2020 Sohn

Bihua Chen is the Founder of Cormorant Asset Management, LP, an investment firm focused on innovative biotech, medtech and life science companies with assets under management of over $2bn. She manages Cormorant’s public fund as well as its private funds.

Prior to founding Cormorant, Ms. Chen managed a separately managed account focused on the healthcare sector as a sub-adviser to a large, multi-strategy hedge fund based in New York. Previously, she held positions at American Express Asset Management, Boston, Asterion Life Science Fund, Bellevue Research, and Putnam Investments.

Ms. Chen holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an MS in Molecular Biology from Cornell Medical College and a BS in Genetics and Genetic Engineering from Fudan University.

Aaron Davis is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Boxer Capital, LLC, the healthcare arm of the Tavistock Group. In 2005, Mr. Davis scaled Tavistock Group’s public healthcare investing activities and formed Boxer Capital, where he currently leads its research team, deal structuring, and portfolio management. Mr. Davis also serves as a Board Member of Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (MRTX); Odonate Therapeutics, Inc. (ODT); iTeos Therapeutics, Inc. (ITOS); Sojournix, Inc and as the Executive Chairman of CiVi Biopharma Holdings, Inc.

Prior to joining the Tavistock Group, Mr. Davis worked in the Global Healthcare Investment Banking and Private Equity Groups at UBS Warburg, LLC.

Mr. Davis holds an MA in Biotechnology from Columbia University and a BBA in Finance from Emory University.

Wendy Commins Holman is the CEO and Founder of Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on developing treatments and diagnostics for underserved patient populations primarily in pediatric orphan and emerging infectious diseases. Ridgeback is partnered with NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center to develop mAb114 – a late stage experimental treatment for Ebola Zaire.

Prior to founding Ridgeback in 2015, Ms. Holman was a Principal at Ziff Brothers Investments and Director of Research at ZBI Equities, a multi-billion dollar public equity investment fund. She spent 15 years guiding investments in healthcare and novel technologies, holding various positions during her tenure, including healthcare sector head.

Ms. Holman is a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) and a Trustee for the Sabin Vaccine Institute, serving on its Research and Development Committee. She serves on the Penn Libraries Board of Overseers and is the Campaign Chair for the University of Pennsylvania’s new Biotech Commons. In addition, Ms. Holman is a Trustee for the Ransom Everglades School in Miami, Florida and serves on the Endowment Oversight committee for St. Stephens Episcopal Day School in Coconut Grove, FL.

Ms. Holman holds a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Peter Kolchinsky is a Founder and Managing Partner at RA Capital Management. He is active in both public and private investments in companies developing drugs, medical devices, diagnostics, and research tools and serves as a Board Member of various publicly- and privately-held companies. He also leads the firm’s engagement and publishing efforts, which aim to make a positive social impact and spark collaboration among healthcare stakeholders.

Previously, Mr. Kolchinsky served on the Board of Global Science and Technology for the National Academy of Sciences, is the author of “The Great American Drug Deal” and “The Entrepreneur’s Guide to a Biotech Startup”, and frequently writes and speaks on the future of biotechnology innovation.

Mr. Kolchinsky holds a PhD in Virology from Harvard University and a BA from Cornell University.

Ian McKinnon is the Founding Partner of Sandia Holdings, LLC. Located in Greenwich, Connecticut, Sandia is the primary investment vehicle for the McKinnon family and related entities. Ian remains particularly active in life sciences investing, both directly through Sandia in private and public situations, as well as through various external investment partnerships, including some represented in Sohn’s speaker lineup.

Outside of healthcare and life sciences, Ian has a passion for professional sports; he is one of the founding partners of TEAM8, which spearheaded the creation of tennis’ Laver Cup, and the New Mexico United professional soccer team in the USL. He also serves as an owner of Venezia FC.

Ian serves on the boards of several non-profit entities including the Santa Fe Institute, the Albuquerque Academy, and Marin Academy. On the for-profit side, Ian is a member of the Board of Directors of Kyber Data Science, a subsidiary of Cowen Inc., as well as the Advisory Board of HighVista Partners, a Boston-based asset management firm. He has also been a guest lecturer on investment topics at Columbia Business School and the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce.

Prior to starting Sandia, Ian spent nearly twenty years at Ziff Brothers Investments (ZBI), from which he retired as a Managing Partner. Prior to joining ZBI, Ian was a consultant with Bain & Company and an investment banking analyst with Merrill Lynch & Co.

Ian holds an MBA from Harvard Business School as a Baker Scholar and a BA in Public Policy from Occidental College. He was also a finalist for both the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships.

Bob Nelsen is a Co-Founder and Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners. Here, he played a significant role in the early sourcing, financing and development of over 100 companies (23 have reached valuations exceeding $1 billion). His seed and early-stage investments include Illumina (ILMN), Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Juno Therapeutics (JUNO), Unity Biotechnology (UBX), Sienna Biopharmaceuticals (SNNA), Vir Biotechnology (VIR), Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO), Sage Therapeutics (SAGE), GRAIL, Ikaria, Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (KYTH), Receptos (RCPT), Aviron (AVIR), Denali Therapeutics (DNLI), Prime Medicine, Beam Therapeutics (BEAM), NetBot, Bluebird Bio (BLUE), R2 Technology, XenoPort (XNPT), Caliper Life Sciences (CALP), Trubion Pharmaceuticals (TRBN), Adolor (ADLR), deCODE Genetics, Array BioPharma (ARRY), Editas (EDIT), IDUN Pharmaceuticals, Classmates.com, Hua Medicine, Fate Therapeutics (FATE), Rubius Therapeutics (RUBY), KSQ Therapeutics, WuxiNextCODE, and Everyday Learning Corporation.

Mr. Nelsen is a Director of Vir Bio, GRAIL, Sana Biotechnology, Beam Therapeutics, Prime Medicine, Lyell, Unity Biotechnology, Denali Therapeutics, Karuna Therapeutics, insitro, Maze Therapeutics, Inc., Encoded Therapeutics and serves as Chairman of Hua Medicine, among others.

Previously, he served as a Trustee of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute, the Institute for Systems Biology, and was a Director of the National Venture Capital Association.

Mr. Nelsen holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BS in Economics and Biology from the University of Puget Sound.

Oleg Nodelman is the Founder and Portfolio Manager of EcoR1 Capital LLC, a biotech-focused investment advisory firm established in 2013, which invests in companies at all stages of research and development. With nearly twenty years of experience in biotech investing, Mr. Nodelman has expertise in all aspects of investment management and deep roots in the biotech and scientific communities. He also serves as a Board Member for Prothena (PRTA), a clinical-stage neuroscience company focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies.

Prior to founding EcoR1, Mr. Nodelman was a portfolio manager at BVF Partners, one of the first hedge funds dedicated to the biotechnology sector.

Mr. Nodelman holds a BS in Foreign Service with a concentration in Science and Technology from Georgetown University.

Keith Rabois is a General Partner at Founders Fund. Throughout his venture career he has led investments in DoorDash, Affirm, Forward Health, Faire, Thoughtspot, and Stripe. He also founded Opendoor, which transforms the process of buying and selling a home.

Previously, he served as a senior executive at PayPal (PYPL), influential roles at LinkedIn (LNKD), and as Chief Operating Officer of Square (SQ). As a board member, Keith guided Yelp (YELP) and Xoom (XOOM) from inception to successful initial public offerings. Simultaneously, he also invested in other like-minded entrepreneurs with early stakes in YouTube, Palantir, Lyft, Airbnb, Eventbrite, Wish and Quora.

Prior to this, Mr. Rabois was a litigator at the Wall Street law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, after clerking for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Mr. Rabois holds a JD with honors from Harvard University and a BS in Political Science from Stanford University.

Roderick Wong, MD, is the Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of RTW where he is responsible for managing investments focused on innovative drug development. He also serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at NYU Stern, an Advisor to the University of Pennsylvania Medical School’s PennHealthX Program, and as Chairman of the RTW Charitable Foundation.

Prior to forming RTW, he was a Managing Director and sole Portfolio Manager for the Davidson Kempner Healthcare Funds. Previously, he held various healthcare investment and research roles at Sigma Capital Partners and Cowen & Company.

Mr. Wong simultaneously received an MD from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and holds a BS in Economics from Duke University.

Graham Duncan is a Co-Founder and Managing Principal at East Rock Capital, serving currently as its Co-Chief Investment Officer. He also serves as Chair of the Sohn Conference Foundation and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Prior to founding East Rock fourteen years ago, Mr. Duncan was a Principal at Lyrical Partners. Previously, Mr. Duncan co-founded the independent Wall Street research firm Medley Global Advisors with Richard Medley, a former Partner at Soros Fund Management. Mr. Duncan served first as COO then President.

Mr. Duncan holds a BA in Ethics, Politics, and Economics from Yale.

Oleg Nodelman is the Founder and Portfolio Manager of EcoR1 Capital LLC, a biotech-focused investment advisory firm established in 2013, which invests in companies at all stages of research and development. With nearly twenty years of experience in biotech investing, Mr. Nodelman has expertise in all aspects of investment management and deep roots in the biotech and scientific communities. He also serves as a Board Member for Prothena (NASDAQ: PRTA), a clinical-stage neuroscience company focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies.

Prior to founding EcoR1, Mr. Nodelman was a portfolio manager at BVF Partners, one of the first hedge funds dedicated to the biotechnology sector.

Mr. Nodelman holds a BS in Foreign Service with a concentration in Science and Technology from Georgetown University.

Josh Wolfe is a Co-Founder & Managing Director of Lux Capital. He focuses on contrarian investments in emerging technology, helping lead the firm’s investments in Anduril, Planet, Echodyne, Clarifai and Authorea. He also serves as a Director at Shapeways, Strateos, Lux Research, Kallyope, CTRL-labs, and Variant, and is a Founding Investor and Director (along with Bill Gates and Nathan Myhrvold) in Kymeta, which produces cutting-edge antennas for high-speed global satellite and space communications.

Previously, he co-founded and funded Kurion, which uses advanced robotics, engineering and chemistry to clean up nuclear waste. The company was among the first responders to the Fukushima Daiichi disaster. Kurion was acquired by Veolia for nearly $400 million—34 times Lux’s total investment. Prior to this, Mr. Wolfe held positions at Salomon Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch.

Mr. Wolfe is a Westinghouse semi-finalist, published scientist, columnist with Forbes and Editor for the Forbes/Wolfe Emerging Tech Report, a White House technology advisor, a lecturer at MIT, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Columbia and NYU, a term member at The Council on Foreign Relations, and Chairman at Coney Island Prep.

He holds a BS in Economics and Finance from Cornell University.