Marina Protopopova

Marina Protopopova, PhD has a diverse and accomplished work experience in the field of oncology drug discovery and development. Marina began their career as a Research Scientist at Karolinska Institutet, where they obtained their Doctorate in Tumor Biology and subsequently worked as a staff research scientist. Marina then joined the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science as a Research Scientist, where they managed the design and implementation of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic studies in mice. After that, they became a Founding member of the Target Validation group at the Institute for Applied Cancer Science at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where they led technology and methods development for drug validation in in vitro and in vivo models.

Currently, Marina is working at Mersana Therapeutics, where they have held roles as a Senior Scientist and now as a Principal Scientist. In their current role, they lead cross-functional discovery teams, drives oncology drug discovery projects, and is responsible for delivering clinical development candidates with rich preclinical data packages.

Marina Protopopova holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Tumor Biology from Karolinska Institutet. Marina also has a Master of Science (MS) degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Novosibirsk State University (NSU), and a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Biochemistry, also from NSU.