Tessa Desrochers

Dr. Tessa DesRochers is the Chief Scientific Officer responsible for managing all research and development within Kiyatec, including all government contracts and grants, external collaborations, and internal preclinical and clinical assay development. Before joining the company, Tessa was in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University where she developed bioengineered 3D models of human kidney tissue and breast cancer with applications in the areas of nephrotoxicology, disease modeling, and infectious disease. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in the area of tissue engineering and disease applications, has presented a number of abstracts at multiple scientific meetings, and serves as an ad hoc reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals. As a “military brat”, Tessa grew up in numerous locations, including California, England, and Ohio before her family settled in New Hampshire. She attended the University of New Hampshire where she graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Biochemistry. She received her PhD from Tufts University’s Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology where her thesis focused upon epigenetic gene regulation in a 3D model of human skin. Her postdoctoral training included a year at Children’s Hospital in Boston and subsequent training in the lab of Dr. David Kaplan at Tufts University. Tessa is committed to the development of 3D tissues as better models of human development and disease.