Dr. Nabiha Saklayen Awarded Tory Burch Fellowship at the Innovative Genomics Institute

The year-long program provides support for an early-stage entrepreneur in genomics.

Dr. Nabiha Saklayen, co-founder and CEO at Cellino, has been awarded the first Tory Burch Fellowship at the International Genomics Institute (IGI). Cellino is a personalized regenerative medicine company developing an AI-guided laser editing platform for autologous cell-based therapies. 

The Tory Burch Fellowship at the IGI, in its inaugural year, supports a woman entrepreneur in leading, growing, and scaling a business in genomics.

Saklayen is a Harvard-trained physicist dedicated to bringing laser-enabled precision to increase accuracy in complex biological processes. She was selected as a Pioneer in MIT Tech Review’s 35 Innovators under 35 list for her inventions in cellular laser editing and was on the 2019 Forbes 30 under 30 List for Healthcare. She received her Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) International Fellow.

“Women are underrepresented in scientific research and also less likely than men to commercialize their discoveries. They face the same barriers that women entrepreneurs typically face, including limiting stereotypes and a lack of access to capital, education, and networks. This Fellowship program is the Tory Burch Foundation’s first contribution to the vital issue of women in STEM and we could not be more thrilled to be partnering with brilliant, trailblazing Jennifer Doudna and the Innovative Genomics Institute,” said Tory Burch, CEO at Tory Burch.

Benefits from the Tory Burch Foundation include participation in a one-year fellowship with the Tory Burch Foundation that includes virtual education programming, workshops, and business guidance, including a grant for business education and access to private online peer community.

Benefits from the IGI and UC Berkeley resources include the network of cutting-edge IGI researchers, and personalized coaching and mentoring sessions, as well as the UC Berkeley entrepreneurial ecosystem and resources for educating entrepreneurs, protecting and licensing innovation, and commercializing research. IGI will also provide an education grant, matching the funds from the Tory Burch Foundation and up to $50,000 in research supplies.

“Part of our mission at the Innovative Genomics Institute is to be the bridge from research to real-world impact,” said Doudna. “Dr. Saklayen’s work developing next-generation personalized therapies and her focus on making these innovations accessible and affordable embodies that vision and approach. We are delighted to partner with the Tory Burch Foundation and welcome Dr. Saklayen as our first fellow.”

“I am honored to receive the first Tory Burch Fellowship at the IGI and have Nobel Prize Laureate Dr. Jennifer Doudna and leading designer and entrepreneur Tory Burch as mentors,” said Saklayen. “Dr. Doudna and I share a commitment to increasing accessibility of advanced therapies for patients the world over and I’m thrilled to collaborate closely with researchers at the IGI to further this mission.”

Read more: Tory Burch and Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna are teaming up to help women scientists — Fast Company

About the Tory Burch Foundation

The Tory Burch Foundation empowers women and entrepreneurs in the United States by providing access to capital, education and digital resources: The Fellows Program has provided over $1.3M in grants to help women grow their businesses; the Tory Burch Capital Program, powered by Bank of America has distributed more than $63 million in loans to more than 3,500 women entrepreneurs; and the Foundation’s website, www.ToryBurchFoundation.org, is a go-to destination for women entrepreneurs. Each month, the Foundation provides online tools and digital education to more than 450,000 women, and more than 10,000 women have created their business plans on ToryBurchFoundation.org.

Follow the Tory Burch Foundation on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter with #ToryBurchFellows and #EmbraceAmbition. 

About Cellino

Cellino is an autologous regenerative medicine company developing an AI-guided single-cell laser editing platform for cell-based therapies. The company has developed a scalable platform that automates and standardizes autologous stem cell therapy production, accelerating the development of life-saving medicines for patients. Cellino is based in Cambridge, MA. For additional information, please visit www.cellinobio.com.