About
About Us
Helping ambitious bio-entrepreneurs change the world for the better.
UC Berkeley is one of the world’s great research universities. QB3, UC’s hub for life science entrepreneurship, pioneered incubators and venture funds in a university setting.
Berkeley and QB3 have combined forces to launch Bakar Labs, a life science-focused incubator for startups developing innovative technologies to benefit society.
Bakar Labs helps founders and early-stage teams focus on the science as efficiently as possible, reducing barriers to commercializing their discoveries. We nucleate a community of founders and partners who can help you succeed, pursuing a double bottom line of profit and social good.
Our Team
The mission of our dedicated team is to support our innovative tenants as they develop exciting new technologies to solve the biggest problems facing society.
David Schaffer, PhD
Director, Bakar Labs & QB3
Jeremy Alberga
Chief Operating Officer, Bakar Labs & QB3
Gino Segrè, PhD
Managing Director, Bakar Bio Labs
Eda Altiok, PhD
Director of Partnerships
Collin Blinder
Deputy Director of Communications, QB3 and Bakar Labs
Mike Cohen
Intellectual Property Advisor, Bakar Bio Labs
Amelia Farmer
Facilities Specialist
Gail Gannon
Director, Neurotech Collider Lab
Alexis Guzman
Front Desk Coordinator
Minji Huang
Business Operations Lead
Milo Harmon Maurer
Program Coordinator, Neurotech Collider Lab
Susan Jenkins, PhD
Managing Director, Bakar Labs Campus Programs
Jim Koman
Laboratory Operations Manager
Jill Marchant, MA
Lab Operations Associate
Adrian Miu, MPA
Business Operations Manager
Kaspar Mossman, PhD
Managing Director, QB3; Communications, Bakar Labs
Wanichaya “Noem” Noiwangklang
Co-Lead, Innovation Discovery & Director of Workforce Development, QB3
Thom Opal
Laboratory and Facility Safety Specialist
Quelani Penland
Administrative Manager, Bakar Labs Campus Programs
Michael Tsuchida
Lab Operations Support Assistant
Erica Yab
Program & Events Manager, QB3 & Bakar Bio Labs
David Zuskov
Lab Operations Specialist
Program pipeline
Integrated with Bakar Labs, and brokering connections between scientists, advisors, service providers, investors, and industry, QB3 offers a spectrum of programs from basic research through full commercialization. Further support is provided by the affiliated Bakar Fellows program.
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Internships & Training
Break Into Biotech provides training in biology basics for undergrads with no prior lab experience, making them competitive for internships. QWEST Internships place talented students with biotech startups for work experience that prepares them for careers in industry. Learn More |
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Research Collaboration
QB3’s Collaborative Research program unites teams of scientists on the UC campuses at Berkeley, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz, and beyond, to pursue ambitious large-scale research projects. Learn More |
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Grants & Fellowships
Bakar Labs Campus Programs offers support for faculty and students. Through the Bakar Fellows Program we fund entrepreneurial faculty whose research in STEM+ fields has commercial potential. The BioEnginuity Impact Grant empowers doctoral students in STEM to translate research into real world solutions to society’s challenges. Learn More |
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Workshops & Symposia
QB3’s SBIR/STTR Grantwriting Workshops guide bio entrepreneurs through the complex process of submitting federal grant applications. The annual QB3 Symposia convene scientists, entrepreneurs, industry, and investors to explore scientific themes and generate concepts for collaborative research. Learn More |
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Company Creation
QB3’s Innovation Discovery program reaches out to identify research with commercial potential. Our team works with scientists to build companies from scratch, ensuring that R&D is pointed in a direction that will lead to investment. Learn More |
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Entrepreneurial Mentoring
QB3’s Early-Stage Mentoring program connects company founders with deeply experienced mentors who provide guidance on product-market fit, investable data, IP strategy, fundraising, and more. Companies are invited to pitch for $100K awards. Learn More |
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Lab & Coworking Space
Our incubators offer fully-equipped BSL2 labs. Tenants can lease individual benches and desks in shared space, or private offices and labs. Fridges, freezers, and centrifuges are provided as well as core facility space with millions of dollars’ worth of equipment. Conference rooms and seminar space enable meetings large and small. Startups can access Berkeley campus core facilities (sequencing, imaging, cell sorting, NMR, mass spectrometry, microfabrication, etc.). Learn More |
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Events & Networking
Connect with our vibrant community of tenants and our wider ecosystem of investors and industry affiliates at our events, from the small-room CEO Circle to banking and legal office hours to tenant lunch & learns, to our hugely popular JP Morgan mixer and other programs. Tenants have access to events at Bakar Bio Labs and our energy and materials pilot program. Select events are open to the public. Learn More |
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VC Funding
Meet investors through concierge connections made by our staff, or at our in-house showcase events. We’re affiliated with BEVC, a VC firm that invests in companies associated with Bakar Labs and affiliated Bakar programs. Learn More |
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