A select cohort of experienced professionals who help turn the University’s innovations into successful startups and market-ready ventures.
NYU’s Mentor in Residence program engages a select cohort of experienced professionals to help commercialize university innovations, support startup formation and growth, and connect mentee companies with the guidance and networks needed to reach the market.
Associate Director, Life Sciences Track, Endless Frontier Labs
Dr. Nikki Aaron is an Associate Director at Endless Frontier Labs, a global accelerator that helps early-stage science and technology startups scale into high-growth businesses. She works closely with founders emerging from academic and research settings, advising an annual portfolio of 25 biotech startups spanning multiple therapeutic modalities and platform technologies. Previously, she worked at Trinity Life Sciences, where she advised global pharmaceutical companies on commercial strategy and deal diligence. Nikki holds a PhD in Pharmacology from Columbia University.
Founder and Partner, Biotech Business Development and Strategy, OctaneBio
Dr. Niva Almaula is a molecular biologist with extensive experience in global biotech business development across various therapeutic areas. She currently provides early-stage biotech companies with consulting services for partnering and fundraising through her venture, Octane Bio, LLC.
Prior to starting Octane Bio, she focused on business development in oncology—specifically radiotherapy—as the Chief Business Officer at Precirix, a Belgian radiotherapy company. Before joining Precirix, she led business development at Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAAP), a French radiotherapy company that listed on NASDAQ and was subsequently acquired by Novartis. Her experience spans a broad range of business development activities, from licensing early-stage technology to executing and managing deals for clinical-stage assets.
Principal, Osage University Partners
Allen Chen is a Principal on the technology investment team at Osage University Partners, where he focuses on backing researchers and scientists commercializing breakthrough technologies. Prior to OUP, Allen spent four years at BMW i Ventures, leading early-stage investments in robotics, critical minerals, cybersecurity, and enterprise software. Previously, he held operating roles at Uber and Lilium, driving commercial partnerships and supporting strategic initiatives.
Technology Founder and Advisor
Matt Doherty is a technology founder and advisor who works at the intersection of AI, search, and scientific innovation. He has built and scaled multiple venture-backed companies, including ResoluteAI, an enterprise search platform for scientists, and Static Media, a large-scale content recommendation network.
Matt focuses on helping research-driven teams translate complex technologies into practical products and scalable businesses, with particular experience in information retrieval, data-intensive systems, and AI-enabled applications.
He has served as an advisor to organizations including the Merck Digital Sciences Studio and works with a range of deeptech and biotech founders. Matt previously taught Search Engine Architecture at NYU’s Courant Institute and holds S.B. and M.Eng. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT. He is also an active board member of BUILD, a nonprofit focused on entrepreneurship education.
Venture Associate, Innovation Venture Fund, NYU Leslie Entrepreneurial Institute
Dr. Azade Hossein is a Venture Associate at the NYU Leslie Entrepreneurial Institute, where she leads healthcare and life sciences investments for the NYU Innovation Venture Fund. She has worked in business development and operations for several venture-backed health and climate tech startups. Previously, she was Head of Business Development at the public-private accelerator Innouvo, where she built global innovation ecosystems, sourced deals for biopharma companies, and helped scale >30 pre-seed to Series A stage startups. Prior to that, Azade was Senior Scientist at BioNTech, where she led the preclinical development of personalized cancer vaccines and managed external research partnerships. Azade completed a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT and earned her PhD in chemistry from Boston College.
Dr. Nandan Padukone is a biotech entrepreneur and executive with over 20 years of experience as a founder, CEO, C-suite leader, board member, and advisor. He has built and advanced therapeutics companies from discovery through clinical development, financing, and exit across oncology, metabolic disease, neurology, and immunology.
He currently advises venture firms, biotech companies, and academic venture offices on financing, pipeline strategy, and operations. Most recently, he helped launch Aurimi Therapeutics with Morningside Ventures, advancing an autoimmune program to Phase 2-ready and supporting multiple financings. He remains on Aurimi’s board and advises Morningside.
Previously, he founded the innovation and ventures office at Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard Medical School, where he led spinouts, built strategic alliances, drove revenue growth, and expanded Joslin’s global footprint. Earlier, he supported financings, clinical development, and strategic transactions at NeuroBo Pharma, MD Anderson, and Altus Biologics.
He holds an MBA from the University of Denver and a PhD in Biochemical Engineering from NC State University.
Senior Innovation Manager, NYU Langone Health
KP Tacconi manages a digital innovation lab at NYU Langone Health, where they explore emerging technology and novel solutions to enhance the care experience. Previously, she led product management at a startup in the elderly care space and spearheaded a new product line at a behavioral health company. While at Deloitte UK, she supported companies across Europe in their innovation efforts. She has an MA in innovation management from Central Saint Martins School of Art & Design and a BA from Wake Forest University.
Principal, Emerald Development Managers, LP
Dr. Ian Tolfree is a Principal at Emerald Development Managers LP and a theoretical physicist turned commercialization generalist.
He joined the firm in 2019 as Entrepreneur-in-Residence and was named Principal in 2022. At Emerald, Dr. Tolfree leads scientific and technology diligence on potential new investments and supports portfolio companies in a variety of ways, including operations, business development, and research.
Previously, as Manager of The Johns Hopkins University’s FastForward incubator, Dr. Tolfree advised more than 70 research groups, many in the fields of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, on commercialization and business building. Dr. Tolfree is a serial entrepreneur with experience in medical devices, optics, and semiconductors. He is also the Founder and CEO of TBT Pharma Inc., a preclinical stage biotechnology company addressing large unmet needs in the dermatology market.
Dr. Tolfree received his BS in Applied Physics from Columbia University and his PhD in Particle Physics from The Johns Hopkins University.
Chief Regulatory, Uncommon Cures
Penny Toren brings over 30 years of experience in Regulatory Affairs, Quality, and Clinical Development across the pharmaceutical industry, with leadership roles at GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Cephalon, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Vallon Pharmaceuticals, Endpoint Health, and Uncommon Cures, as well as earlier roles at Hazleton Labs, Chemex, and Hurley Consulting.
In recent years, Penny has provided strategic regulatory leadership to multiple biotech and pharmaceutical companies, serving as both a fractional Head of Regulatory Affairs and a senior advisor to executive teams, supporting early- through late-stage development programs.
In these roles, she is responsible for end-to-end global regulatory strategy and execution, spanning investigational development through potential product approvals and lifecycle management. She partners cross-functionally to guide regulatory pathways, oversee global health authority interactions, and ensure alignment of clinical, nonclinical, and CMC strategies to support efficient development and commercialization. Further, she provides advising on due diligence efforts and promotional review of drug advertising and marketing materials for commercialization