EFL

Role: Mentor

Tracks: Life Sciences

Merika Koday

Vice President, Accelerator Life Science Partners

Merika Koday, PhD, currently serves as a Vice President for Accelerator where she is responsible for sourcing and evaluating emerging biotechnology investment opportunities. Merika also provides project management and scientific development oversight to select Accelerator portfolio companies, including Automera and KayoThera. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for KayoThera and Life Science Washington. Before joining Accelerator in 2018, Merika served as project manager for Cell and Gene Therapy at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. She helped advance basic research programs into clinical development and supported industry partnerships and collaborations. Previously, Merika was a co-founder and Senior Scientist at Virvio, a University of Washington spin-out company focused on developing de novo designed proteins as therapeutic alternatives to monoclonal antibodies. Merika received her Ph.D. from the University of Washington and a B.S. from the Colorado School of Mines.