Charlottesville BioHub Expands Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) Program to Support Growing Biotech Community

EIR expansion deepens BioHub’s bench of expertise to advance entrepreneurship in the regional ecosystem

Charlottesville, Virginia – April 13, 2022 – Charlottesville BioHub, an industry-led 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening Charlottesville’s biotechnology industry sector, today announced that it has expanded its team of Entrepreneurs-in-Residence to deepen its bench of biotech expertise and include a mentor with tech/software/innovation-led sector expertise to support a recently awarded grant from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation’s (VIPC) Regional Innovation Fund (RIF), an administered state-funded program that provides competitive grants to leading Virginia-based organizations that support entrepreneurship.

As part of the newly launched Project InnoVAte, EIRs will support company commercialization, business operations and strategy through education and advising for early-stage ventures, as well as resourcing and connection to expanded networks. The team includes:

• Nikki Hastings, PhD is an operations biotech executive and entrepreneurial ecosystem builder with over 15 years of experience with early-stage biotech/medtech and medical device companies, specifically with expertise in working with academic and first-time founders. She has led operations in executive management roles at companies including HemoShear Therapeutics, Contraline, and Cerillo. Professor Hastings co-founded and led a private nonprofit organization, CvilleBioHub, supporting growth of the regional biotech industry in Central Virginia and was the organization’s first executive director. She is currently an adjunct faculty member in the UVA McIntire School of Commerce and holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia.
• Andrew Krouse, who led the acquisition of UVA startup Cavion, to industry leader Jazz Pharmaceuticals, has over a decade of biotech investing and leadership experience with a track record of success as the founder and CEO of Tau Therapeutics, LLC, Xdynia LLC, and venture backed Cavion, Inc. He currently serves as CEO of Slate Bio and GenEp, two additional UVA spinout companies based in Charlottesville. He has been recognized for his leadership in the industry as a CIT GAP 50 Entrepreneur in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a member of the Board of SEBIO, and is the immediate past Chairman of the Virginia Biotechnology Association. Prior to his experience in the pharmaceutical industry, he worked as an analyst for Goldman Sachs, NYC, and served as Vice President of the UVA Darden Graduate School of Business.
• Dana Goldsmith, focusing on entrepreneurial ventures and angel investing, non-profit work, and teaching as Chairman of the Board of Community Investment Collaborative (CIC) and the Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Virginia’s iLab, has spent more than 20 years in business, focusing the majority of her career on hi-tech. She spent 11 years in Silicon Valley as part of 6 venture-backed startups. Those companies ranged in focus from enterprise ecommerce platform providers to SaaS personalization and digital marketing providers. She was Director of Business Development for the original Amazon Web Services team in Seattle. Dana’s range of expertise includes business development, enterprise sales, business strategy, strategic partnerships, online marketing, and executive management.

“We look forward to seeing the impact of this work to advance entrepreneurship in our region, and specifically drive growth to help meet our goal of doubling the size of the biotech industry in Charlottesville by 2030,” said Stephany Oettinger, executive director, Charlottesville BioHub. “As part of our Regional Innovation Fund (RIF) grant effort, we are excited to serve this thriving community of innovators.”

Charlottesville BioHub
Charlottesville BioHub is a designated 501(c)(3) private non-profit organization located in Charlottesville, Virginia that has been actively growing the regional biotechnology/life sciences industry cluster. Charlottesville BioHub is dedicated to strengthening the regional biotechnology industry through engagement, resourcing, and education. The local industry is comprised of 75+ private/traded-sector companies working across all aspects of biotech/life sciences to advance human health through innovation. There are more than 2000 employees in the regional biotech/life sciences industry and more than $400M locally invested to date. For more information, please visit cvillebiohub.org.