Drug-development leadership
Led multidisciplinary programs from platform discovery through translational and preclinical development, integrating pharmacology, PK/PD, efficacy, safety, and bioanalysis into program decisions.
BIOTECHNOLOGY R&D LEADERSHIP
Bringing innovative
medicines to patients.
That is the goal that drives my work. Over 13 years, I have combined deep scientific training, company-building and operating experience, investment judgment, and translational R&D leadership to move promising biology from discovery toward development. My work spans small molecules, antibodies, oligonucleotides, peptides, and AAVs, with particular depth in CNS delivery.
NEW PUBLICATION
CA-IV-directed small-molecule shuttle enables targeted brain delivery of biologics
Published in Nature Chemical Biology. As a co-first author, I helped develop and validate BrainCAB, a modular approach for transporting biologic therapeutics across the blood–brain barrier.
EXECUTIVE PROFILE
Science, investment judgment, and company building
A multidisciplinary perspective shaped by academic research, therapeutic development, venture investing, and hands-on biotech operations.
Company building & operations
Co-founded and scaled a biotechnology company through a ~$60M Series A, establishing teams, research capabilities, external partnerships, and operating processes.
Scientific and investment judgment
Combines deep academic training with venture experience evaluating scientific differentiation, unmet need, development risk, intellectual property, and company-building potential.
Cross-modality collaboration
Works across small molecules, antibodies, oligonucleotides, and peptides, bringing together internal teams, CROs, academic partners, and AI-assisted workflows around shared development goals.
CAREER
Experience
Co-founder & Vice President of Research
Receptive Bio
Built and led multidisciplinary internal teams and external CRO and academic partnerships, applying AI-assisted workflows to evidence synthesis, research planning, and decision support while advancing a neurodegeneration antibody program toward pre-IND readiness.
Director of Protein Engineering / Research Scientist
California Institute of Technology
Led collaborative discovery of BBB-relevant mechanisms and molecular targets for systemic AAV transport, integrating high-throughput experiments, computational analysis, and structure-informed approaches to engineer CNS-delivery binders.
Investment Fellow
Foresite Capital
Worked across investors, scientists, operators, and external experts to assess emerging drug-delivery companies, integrating scientific, business, intellectual-property, and competitive evidence into investment recommendations.
PhD, Neurobiology
California Institute of Technology
Engineered systemic AAV capsids for CNS and PNS delivery and collaborated with more than 30 laboratories worldwide to validate and apply the resulting tools across neuroscience, gene therapy, and disease-modeling studies.
LEADERSHIP & COMPANY BUILDING
From scientific opportunity to operating organization
Experience across the full arc of company creation: establishing platform strategy and intellectual property, building teams and external capabilities, supporting financing, and advancing programs toward development.
~$60MCompany formation
Built from inception through Series A
Co-founded Receptive Bio, helped establish its scientific strategy and financing narrative, and supported the organization’s growth to more than 25 employees.
25+Company scale
Built multidisciplinary research capabilities
Helped scale Receptive Bio to more than 25 employees while establishing and leading integrated in vitro, in vivo, bioanalytical, and translational workstreams.
INDProgram advancement
Moved evidence toward development
Advanced a neurodegeneration antibody program from preclinical proof of concept toward pre-IND readiness and contributed to pharmacology and ADME strategy for regulatory interactions.
RESEARCH TRAJECTORY
Research across my career
Beginning with current translational program development, the section traces my research backward through blood–brain barrier transport, cross-species gene delivery, and foundational neuroscience.
research/04
Receptive Bio
Program development · 2023–presentReceptive BioFrom scientific signal to program decision
I lead multidisciplinary teams and external partners in integrating pharmacology, biodistribution, PK/PD, efficacy, safety, and bioanalytical evidence; defining dose and route-of-administration strategy; and advancing a neurodegeneration antibody program toward pre-IND readiness.
Development question
What evidence is required to convert a promising delivery signal into a differentiated and developable therapeutic program?
Approach
Built integrated evidence packages across pharmacology, PK/PD, biodistribution, efficacy, safety, and bioanalysis, supported by internal teams, CROs, academic partners, and AI-assisted research workflows.
Contribution
Applied decision criteria to lead selection, dose and route-of-administration strategy, and study design while advancing a neurodegeneration antibody program toward pre-IND readiness.
research/03
CaltechReceptive Bio
Biotech R&D · 2023–presentCaltechReceptive BioReceptor-mediated delivery across the BBB
At Receptive Bio, I established foundational platform strategy and intellectual property for receptor-mediated CNS delivery. The work spans target and shuttle validation, cargo conjugation, pharmacology, and translational studies across small molecules, antibodies, peptides and proteins, ASOs, and siRNAs.
Scientific question
Can endogenous transport mechanisms at the blood–brain barrier be used to deliver diverse therapeutic cargos into the CNS?
Approach
Integrated target discovery, shuttle validation, molecular engineering, conjugation, in vitro characterization, and rodent and non-human-primate pharmacology and biodistribution.
Contribution
Established a cross-modality platform strategy spanning small molecules, antibodies, peptides and proteins, ASOs, and siRNAs, with cross-species evidence guiding target and cargo selection.
research/02Caltech
Doctoral research · 2018–2023CaltechCross-species gene delivery
During my doctoral work, I engineered systemic AAV vectors for delivery to the central and peripheral nervous systems. The research integrated capsid-library design, in vivo directed evolution, NGS-based screening, computational analysis, and validation across rodents and non-human primates, supporting collaborations with more than 30 laboratories worldwide.
Scientific question
Can systemically administered gene-delivery vectors achieve broad nervous-system access while retaining performance across species?
Approach
Developed high-diversity capsid libraries and integrated in vivo selection, next-generation sequencing, computational ranking, and functional validation in rodents and non-human primates.
Contribution
Produced broadly shared AAV tools and mechanistic insights into blood–brain barrier transport, enabling functional CNS and PNS delivery and research across more than 30 collaborating laboratories.
research/01
Tongji University
MIT
Early research · 2013–2017Tongji UniversityMITNeuroscience, behavior, and disease biology
At Tongji University, I investigated APP-driven Alzheimer’s disease pathology in Drosophila using genetic tools, behavioral assays, and small-molecule interventions. At MIT, I mapped medial prefrontal circuits associated with compulsive alcohol seeking using viral tracing, calcium imaging, and behavioral assays; this work contributed to a publication in Science.
Scientific question
How do disease-linked genes and defined neural circuits produce measurable changes in behavior?
Approach
Combined Drosophila genetics, APP-driven disease models, small-molecule perturbation, and behavioral phenotyping with viral tracing and in vivo calcium imaging in mice.
Contribution
Connected molecular and circuit-level mechanisms to disease-relevant behavior, including work identifying circuitry associated with compulsive alcohol consumption.
REPRESENTATIVE RESEARCH
Selected work by research area
A thematic view of my research, from current CNS therapeutic-delivery programs to receptor discovery, systemic AAV engineering, and foundational neuroscience.
24Publications
14Patent applications
30+Collaborating laboratories
01
RESEARCH AREA
Novel CNS delivery methods for antibodies and beyond
Developing receptor-mediated approaches to move therapeutic cargos across the blood–brain barrier, with cross-species validation and a path toward therapeutic development.
Atezolizumab brain delivery with and without BrainCAB · Gradinaru Lab / CaltechCA-IV-directed small-molecule shuttle enables targeted brain delivery of biologics
Co-first-authored the development of BrainCAB, a modular small-molecule shuttle that engages CA-IV to enhance and prolong brain delivery of biologic cargos, with validation in rodents and non-human primates.
Read the paper01PRESS
Novel Molecular Shuttle Could Deliver Targeted, Diverse Therapies to the Brain
Caltech highlights the BrainCAB discovery, my role as a co-first author, and the translation of the platform through Receptive Bio toward potential clinical development.
Read the Caltech feature02
RESEARCH AREA
Receptor identification for targeted delivery
Identifying conserved cell-surface receptors and defining how they can be used to guide transport into and across the central nervous system.
Selected panel from Huang et al., Science Advances (2023)Primate-conserved carbonic anhydrase IV enables blood–brain barrier crossing
Identified CA-IV as a conserved receptor that supports brain delivery by engineered AAVs, connecting cross-species vector performance with a defined blood–brain barrier transport mechanism.
Read the paper
Selected panel from Huang et al., Nature Communications (2024), CC BY 4.0Human cell-surface AAV interactomes identify LRP6 as a transcytosis receptor
Used receptor-focused interaction mapping and functional validation to identify LRP6 as a blood–brain barrier transcytosis receptor and establish a path toward receptor-guided delivery.
Read the paper03
RESEARCH AREA
AAV engineering for systemic delivery
Engineering systemically administered AAVs for efficient, functional, and cross-species delivery to the central and peripheral nervous systems.
Selected panel from Chen et al., Neuron (2022)Cross-species access to the peripheral nervous system
Developed MaCPNS1 and MaCPNS2, systemic AAV vectors enabling efficient peripheral nervous-system access in rodents and broader nervous-system delivery in non-human primates.
Read the paper
Selected panel from Chen et al., Nature Communications (2023), CC BY 4.0Engineering the brain vasculature
Led development of the X1 vector family for efficient targeting of brain endothelial cells after systemic administration, with validation across rodents, non-human primates, and human brain tissue.
Read the paper04
RESEARCH AREA
Neuroimmunology and neuroscience
Investigating how immune cells and defined neural circuits regulate brain activity, behavior, and disease-relevant phenotypes.
Selected panel from Badimon et al., Nature (2020)Microglia as regulators of neuronal activity
Contributed neuronal activity analysis to a multidisciplinary study showing that microglia sense extracellular ATP and promote adenosine signaling to restrain excessive neuronal activation.
Read the paper
Selected panels from Siciliano et al., Science (2019)A cortical–brainstem circuit governing compulsive alcohol drinking
Contributed to work identifying a medial prefrontal–brainstem circuit whose activity predicts and governs compulsive alcohol consumption despite adverse consequences.
Read the paperRESEARCH OUTPUT
Publications & patent applications
Peer-reviewed research and intellectual property spanning neuroscience, gene delivery, blood–brain barrier biology, protein engineering, and therapeutic delivery.
01
22 peer-reviewed papers · 2 preprintsPUBLICATIONS
Research publications
Publication record Public
Contributions across Nature, Science, Neuron, Nature Chemical Biology, Nature Biotechnology, and Nature Communications.
CA-IV-directed small-molecule shuttle enables targeted brain delivery of biologics
Nature Chemical Biology
Luminal surface proteome of the brain vasculature uncovers blood-brain barrier regulators
Science
A Perturb-seq screen guided by species divergence uncovers pathways for collateral artery formation
bioRxiv · Preprint
AAV tools enable functional modulation and readout of central and peripheral nervous systems in spiny mice
bioRxiv · Preprint
Distinct sympathetic projections to brown fat regulate thermogenesis and glucose tolerance
Nature Metabolism
AAVs targeting human carbonic anhydrase IV enhance gene delivery to the brain
Cell Reports
Spatial genomics of AAV vectors reveals mechanism of transcriptional crosstalk that enables targeted delivery of large genetic cargo
Nature Biotechnology
Human cell surface–AAV interactomes identify LRP6 as blood–brain barrier transcytosis receptor and immune cytokine IL3 as AAV9 binder
Nature Communications
Fast, accurate ranking of engineered proteins by target-binding propensity using structure modeling
Molecular Therapy
Adeno-associated viral vectors for functional intravenous gene transfer throughout the non-human primate brain
Nature Nanotechnology
Functional gene delivery to and across brain vasculature of systemic AAVs with endothelial-specific tropism in rodents and broad tropism in primates
Nature Communications
Primate-conserved carbonic anhydrase IV and murine-restricted LY6C1 enable blood–brain barrier crossing by engineered viral vectors
Science Advances
Spatial transcriptomics for profiling the tropism of viral vectors in tissues
Nature Biotechnology
Advances in AAV technology for delivering genetically encoded cargo to the nonhuman primate nervous system
Current Research in Neurobiology
Adeno-associated virus toolkit to target diverse brain cells
Annual Review of Neuroscience
Engineered AAVs for non-invasive gene delivery to rodent and non-human primate nervous systems
Neuron
Dorsal raphe dopamine neurons signal motivational salience dependent on internal state, expectation, and behavioral context
Journal of Neuroscience
Super-resolution label-free volumetric vibrational imaging
Nature Communications
Light-guided sectioning for precise in situ localization and tissue interface analysis for brain-implanted optical fibers and GRIN lenses
Cell Reports
Negative feedback control of neuronal activity by microglia
Nature
Multiplexed Cre-dependent selection yields systemic AAVs for targeting distinct brain cell types
Nature Methods
A cortical-brainstem circuit predicts and governs compulsive alcohol drinking
Science
Myc inhibits JNK-mediated cell death in vivo
Apoptosis
Or47b plays a role in Drosophila males' preference for younger mates
Open Biology
02
8 selected applicationsPATENT APPLICATIONS
Selected intellectual property
Patent portfolio Selected
Selected applications covering receptor-mediated therapeutic delivery, engineered AAV vectors, blood–brain barrier transport, and tissue-targeted gene delivery.
Compositions for transport of therapeutic cargos using antibody binders targeting CA-IV
WO2025054419A1
Ester derivatives of binders targeting CA-IV
WO2025054461A1
Compositions for transport of therapeutic cargos using miniprotein binders targeting CA-IV
WO2025054465A1 · AU2024338011A1
Adeno-associated virus compositions having preferred heart and skeletal muscle enrichment
US20250001007A1
Primate carbonic anhydrase IV binding peptides and AAVs
WO2024238612A2 · EP4713339A2
Virus compositions to efficiently target the nervous system and the lungs
US20240382617A1
Targets for receptor-mediated control of therapeutic biodistribution and efficacy
WO2024092164A1 · US20240139329A1
Recombinant AAVs for delivery to the central nervous system and brain vasculature
WO2022235702A1 · US20240197919A1
EDUCATION
Academic training
Formal training in neurobiology and biotechnology established the scientific foundation for my work in CNS delivery and therapeutic development.
PhD
PhD in Neurobiology
California Institute of TechnologyPasadena, California
Graduate research in the Gradinaru Lab integrated neurobiology, bioengineering, protein engineering, and translational gene delivery, with a central focus on systemic AAV vectors for the CNS and PNS across species.
Thesis recognized with the Audrey W. Ferguson Prize and the International Brain Barriers Society Junior Investigator Prize.
BS
BS in Biotechnology
Tongji UniversityShanghai, China
Built a foundation in molecular biology, genetics, and neuroscience through research on APP-driven Alzheimer’s disease pathology in Drosophila and leadership of an optogenetics-focused iGEM team.
Graduated first in a class of 80 and was recognized as an Outstanding Graduate of Shanghai.
SELECTED RECOGNITION
Scientific and professional distinction
Audrey W. Ferguson Prize
California Institute of Technology
Recognized as the best PhD thesis in the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering.
Junior Investigator Prize
International Brain Barriers Society
Awarded for excellence in CNS barriers and drug-delivery science.
Meritorious Abstract Travel Award
American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy
Recognized twice for meritorious scientific abstracts presented at the ASGCT Annual Meeting.
Chen Graduate Fellow
Chen Institute for Neuroscience, Caltech
Graduate fellowship designation supporting interdisciplinary neuroscience research and training at Caltech.
BEYOND THE LAB
Community & writing
U8 World Innovation Summit Public
Co-founded and chaired an international forum connecting early-career scientists, innovators, and entrepreneurs.
Nucleate Los Angeles Community
Served as Co-Director of Strategy, supporting scientific founders through mentorship, operator engagement, and investor connections.
Kerckhoff.blog Public
Co-founded and served as scientific editor and writer for a platform communicating scientific ideas to broader audiences.