Inna L.
Principal Scientist, Discovery Biology
Experience
Dec 2024 - Jun 2025
7 monthsCambridge, United States
Principal Scientist, Discovery Biology
Prologue Medicines
- Designed and executed experimental strategies for immunomodulatory viral proteins nominated through structure-based AI/ML predictions, leveraging primary cell and reporter assays to assess target engagement, signaling, and function
- Shaped TPPs and established disease relevance of computationally nominated viral targets in IO, inflammation, and autoimmunity by integrating literature, GWAS/eQTL, and clinical insights
Aug 2022 - Dec 2024
2 years 5 monthsSomerville, United States
Senior Scientist 2 and Principal Scientist, Platform Biology
Cellarity
- Led a team of bench scientists to develop high-throughput hematopoietic lineage assays and generate large-scale phenotypic datasets, validating Cellarity’s predictive capability in identifying phenotypic hits from scRNA-seq and culminating in a Science publication as co–first author
- Partnered with computational biology in a lab-in-the-loop workflow: designed paired phenotypic and transcriptomic screens to compare hits vs non-hits and supply training and feedback data for active signature learning
- Spearheaded cross-functional benchmarking workflows to evaluate predictive algorithms; oversaw operations, resolved roadblocks, and established retrospective evaluation pipelines to enable systematic model refinement and platform decision-making
- Spearheaded early program evaluation in hematology; partnered with computational teams to define therapeutic hypotheses and designed decision-driven experiments to assess biological feasibility and strategic fit
- Partnered with computational teams to develop and validate gene module approaches from scRNA-seq, reducing data complexity, enhancing AI/ML interpretability, and linking in vitro phenotypes to disease states
- Collaborated with software engineers and UI/UX experts to build internal tools, including automated HTS QC workflows in Dotmatics and an interactive visualization platform for scRNA-seq and ML outputs
- Collaborated with ML team to build an immunology atlas using curated scRNA-seq datasets to train predictive algorithms for immune cell states, pathways, and inflammatory contexts
- Acted as bio-computational bridge by aligning biology, ML, and leadership; drove tool development, roadmap planning, and adoption in therapeutic programs, incorporating feedback to iteratively refine predictive models for hit discovery and mechanistic understanding
Nov 2019 - Aug 2022
2 years 10 monthsSomerville, United States
Senior Scientist and Senior Scientist 2 - Exploratory Biology
Cellarity
- Originated and led a discovery-stage program in muco-obstructive respiratory disease, developing the scientific vision, operating plan, and early screening strategies to identify small molecule modulators of inflammatory epithelial remodeling using ML-guided compound selection
- Analyzed scRNA-seq datasets to identify immune-modulated epithelial states and translated findings into experimental systems for hypothesis-driven screening
- Developed multiple patient-derived air–liquid interface (ALI) epithelial models of goblet cell hyperplasia and epithelial remodeling, leveraging COPD small and large airway cells with distinct cytokine drivers; complemented with in vivo models established in-house and through CRO partnerships
- Advanced a diverse set of hits with novel mechanisms of action that inhibited epithelial remodeling across in vitro and in vivo models of disease
- Collaborated closely with computational, chemistry, and genomics line functions to set scientific objectives, generate scRNA-seq datasets, and guide ML-guided compound selection and screening, led engagement with KOLs
- Recruited and managed a team of three direct reports, guiding scientific execution and fostering professional development
- Represented Cellarity at the 2021 Gordon Research Conference on Lung Development, Injury, and Repair; co-inventor on patent application: Systems and Methods for Terraforming (US20220399129A1)
- Contributed to developing patient-derived hiPSC differentiation into hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) to support a hematological disease program
Mar 2018 - Nov 2019
1 year 9 monthsSomerville, United States
Scientist
Cellarity
- Founding scientist at Cellarity; built foundational lab operations and assay infrastructure that enabled AI/ML platform validation and supported Series A fundraising
- Designed and executed first-generation validation experiments to test ML-nominated molecules across phenotypic models, informing algorithm refinement and contributing to patent applications
- Established iPSC capabilities, including cryobanking (CryoPause method), culture protocols, and QC workflows for pluripotency and trilineage differentiation
Sep 2012 - Mar 2018
5 years 7 monthsBoston, United States
Postdoctoral Fellow, Laboratory of Konrad Hochedlinger, PhD
Massachusetts General Hospital
- Awarded the Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral NRSA (F32, NIH 2014–2017) to support research on mechanisms of cell fate reprogramming
- Established the epiblast stem cell reprogramming system and developed transgenic tools and single-cell assays to investigate dynamics of cell state transitions
- Led collaboration with computational biologists to integrate ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq, and RNA-seq datasets, identifying molecular determinants of reprogramming efficiency
- Performed pooled CRISPR screen to identify regulators that inhibit reprogramming to naïve pluripotency
- Investigated epigenetic mechanisms, including X-inactivation dynamics, underlying early lineage specification
Sep 2006 - Jun 2012
5 years 10 monthsNew York, United States
Graduate Researcher, Laboratory of Lorenz Studer, MD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
- Performed comprehensive miRNA profiling in human ESCs and multiple stages of differentiation in neural and mesenchymal lineages, generating datasets for functional and computational analysis
- Discovered novel regulatory roles of the miR-302/367 cluster in pluripotency and neural and trophectoderm differentiation
- Collaborated with computational and RNA biochemistry labs to identify novel miRNA targets within the BMP pathway that regulate lineage commitment, using PAR-CLIP, miRNA knockdown, and computational prediction
Apr 2005 - Jul 2006
1 year 4 monthsBoston, United States
Research Technician, Laboratory of Joseph Sodroski, MD
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
- Characterized neutralizing antibody responses in HIV, developed viral constructs to study steric inhibition mechanisms
Summary
Cell biologist and platform scientist with extensive experience at the interface of biology, computation, and machine learning. Worked across two ML-driven drug discovery companies: Cellarity (phenotypic, transcriptomic-based modeling) and Prologue Medicines (structure-based predictive modeling) to bridge experimental data generation with algorithm development. Co–first author on a Science publication validating Cellarity’s AI/ML-enabled phenotypic discovery platform and iterative lab-in-the-loop refinement. Experienced in generating and curating ML-ready biological datasets, defining evaluation criteria for predictive models, and leading cross-functional collaborations that connect biological insight to computational precision. Deep domain expertise across immunology, hematology, stem cell biology, and respiratory inflammation, with a strong track record of team leadership and innovation in assay development, disease modeling, and platform strategy. Passionate about applying biological data to train and evaluate AI systems that uncover mechanisms, predict outcomes, and accelerate therapeutic discovery.
Languages
English
NativeEducation
Weill Cornell Medical School / MSKCC
PhD · Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology · New York, United States
Brandeis University
Bachelor of Science · Biology · Waltham, United States
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