Joan Lau

Dr. Lau delivers more than 20 years of biopharma leadership experience, including as Chief Executive Officer for several venture-capital-backed biotech companies. In May 2016, Dr. Lau co-founded Spirovant (then called Talee Bio), a gene therapy company focused on cystic fibrosis and other pulmonary diseases, and since May 2016 has served as its Chief Executive Officer where she has been responsible for the strategic direction and growth of the company. In 2013 Dr. Lau co-founded Militia Hill Ventures, a venture fund focused on building and growing high-quality life sciences companies, where she has served as a Partner or Managing Partner since 2013. Dr. Lau has also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Azelon Pharmaceuticals, a venture-backed clinical-stage company, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Locus Pharmaceuticals, a computational chemistry discovery company. In addition, Dr. Lau held various leadership roles at Merck, including roles in R&D drug development and business development. Dr. Lau is also an adjunct instructor at the University of Pennsylvania and serves on several boards, including the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice and the Roy & Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences Management.

Dr. Lau earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania.