Based in Calgary and San Francisco, Dr. Raj is a clinical neuropharmacologist with experience across several pharmaceutical companies. She holds a strong academic foundation from Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Francisco. With deep expertise in biomarker and therapeutic development for neurodegenerative diseases, she integrates clinical insight with computational innovation to advance drug discovery.
Based in Canada, Dr. Guruvacharya is a computational biologist. With a strong background in AI-driven drug discovery and neurodegeneration research, he specializes in developing scalable models to decode complex biological data. His previous experiences include working for various biotech companies in Washington D.C., for the cloud computing division within Amazon, and for Gilbert Family Foundation. He has a doctorate from University of Oklahoma.
Based in San Francisco, Dr. Goldn has deep expertise in neural networks, computer vision, and natural language processing. With a strong academic foundation from Swarthmore, Cornell, and Stanford, James brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective to AI and machine learning. His latest job was at Amazon. Prior to joining Amazon, he conducted postdoctoral research in computational neuroscience and deep learning for medical imaging at UCSF and Stanford, contributing to both translational brain tumor research and vision science.
Based from Virginia, Dr. Periasamy is a Professor of Biology and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia and the founding Director of the W.M. Keck Center for Cellular Imaging. An internationally recognized leader in advanced light microscopy, Dr. Periasamy pioneered the development of fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and FRET techniques for studying protein-protein interactions in living cells.
We are excited to share that Nanil will be attending the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2025 in Toronto this July. As the world’s largest forum for dementia research, AAIC is an incredible opportunity to connect with leading scientists, clinicians, and innovators who share our passion for advancing dementia research and care. We are especially looking forward to engaging with new discoveries in biomarker science and therapeutic development, areas close to our mission at Nanil. It’s always inspiring to be part of a community pushing the boundaries of what's possible in neurodegeneration, and we can’t wait to be there in person this year. See you in Toronto!
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.25.661500v1.full
Emerging generative models for biology focus on DNA, non-coding RNA, or proteins, ignoring information hidden in mRNA. Additionally, in protein engineering and mRNA therapeutics the design of mRNA sequences is still a challenge, lacking a clear framework. Here, we introduce and rigorously evaluate two novel methods: a foundational model for mRNA and a reinforcement learning mRNA design framework built on such a model. codonGPT is the first generative foundational language model trained directly on coding mRNA sequences. To solve the problem of synonymous constraints that are only unique to mRNA, we introduce a novel method of inference-time masking, along with house-keeping genes evaluation. For the first time, we also rigorously demonstrate, that for precise mRNA therapeutics design, reinforcement learning on such a model provides a clear framework for biological optimization. Our study introduces a novel foundational model for mRNA and a new reinforcement learning based paradigm for mRNA sequence design.
Problem: CNS delivery of biologics is hindered by the BBB. Only a few peptides (e.g., Angiopep-2, TAT) are known to mediate transport, and they suffer from issues like off-target effects, instability, and poor tunability.
Gap: Current BBB models focus on small molecules. No model exists for systematically discovering or screening BBB-penetrant peptides/domains in proteins or biologics.
Contribution: We present the first transformer-based BBB embedding and scoring model, capable of discovering novel shuttle domains and guiding CNS biologic design.
The model offers a first-in-class in silico screening tool for BBB shuttle peptides and protein domains
Uncovers both known and novel motifs associated with transcytosis
Interpretability reveals biophysically meaningful features (e.g., basic patching, structural motifs)
Bridges the gap between sequence-level design and CNS-targeted biologics
Extensible to multi-objective optimization (e.g., stability, immunogenicity)
Nanil Therapeutics was invited to the Goodwin + KPMG 6th Annual Symposium at the 2025 JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. We had a fantastic time attending the event and learning from our more established peers. The event brought together an inspiring mix of healthcare leaders, innovators, and investors, and offered valuable insights into the future of biotech, medtech, and digital health. From thought-provoking panels to meaningful conversations during the networking sessions, the Symposium was a highlight of the week. We're grateful to Goodwin and KPMG for hosting such a thoughtful and energizing gathering, and we look forward to staying connected with the incredible community that came together in San Francisco.
Nanil Therapeutics Inc.
Life Sciences Innovation Hub,
Calgary, Alberta,
Canada