Una Ryan The Bay Area BioEconomy Initiative

Una Ryan is Chair of The Bay Area BioEconomy Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering an atmosphere of innovation and collaboration in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dr. Ryan is an angel investor and supports start-ups as a board member and as an individual investor. She is also Managing Director Golden Seeds (Silicon Valley), an angel investing group focused on women-led companies, a member of Astia Angel, investing in women-led ventures while targeting above-market investment returns.

She was President and CEO of Diagnostics For All (DFA), developing inexpensive diagnostics for global health and agriculture.She was also formerly President and CEO of AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc, (NASDAQ) a company developing vaccines and immunotherapeutics for cancer, travelers, food safety, and global health.

Dr. Ryan is also Research Professor of Medicine at BU School of Medicine. Her board positions include AMRI (NASDAQ), RenovoRx, a company developing a device to enhance treatment options for pancreatic cancer patients and BioArray Therapeutics. She currently serves on the Board of BayBio and formerly was Chair of MassBio(1996-2008), as well as the Biotechnology Industry Organization, New England Healthcare Institute, Board of Associates of the Whitehead Institute, Strategy & Policy Council of the MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation..

Dr. Ryan holds a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Cambridge University and BS degrees in Zoology, Microbiology and Chemistry from Bristol University.She received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Bristol University in 2009. In 2007, Dr. Ryan received the Albert Einstein Award for outstanding achievement in the life sciences.She received the Cartier Women’s Initiative Award in 2009. In 2002 Queen Elizabeth II awarded Dr. Ryan the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to biotechnology