquisition from Roche, Michael joined Shape Therapeutics, an RNA-targeted gene therapy startup, and helped develop the Adeno-linked virus platform to create viruses that can precisely and safely deliver human gene therapy. As an MS/MBA biotechnology candidate, Michael said he is “humbled by the support of the Kaplan Fellowship and looks forward to becoming a potential leader in the field of biotechnology to innovate and democratize healthcare for underserved communities around the world.”
Julia Lord (MS/MBA 2024)
Prior to HBS, Julia spent five years in the life sciences industry, first as a strategy consultant at ClearView Healthcare Partners before moving to Bluebird Bio as a member of the strategy and business development team. At Bluebird, she worked closely with early-stage research teams to develop next-generation gene therapy products, such as reduced-toxicity modification methods and direct administration of viral vectors. As a Kaplan Fellow, Julia said, “I am excited to explore the intersection of science and business through the MS/MBA program and look forward to working with early-stage biotech companies to bring new transformative therapies to patients.
Calvin Marambo (MS/MBA 2024)
Growing up in Tanzania, Calvin’s passion for scientific research stems from his desire to solve the community’s medical challenges. As a student in the bioengineering concentration at Harvard College, he sought opportunities to learn how to use scientific tools to solve complex medical problems, such as multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and pediatric oncology. He spent time at the Wiss Institute studying biomaterials for drug delivery to improve emergency wound care in burn-injured service members. Prior to HBS, Calvin worked at Moderna on formulation discovery of lipid nanoparticles (vehicles that protect fragile mRNAs and transport them to target cells) to deliver mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. He worked at Alkermes to support the discovery and development of drug candidates (small molecules and biologics) for central nervous system disorders and oncology. Calvin is pursuing an MS/MBA biotechnology program and hopes to “use his scientific and business skills to impact patients,” he said.
Eric Rasmussen (MBA 2024)
Prior to HBS, Eric worked on the Covid-19 manufacturing and supply programs for Merck (MSD), developing distribution and logistics strategies for the company’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate. This work was used by Merck in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson. He led value chain management projects for the company’s covid-19 antiviral drug molnupiravir (Lagevrio). Previously, Eric drove supply chain improvement projects, including a year working in a Dutch animal health manufacturing facility. “I am excited to expand my network through the Kaplan Fellowship to gain a broader understanding of the challenges and opportunities in healthcare access and equity,” said Eric.
Tamana Shobha (MS/MBA 2024)
Tamana is passionate about bringing novel and next-generation therapies to patients. Prior to HBS, she worked as a member of Genentech’s Process Development Rotation Program and as an engineer in the Global Manufacturing Science and Technology Group. She has supported various clinical and commercial programs by learning how to safely and effectively commercialize new drugs. At UC Berkeley, she studied bioengineering and conducted academic research focused on developing a nanoparticle delivery system for the CRISPR Cas-9 gene editing tool to treat muscular dystrophy. Thaman said, “During the MS/MBA Biotechnology program, I had the pleasure of learning from peers and industry professionals to understand how to solve complex business problems faced by innovative therapeutics.
