10 Things You Didn’t Know about Todd Harris

If you’ve ever heard the name Todd Harris, your mind might automatically connect with Tyra Biosciences, as he serves as the CEO of this particular company. There is little doubt that being the CEO of one of the leading biosciences companies in the world is an exciting job, but there is a lot more to Todd Harris than just being a CEO. If you really want to know more about who he is, both in his professional life and his personal life, check out these 10 things about him that are listed below.

1. He has plenty of experience in this particular field

Not only does he serve as CEO of Tyra Biosciences, he also co-founded the company. Before that, there was Sienna Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Clearly, he has a desire to make patients’ lives better. Thankfully, he also has real-world experience and knowledge when it comes to doing exactly that.

2. He started out as a consultant for a medical company

His first job involved working as a consultant for McKinsey & Company. Even though medicine wasn’t initially in the cards for him, this first job showed him how important it is to find effective treatments for diseases like cancer. As a result, he essentially changed course with his career, achieving his master’s and then going on to get even more education. That has allowed him to do the things that he currently does and remain very successful in his endeavors.

3. He’s trying to help medicine advance in new and exciting ways

Currently, he is focusing on gaining a better understanding of the immune system. He believes that by gaining better knowledge in this area, it is then possible to further understand how cancer affects the body. This provides crucial knowledge on how best to fight the disease.

4. He got a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University

Surprisingly, he majored in Electrical Engineering. Obviously, he wasn’t really planning on a career in medicine, at least not at first. However, his degree in electrical engineering allowed him the opportunity to go back to college and get a master’s degree, proving that he was capable of achieving a degree that was relatively difficult to obtain. You might even say that it served as the first stepping stone for him in achieving the things that he is currently doing.

5. It wasn’t until later that he went into medicine

He got interested in medicine and then obtained a master’s degree in Bioengineering from the University of California. There is nothing easy about getting a master’s degree in Bioengineering. However, he found that he had a knack for learning the material, probably because he has always been extremely passionate about such things. It didn’t take long for him to realize that he was right where he belonged and expand on his goals from there.

6. He’s also a doctor

He isn’t a medical doctor but he does have his Ph.D., two of them in fact. He attended the venerable MIT for both, one in Medical Engineering and the other in Medical Physics. Once he achieved his master’s degree in Bioengineering, he made up his mind that he wanted to get involved in cancer research. That served as his roadmap when it came to getting his Ph.D, something that has since served him quite well.

7. He’s also leading the fight against cancer with the company he co-founded

To date, he’s raised more than $106 million for the research. In fact, the $106 million that he recently raised was in the second round of fundraising for the company that he heads up. In the first round, he was able to secure roughly half that amount.

8. He believes fighting disease comes down to unlocking keys in the human body

He has always had a strong belief that fighting any type of disease basically comes down to unlocking certain elements already inside the human body, especially when it comes to the DNA. He has suspected for some time that faults in the DNA can cause everything from inflammation to cancer and anything in between. This is something that has largely been backed up by scientific research. Therefore, he has placed an overwhelming amount of research on that particular area himself.

9. He thinks it might be possible to tailor medications to each individual

He wants to explore the idea that it might be more effective to tailor oncology medications to each person who gets sick, effectively working with their own body to help them fight the disease. Why is it so important to him? He says that virtually every person around the globe has been affected by cancer in one capacity or another. He’s quick to point out that virtually everyone either has had the disease, is currently fighting it or knows someone who has been affected by it. As a result, that was the first disease that he thought of when he was in college and thinking about where he wanted his professional focus to be. He has a genuine goal of curing the disease so that people don’t have to watch their loved ones die from it.

10. He serves on the Board of Directors for Primmune Therapeutics

As a matter of fact, he’s been there since 2017 and continues to be active to this day. He doesn’t just remain active in the company that he heads up. Instead, he gets out there and works with other organizations in an effort to improve the health of people through various means. Through his work on the board of directors at Primmune Therapeutics, there has been a great deal of focus on strengthening the immune system to ward off cancer and other diseases. The thought process is that by making the immune system stronger, people are less likely to get these diseases in the first place. When they do get them, they’re better able to fight them off. It’s one more way that he is working tirelessly to help other people live healthier lives and ultimately, to live longer. What better legacy could a person hope to achieve?

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply