Leonel Rojo

Background

About Leonel Rojo

I am a scientist, professor, entrepreneur and investor with extensive experience developing science-based products for the pharmaceutical, food, and medical industries. I graduated from the UC-DAVIS School of Law Licensing Academy Intellectual Property & Tech Transfer Program. I am an Associate Professor and Outreach to Community Director at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, University of Santiago. My doctoral thesis dealt with designing innovative diagnostic technologies for brain disorders; this was the stepping stone to starting a new company that commercialized the technology in early 2008. Since then, I have founded several biotech and pharma-related companies in Chile. I have been a visiting scholar at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (NYC), Kwantlen University (Canada), INETI (Portugal), and several Chilean universities. In 2009, I joined the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University as a Postdoctoral Associate supervised by Dr. Ilya Raskin. As a member of Dr. Raskin’s group, I led several R&D projects in botanical drugs, nutraceuticals, functional foods, and cosmetic ingredients. One of these projects was awarded “Best Technology of the Year” by the SCC, New York 2010. I was responsible for several R&D projects in the multidisciplinary team led by Dr. Ilya Raskin and Dr. Bertold Fridlender, former CEO of Nutrasorb LLC, a spinoff company of Rutgers University. Working in scientific/commercial settings in Chile, the USA, and Europe has allowed me to acquire international experience in science and business environments. My career path led me to mentor young researchers and entrepreneurs and to collaborate with numerous research institutions in Chile, the USA, and Europe. I have received grants to pursue scientific research in the biotechnology and pharmacology of natural products.