Isaac Ciechanover

Dr. Isaac Ciechanover joined Polaris as a partner in 2020 and is based in the San Francisco office. He focuses on biotech investments, healthcare technology companies and company creation.

Isaac currently represents Polaris on the board of Auron Therapeutics. Before joining Polaris, Isaac was president and chief executive officer of Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: ATRA), an off-the-shelf, allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy company. Isaac founded Atara in 2012 while a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and in honor of his mother Atara who had recently passed away from cancer. Isaac led the company through an IPO to a valuation beyond $1 billion.

Earlier in his career, Isaac held business development roles at Celgene and Amylin Pharmaceuticals. He took his first role in venture capital at Pequot Ventures in New York, after receiving his M.B.A. from Harvard University. Isaac worked on projects with Polaris while at HBS and he has served on the board of SQZ Biotech, a Polaris portfolio company, since May 2019.

Isaac earned a B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University, an M.Phil in Epidemiology from Cambridge University, and his M.D. from Weill Medical College of Cornell University.