Batch: Achievements
- Co-founded Engage Bio, a Y Combinator-backed biotech focused on mRNA immunotherapies to fight cancer
- Over a decade of hands-on protein engineering experience for therapeutic applications
- Developed bispecific and protease-activated immunotherapies at Harpoon Therapeutics, with drugs now in clinical trials
- Holds multiple patents in immunotherapy and protein engineering
- Ph.D. in molecular and biological engineering from UC Berkeley, laying the groundwork for her biotech innovations
Let's talk about Kathryn Kwant
Listen up about Kathryn Kwant. This girl is straight-up the real deal in biotech. She’s a W22 batch alum at YC, so she’s been around the startup block, but her story is next level. She’s been deep in the lab for over a decade, mainly crushing it in protein engineering, like, she’s the kind of person who’s been tweaking and perfecting proteins to fight cancer. Think about it: 12 years of hands-on experience making these tiny biomolecules do exactly what she wants, all to save lives.
Before she jumped into the startup scene with Engage Bio, she was at Harpoon Therapeutics for five years. That’s where she got her hands dirty on some wild immunotherapies, bispecifics and protease-activated drugs that are now in clinical trials. Basically, she helped develop some of the hottest cancer treatments out there, and she holds multiple patents for her work. This isn’t just some researcher in a lab, she’s literally shaping the future of cancer therapy.
Her academic creds are just as insane. She got her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in molecular and biological engineering, a top-tier program, no doubt, and her research laid the groundwork for what she’s now building at Engage Bio. The company? It’s backed by YC, and they’re working on mRNA immunotherapies to wipe out cancer. Yeah, you heard that right, mRNA tech, which is what powers the vaccines that crushed COVID, but now aimed at cancer. That’s some advanced shit.
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Talk to herWhat does this say about her? She’s driven as hell, no bullshit. She jumped into biotech because she wants to beat cancer, not just be a scientist, but to create significant therapies. She’s all about making real impact, not just chasing patents and papers. That’s the kind of founder who’s not satisfied with the status quo, who can see the future and is willing to grind for it.
Bottom line: Kathryn Kwant is a scientist turned biotech founder who’s been crushing it for over a decade, with the skills, patents, and vision to seriously shake up cancer treatment. She’s the kind of person who turns complex science into real solutions, and she’s just getting started.
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