On December 11, 2025, Seeding Labs convened experts from academia, industry, nonprofit, and philanthropy at the Ragon Institute in Cambridge, MA, to discuss efforts to build a world where everyone benefits from biomedical research.
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Bruce D. Walker, MD
Founding Director, Ragon Institute
Dr. Bruce D. Walker is a physician-scientist and T cell immunologist, the founding Director of the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT and Harvard, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Professor of the Practice of Medicine at MIT.
Dr. Walker received a BS in chemistry in 1980 from the University of Colorado, Boulder, also attending the Swiss Federal Technical Institute (ETH), and his MD from Case Western Reserve University. He performed his internship and residency training in internal medicine at MGH and Harvard Medical School, where he also completed an internship in pathology and specialty training in infectious disease. He is a native of Boulder, Colorado, and is board-certified in both internal medicine and infectious disease. Together with Arlene Sharpe, he is also the co-director of the Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness (MassCPR), a collaboration among more than 800 local scientists focused on pandemic preparedness from Harvard, MIT, BU, Tufts, UMass, the academic teaching hospitals, and the Department of Health in Massachusetts. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Walker’s laboratory studies T cell responses to chronic viral infections, using HIV as a model system. His lab focuses on learning from patients to determine how the body fights back against viral infections using HIV as a highly relevant example, trying to uncover mechanisms by which it succeeds and, importantly, why it usually fails. They study blood samples from persons with chronic HIV infection as well as from elite controllers, persons who are able to control HIV infection to undetectable levels without the need for antiretroviral therapy (ART). His work extends to international collaborations, particularly with investigators at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, where Dr. Walker helped catalyze the creation of two research institutes.
Jonathan Spector, MD
Head of Global Health Strategy and Access, Novartis Biomedical Research
Jonathan M. Spector MD MPH has practiced pediatrics and public health for 20+ years. His clinical activities span fieldwork with Médecins Sans Frontières in remote Africa to intensive newborn care at Massachusetts General Hospital. His interest in health systems fueled a portfolio of research at Harvard School of Public Health to support maternal and newborn health in low resource settings. As part of that work, he led the design and early testing of the World Health Organization’s Safe Childbirth Checklist. Jonathan later directed the opening of Lao Friends Hospital for Children, the first comprehensive pediatric medical center in northern Lao PDR. Now at Novartis, he leads portfolio strategy, partnering, and access-to-medicine solutions for the Novartis Global Health research unit—helping to bring novel therapies “bench-to-bedside” to address major unsolved health challenges.
Aravinda Souza
Chief Marketing Officer, RefAssured and Seeding Labs Board Clerk
Aravinda Souza is a communications and content marketing leader for high-growth, agile technology companies who value customer experience as paramount. She thrives on being a player-coach in high-performing, nurturing teams and prioritizing both speed and quality simultaneously. As a writer, speaker, researcher, and storyteller, and Vinda is passionate about communicating across all platforms.
Krish Ramanathan, PhD
Chief of Staff and Head of Strategic Development, Gates Medical Research Institute
Al Ozonoff, PhD
Director of Pandemic Preparedness, the Broad Institute, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Al Ozonoff, PhD, CPPS is Senior Advisor to Dr. Pardis Sabeti and Chief of Staff of the Sabeti Lab. In these roles, he provides administrative leadership and senior scientific expertise across the full range of lab activities and research. He provides further programmatic support as the U.S. Director for the Sentinel Program. Al is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and a faculty scientist within the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Al applies his training in mathematics, statistics, epidemiology, and data science in pursuit of population-based improvement in the health of children and adults. His research focuses on the development and application of methods for surveillance of health and disease. As a surveillance methodologist, he is most engaged in areas of public health surveillance, infectious disease surveillance, and hospital-based surveillance with an emphasis on patient safety and healthcare quality.
Al’s graduate and post-doctoral training was in mathematics (University of California, Santa Barbara, under D. Darren Long) and biostatistics (Harvard School of Public Health, under Marcello Pagano). He has co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications throughout more than 20 years of research experience. He was Principal Investigator of two R01 grant awards: a 3-year project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) BioSense Program, “Improving syndromic surveillance by data integration” (R01 PH000021-02), and a 5-year project funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), “Patient safety surveillance using machine learning and free text clinical” (R01 HS026246-01A1).
As a leading expert during the early phases of the pandemic, Al led the Clinical and Data Coordinating Center for IMPACC, a national immunophenotyping study of COVID-19 funded by the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Disease (NIH/NIAID). In 2016-17, he was one of 12 Harvard Medical School Fellows in Bioethics.
Outside of work, Al enjoys spending time with his family and learning from teachers in contemplative traditions. He has played semi-professional football for over 25 years, most recently with the Randolph Oilers of the East Coast Football League.
Michelle Niescierenko, MD
Director of the Global Health Program, Boston Children’s Hospital
Michelle Niescierenko, MD, MPH is a Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician, director of the Global Health Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and Health Specialist with Avenir Analytics. The Boston Children’s Global Health Program works to improve child health globally through partnerships for clinical quality improvement, education, research and advocacy in over 30 countries around the world. ??Avenir Analytics health focus on high quality humanitarian health systems interventions.
She has experience in pediatric care and program development in China, Bolivia, Lesotho, Guatemala, Liberia, Indonesia, Uganda, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Syria. In Liberia she provided pediatric humanitarian aid in the immediate post-conflict setting partnering local remaining infrastructure to US academic institutions for the last 10 years. Through these partnerships, sustainable programs for health system rebuilding including physician education and care for vulnerable children were developed in Liberia. During the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak she lead the Liberian hospital public health response utilizing a rapid deployment of training done by local healthcare workers. This work continued into Liberia’s recovery phase with implementation of a national program for hospital quality improvement and emergency care training. Her particular areas of interest are in the provision of healthcare in humanitarian settings through system development, the development of emergency care systems for children as well as the role of children in humanitarian crises.
Harvey Lodish, PhD
Professor of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Founding Member, Whitehead Institute, and Seeding Labs Board Member
Harvey Lodish has been a leader in molecular cell biology as well as a biotechnology entrepreneur for over five decades. Much of his early research focused on the regulation of messenger RNA translation and the biogenesis of plasma membrane glycoproteins. Beginning in the 1980s, his research focused on cloning and characterizing many proteins, microRNAs, and long noncoding RNAs important for red cell development and function. His laboratory was the first to clone and sequence mRNAs encoding many hormone receptors, mammalian glucose transport proteins, and proteins important for adipose cell formation and function. He went on to identify and characterize several genes and proteins involved in insulin resistance and stress responses in adipose cells. Over the years, he has mentored hundreds of undergraduates, PhD and MD/PhD students, and postdoctoral fellows, and continues to teach award-winning undergraduate and graduate classes on biotechnology.
Chad R. Jackson, PhD
Senior Director of Preclinical and Translational Research, Foundation Fighting Blindness, Seeding Labs Board Chair
Chad Jackson, PhD is a translational science executive focused on developing breakthrough therapies for inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and other vision disorders. With a background in visual neuroscience (Ph.D., Emory) and over a decade of experience spanning the nonprofit, federal, and academic sectors, he specializes in advancing complex therapeutics—like gene therapies and regenerative approaches—from lab to clinic.
At the Foundation Fighting Blindness, Dr. Jackson leads a $50M+ portfolio of preclinical and early clinical-stage programs, including a first-in-kind $46M whole eye transplant effort funded by ARPA-H. His role blends scientific strategy, regulatory readiness, funding acquisition, and multi-site team leadership. He has conducted scientific due diligence for promising biotech startups, advised C-suite leadership on go/no-go decisions, and forged partnerships across academic labs, CROs, and government agencies.
Previously, he supported national R&D priorities through roles at DARPA, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the U.S. State Department. These experiences sharpened his ability to navigate federal innovation ecosystems and scale novel technologies for societal impact.
Ina Breuer
Executive Director, Network of Engaged International Donors
Ina Jamuna Breuer is Executive Director of NEID Global, which is a national peer-to-peer learning community of global donors, social investors, and family foundations. NEID Global’s mission is to convene and empower donors to help address the world’s big problems and does so through 50 events per year, two Giving Circles focused on core issues of international development, and a bi-annual Symposium.
NEID offers its members a journey that helps them learn, connect, inspire, and act. This journey entails providing members access to experts, to other global philanthropists and to safe spaces to learn from each other.
Previously Ina was the Executive Director of Beyond Conflict, where she worked for 17 years to help leaders in the Middle East, Central America, Northern Ireland, the Balkans, and South Asia address difficult challenges relating to reconciliation and change. At Beyond Conflict Ina launched the Neuroscience and Social Conflict Initiative in 2008, which now forms the core of Beyond Conflict’s work and has led to a new area of inquiry at the intersection of brain science and conflict resolution. Prior to BC, Ina was the Assistant Director of the Transregional Center for Democratic Studies at the New School for Social Research in New York. In the early 1990s TCDS was a hub for dissidents from Eastern Europe and was focused on helping rebuild civil society and the political culture needed for democracies to flourish in the former communist region. Ina began her career at the Foundation for Civil Society, where she was involved in educational and environmental programming in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. She completed her studies at Northwestern University, the Free University of Berlin and the New School for Social Research. Ina is a German citizen that was born and raised in India and South Korea. She recently also became a US national.
Isabella Marti
Development Fellow
Isabella is a senior Endicott College student majoring in biology/ biotechnology from Dumont, NJ. She is passionate about safety, compliance, and access to various types of laboratory equipment. During her semester-long internship at Seeding Labs, Isabella will be standardizing and automating engagement efforts, supporting all phases of the donor cycle, and working hands-on with the fundraising team.
Paul Hohenberger
Director of Individual Giving
Paul is responsible for individual outreach to increase philanthropic support for Seeding Labs. He is an experienced fundraising professional with broad knowledge and understanding of resource development and advancement in major research universities and public trusts.
In previous roles at The University of Massachusetts, MIT, Harvard University, and the Pew Charitable Trusts, Paul cultivated relationships within the philanthropic community, garnering support for programs and priorities spanning nuclear engineering, global health, climate science/energy, and demographic and survey research.
Paul’s educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is active in his alma mater, serving on the Department of Political Science Advisory Board, and was a former board member of the UMass Alumni Association.
Additionally, he has completed professional certificate programs at the T.H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health and MIT, enhancing his expertise in policy, politics, and innovation.
Eaint Kyaw
Logistics Intern
Eaint is currently a sophomore at Bunker Hill Community College, majoring in Biological Science with plans to transfer in the Fall of 2025. She is originally from Myanmar, a developing country where she has witnessed the challenges scientists face due to limited access to laboratory equipment. This experience has inspired her to contribute her skills and perspective to the Seeding Labs team in support of scientists in developing countries.
Jennifer Raymond
Director of Corporate Relations
Jennifer builds and stewards Seeding Labs’ partnerships with corporations and other life science institutions. Our partners’ financial and lab equipment contributions help support universities and research institutions in under-resourced settings.
When these talented scientists, researchers, and educators have the resources they need to create and maintain strong scientific institutions, new solutions are created for both local development needs and global challenges.
Before joining Seeding Labs, Jennifer raised funds and engaged constituents for
the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Brandeis University. She graduated from Wellesley College with a BA in French studies.
Manisha Patel
Scientific Director
Manisha uses her scientific expertise to implement the equipment-related aspects of Seeding Labs’ programs and plays a key role in Instrumental Access.
She provides support to Instrumental Access awardees, helping them choose the instruments that best meet their research and teaching goals. She also advises the Corporate Relations team on equipment that would be useful in our awardees’ labs.
Manisha has extensive experience in managing academic research labs with knowledge spanning lab setup, compliance, and equipment training. Most recently, she oversaw labs at Harvard University.
For the past decade, Manisha directed an undergraduate internship program focused on one of her passions: diversity and inclusion in STEM. She holds a BS in ecology from Rutgers University and an MS in ecology from the University of Vermont.
Micalea Leaska
Programs Specialist,
Metrics & Evaluation
Micalea works with the Programs team to develop and implement metrics and evaluation tools, and to monitor the worldwide impact of Instrumental Access. She compiles and analyzes quantitative data and qualitative stories that exemplify our mantra, “talent is everywhere.”
Her prior work experience includes consulting for the World Bank, working on Water Security Assessments for Peru and Central America, and improving access to safe water in rural Ecuadorian communities with the nonprofit WaterStep.
Micalea holds a BA from Saint Michael’s College and completed her Master’s degree in Climate Change and Global Sustainability from SIT Graduate Institute, where she studied global science issues alongside scientists, stakeholders, and community members in Iceland, Tanzania, and Ecuador.
Chiudo Ehirim
Instrumental Access
Consultant
After completing an Atlas Corps Fellowship with Seeding Labs, Chiudo now provides support to our Instrumental Access partners from his Rumines Ltd. office in Lagos, Nigeria. Chiudo is CEO of Rumines, an environmental technology and management consulting company.
Prior to his fellowship, Chiudo was a country manager for Nigeria with Climate Scorecard, a US-based organization that monitors how the top 25 greenhouse gas-emitting countries implement the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Chiudo earned a BS in pure and industrial chemistry from the University of Nigeria and a Master’s of Science in environmental technology and management from the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria.
David Borman, PhD
Communications
Director
David works to highlight the innovation and scientific successes of Instrumental Access awardees. In telling these scientists’ stories, he helps to show the global impact of the Seeding Labs mission.
Prior to joining Seeding Labs, David worked as the alumni affairs director for Brevard College in North Carolina and managed communications for Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies, a nonprofit in Louisville, Kentucky, that provides services to children with special needs.
David earned his PhD in English from the University of Miami. He holds an MA in English from the University of Louisville and a BA in English from Bellarmine University.
Vice President of Programs
Christina is responsible for program development, planning, and implementation at Seeding Labs.
Christina has experience as a research program evaluator and science policy analyst. She’s held roles with the consulting firm Abt Associates, Inc. and the Science and Technology Policy Institute.
Prior to entering the consulting world, Christina worked for the Boston-area nonprofits Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics and Urban Ecology Institute. She holds an undergraduate degree in biology from Swarthmore College
Vice President of Philanthropy
Rick is responsible for the fundraising activities at Seeding Labs, engaging with corporations, foundations, and individuals to increase their financial and equipment donations to the organization.
Prior to joining Seeding Labs, Rick spent 17 years working in a similar capacity at a number of science-focused organizations, including Keystone Symposia, the Carnegie Institution for Science, and the Chemical Heritage Foundation (now the Science History Institute).
Rick earned an MS in Finance from Drexel University, and a BS in Paper Science and Engineering from State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Vice President of Operations
David is responsible for global logistics at Seeding Labs, overseeing the efficient movement of lab equipment worldwide.
He joined Seeding Labs from Image Arts, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards, where he provided logistics direction for the company with $110 million in annual sales.
He brings 20 years of supply chain management experience with in-depth knowledge of international logistics, warehouse execution, and distribution center operations.
Originally an art student at Southeastern Massachusetts University, David now uses his creative talents to develop logistics strategies that produce operational efficiencies and quality customer service.
Chief Executive Officer
Please direct speaking requests to media@seedinglabs.org
Melissa is the CEO and a co-founder of Seeding Labs. She began as a volunteer leader of the Harvard Medical School student group; later, as a founding board member, she supported its transition to a nonprofit organization. In 2014, she joined the staff of Seeding Labs, leading the USAID-sponsored $3M scale-up of the Instrumental Access program. In 2019, Melissa became CEO, committed to increasing capacity for developing countries to use science.
Operating with a deep belief in the power of science to transform lives, Melissa has dedicated her career to creating scientific research opportunities for historically underrepresented and excluded communities. In addition to roles at Harvard and the BioBuilder Educational Foundation, Melissa has mentored many students in the sciences through programs at the Journal of Emerging Investigators, Harvard University, Boston Children’s Hospital, and MIT.
Melissa earned a PhD in Cellular and Developmental Biology from Harvard University and holds an SB in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
