Ruth Atherton

Ruth Atherton, Ph.D., JD, serves as the Chief Legal Officer of Chronomics, a global tech-bio organization creating infrastructure for diagnostics and wellness. Ruth previously served as Chief Legal Officer for The Commons Project Foundation and Deputy General Counsel for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she advised the foundation’s Global Health and Gender Equality divisions, led the legal support for the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute and served on the Ebola and Covid-19 emergency response teams. Prior to the Gates Foundation, Ruth served as in-house Sr. Corporate and IP Counsel for Sanofi and Genzyme Corporation and as outside counsel in IP litigation at Fitzpatrick Cella Harper & Scinto (now Venable). Ruth holds a Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from Cornell University and a J.D. from Fordham School of Law.