Matt Devalaraja, PhD, is a scientist and entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. He is also a UK College of Medicine alumnus with plentiful knowledge on the wide span of career possibilities that can stem from a biomedical education.
Dr. Devalaraja earned his PhD in the UK College of Medicine Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology. “It provided me a breadth of advanced knowledge as to what goes on in different disease pathologies, right from cancer to chronic inflammatory conditions,” he said. “And top that with an ability to research any scientific problem, ask the right question, and be able to solve it.”
He uses these fundamental skills every day in his role as founder, president, and chief executive officer of Nipuna Therapeutics, Inc., a precision immunology company. Before running his current business, he founded Corvidia Therapeutics, a cardiovascular company, where he served as chief scientific officer and head of research and development. He came up with the idea for this venture during his work as director of the Emerging Innovations unit at AstraZeneca.
Dr. Devalaraja is also the founding chair of MediSyn-Bio, founder and chief executive officer of Protean Bio, and a board member of AUM Biosciences.
He began his career at Pfizer, helping start the first biologic program for its global immunology portfolio.
To discover your true strengths and interests, he advises aspiring researchers to be “addicted to learning,” and to learn a broad range of subjects. He considers PhD or postdoctoral programs as training camps to take on relevant assignments and discover what suits you – whether that’s in academia or other fields.
“There are limitless possibilities for you to explore and pursue,” he said.
Career Path Discussion with Dr. Devalaraja
Dr. Devalaraja will return to campus this month for a career path discussion sponsored by the Office of Biomedical Education and the Markey Cancer Center Office of Education and Mentoring.
The event is open to all faculty, staff, and learners and will take place at noon on Friday, Feb. 24, in MN 363 (William Willard Building in Lexington, Ky.) Lunch will be provided for those who register by Tuesday, Feb. 21.
Click here to RSVP to Dr. Devalaraja’s event.