Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

Illumina Ventures: Malek Faham, Charles Lin, and Dave Johnson,

Illumina Ventures, an independently managed, healthcare-focused venture firm in a strategic partnership with Illumina, has promoted Malek Faham as its Chief Scientist. Faham previously served as the company’s venture partner and entrepreneur in residence. Prior to Illumina Ventures, Faham cofounded and served as CSO of Sequenta, an immune cell receptor repertoire sequencing startup that was later acquired by Adaptive Biotechnologies. Faham received his PhD in Human Genetics, MD, and Psychiatry training from the University of California, San Francisco. 

In addition, the company has appointed Charles Lin as a principal. Lin most recently served as the vice president of business development and marketing at Element Biosciences. He holds a PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from Harvard University and completed his postdoctoral fellowship in cell biology at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Illumina Ventures also appointed Dave Johnson as an entrepreneur in residence. Johnson was the founder and CEO of GigaGen, a single-cell immune genomics company that was acquired by Grifols. Before that, he was COO and the senior vice president of research and development at Natera. Johnson earned a PhD in Genetics from Stanford University and completed his MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Scan

Machine Learning Helps ID Molecular Mechanisms of Pancreatic Islet Beta Cell Subtypes in Type 2 Diabetes

The approach helps overcome limitations of previous studies that had investigated the molecular mechanisms of pancreatic islet beta cells, the authors write in their Nature Genetics paper.

Culture-Based Methods, Shotgun Sequencing Reveal Transmission of Bifidobacterium Strains From Mothers to Infants

In a Nature Communications study, culture-based approaches along with shotgun sequencing give a better picture of the microbial strains transmitted from mothers to infants.

Microbial Communities Can Help Trees Adapt to Changing Climates

Tree seedlings that were inoculated with microbes from dry, warm, or cold sites could better survive drought, heat, and cold stress, according to a study in Science.

A Combination of Genetics and Environment Causes Cleft Lip

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers investigate what combination of genetic and environmental factors come into play to cause cleft lip/palate.