Matthew Saunders

Matthew Saunders has extensive work experience in research and development roles. Matthew is currently employed at Heliae as the VP of Research and Development since March 2021. Prior to this, they worked at Renew Biopharma, Inc. where they held various positions from 2017 to 2019, including Executive Director of R&D, Director of Research, and Associate Director. At Renew Biopharma, they were involved in synthetic biology project planning management, investor pitches/presentations, intellectual property strategy, and filings. Matthew also had experience in microbial synthetic biology, pathway engineering, and enzyme engineering.

Before joining Renew Biopharma, Inc., Saunders worked at Heliae from 2015 to 2017 as the Manager of Strain Improvement. In this role, they focused on microalgae strain improvement and developed high-throughput screening assays for different microbes. Matthew was also responsible for employee development and mentoring.

From 2012 to 2015, Saunders worked at Sapphire Energy Inc. as a Group Leader/Scientist III in Evolutionary Engineering. Matthew contributed to strain development and improvement, microalgae cell culture, bioinformatics, and the design of high-throughput screening assays for industrial traits. Saunders also provided employee development and mentoring during their time at Sapphire Energy Inc.

Prior to Sapphire Energy Inc., Saunders was a Senior Analyst Consultant at Ancestry.com from 2011 to 2012. Matthew specialized in human population genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics, and developed an analysis pipeline for genomic ancestry determination.

Saunders's earlier work experience includes roles at Merck (Sirna Therapeutics) as a Senior Scientist from 2009 to 2011, where they focused on siRNA and microRNA therapeutics research, and at Rosetta Inpharmatics (Merck) as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist from 2007 to 2009, where they conducted microRNA therapeutics research and validated novel leads for therapeutics. Matthew also worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Chicago from 2005 to 2007.

In summary, Matthew Saunders has a diverse background in research and development, with expertise in synthetic biology, microbial engineering, strain improvement, and genomics. Matthew has held leadership positions and demonstrated strong skills in project management, strategy development, and employee development throughout their career.

Matthew Saunders completed their education in a chronological order. Matthew first attended the University of Washington from 1993 to 1997, where they obtained a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Zoology, with a specialization in Genetics. Following this, they pursued further education at the University of Arizona from 1998 to 2004, and they were awarded a Ph.D. degree in Population Genetics. After completing their doctoral studies, Matthew attended the University of Chicago from 2005 to 2007, where they undertook a postdoctoral program in the field of Bioinformatics and Genomics.