Our vision is to apply our unique talents and technology to contribute to a healthier and more sustainable world by enabling: a) bioprocesses that can’t be achieved with the existing diversity of natural enzymes, and b) biochemical processes and products that replace petroleum-based products and processes.

Our Management Team combines strong commercial and scientific expertise, backed by an experienced Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board with world-leaders in computational enzyme design and enzyme engineering/evolution.

Management team

Eric Althoff

Before joining Arzeda, Eric Althoff had been working on the computational design of de novo enzyme active sites in David Baker’s laboratory as a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellow since 2005.

He received his doctorate in chemistry from Columbia University in 2004 where he developed and patented Bacterial Three-Hybrid Systems and applied these systems to protein evolution while working in Virginia Cornish’s lab as a National Science Foundation and Howard Hughes Medical Instititute Pre-Doctoral Fellow. His undergraduate work in chemistry at University of Chicago involved the synthesis and spectroscopic analysis of arylethynyl-disilanes.

Dr. Althoff has authored several often-cited publications in leading peer-reviewed journals (including Science and Nature) and is a decorated academic researcher.

Daniela Grabs

An expert in protein engineering, Daniela Grabs (-Röthlisberger) applies her knowledge of protein structure and function to the de novo design of protein catalyst using computational design.

Prior to joining David Baker’s laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow in 2004, she studied antibody engineering and phage display of antibody fragments with Andreas Plückthun at the University of Zurich, where she received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry. Dr. Grabs holds a Diploma in Natural Sciences from the ETH Zurich, where she studied catalytic antibodies with Prof. Don Hilvert.

She has published in numerous esteemed journals including Nature, Science, Structural Biology and Protein Science. Dr. Grabs has presented her work at conferences across the globe and is fluent in three languages.

Alexandre Zanghellini

Alexandre Zanghellini is an expert in computational science and protein engineering; he has combined these expertises to pioneer new techniques in the field of computational enzyme design.

Before joining Arzeda, he played a pivotal role in the development of the algorithmic foundation of Rosetta enzyme design in David Baker’s laboratory.

He holds degrees in applied mathematics and physics (B.S.) and computer engineering (M.Eng.) from ENSTA-ParisTech and computer science (M.S.) from University of Paris. Dr. Zanghellini received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Washington.

In addition to his academic achievements, he worked as a bioinformatic scientist for Cellectis SA, a publicly traded French biotechnology company whose primary focus is on the engineering of a class of protein, homing endonucleases. He also contributed to the development of a database system for handling vast quantities of data generated from Cellectis’ proprietary directed evolution platform.

Dr. Zanghellini has authored six publications in Protein Science, Science and Nature and is an inventor on two patents.

Board of Directors

Thong Q. Le,

Managing Director WRF

Mr. Le focuses on investment opportunities in biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, enterprise software and advanced materials. He has worked closely with the management teams and boards of Corus Pharma (acquired by Gilead Sciences), Lumera (NasdaqNM:LMRA), Performant (acquired by Mercury Interactive), and Point of CareWare.

He currently represents WRF Capital as a Director of Accelerator, Arzeda, GPC-Rx and Mirina, and is a Board Observer at Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Halosource, Hyperion Therapeutics, Pathway Medical Technologies, Teranode, Uptake Medical, and VLST.

Prior to joining WRF Capital, Mr. Le was the founder, president and chief executive officer of MiniMeals, Inc. and a consultant for Capital Management Consulting, Inc. Earlier, he was at Raymond James & Associates, Singer & Xenos Investment Management Company and Capital Management Group LLC, a private investment firm specializing in biomedical ventures.

Mr. Le completed post-graduate studies at the Templeton College of Oxford University and earned a bachelor of arts cum laude in economics and government from Harvard University. He also serves on the executive boards of the Evergreen Venture Capital Association (EVCA), the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association (WBBA), and the Harvard Club of Seattle.

Michael A. Martino

Mr. Martino has served as president and chief executive officer of Ambit since November 2011. From March 2010 until November 2011, Mr. Martino held multiple positions with CareFusion Corporation, a publicly-traded healthcare company, including senior vice president and general manager of diagnostics and senior vice president of innovation, business development and strategy.

From January 2009 to March 2010, Mr. Martino was president and chief executive officer of Arzeda Corp, and he remains on the board of directors. From September 1998 to August 2008, Mr. Martino served as president and chief executive officer of Sonus Pharmaceuticals a publicly-traded pharmaceutical development company that merged with Oncogenex Pharmaceuticals in August 2008.

Earlier in his career, he held multiple positions during a 17-year tenure at Mallinckrodt, Inc., in strategic planning, business development, marketing and general management. Mr. Martino received an M.B.A. from Virginia Tech and a B.A. from Roanoke College.

Alexandre Zanghellini

Co-Founder

Alexandre Zanghellini is an expert in computational science and protein engineering; he has combined these expertises to pioneer new techniques in the field of computational enzyme design.

Before joining Arzeda, he played a pivotal role in the development of the algorithmic foundation of Rosetta enzyme design in David Baker’s laboratory.

He holds degrees in applied mathematics and physics (B.S.) and computer engineering (M.Eng.) from ENSTA-ParisTech and computer science (M.S.) from University of Paris. Dr. Zanghellini received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Washington.

In addition to his academic achievements, he worked as a bioinformatic scientist for Cellectis SA, a publicly traded French biotechnology company whose primary focus is on the engineering of a class of protein, homing endonucleases. He also contributed to the development of a database system for handling vast quantities of data generated from Cellectis’ proprietary directed evolution platform.

Dr. Zanghellini has authored six publications in Protein Science, Science and Nature and is an inventor on two patents.

Scientific Advisory Board

David Baker

Co-Founder

Dr. David Baker is Professor of Biochemistry, Bioengineering and Genome Sciences at the University of Washington and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

Dr. Baker is regarded as the world-leading expert in computational protein structure prediction and design. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the world's highest rewards for scientific excellence and the recipient of numerous awards, including the Foresight Institute's Feynman Prize, the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize, the International Society for Computational Biology Overton Prize, and the Raymond and Beverly Sackler International Prize in Biophysics.

Dr. Baker's current research goals are to predict the structures of naturally occurring biomolecules and interactions and to design new molecules with new and interesting functions.

Frances H. Arnold

Dr. Frances Arnold is the Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology and is a world-recognized expert in directed evolution, biocatalysis, and protein engineering.

She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine, making her one of only eight living individuals and the only woman to have been elected to all three branches of the National Academies.

Dr. Arnold was an early, influential advisor to Maxygen and several other directed evolution companies. She co-founded Gevo, Inc. and is a shareholder in Arzeda.

Dr. Arnold is involved in alternative energy research, including the development of highly active enzymes (cellulases) and microorganisms to convert renewable biomass to fuels and chemicals.