Accelerated Path to Cures

Dr. Josep Bassaganya-Riera is a serial entrepreneur and innovator who has served as the Director of the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML) at the Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech since 2002. The NIMML tackles unsolved challenges in complex human diseases with unmet clinical needs. His research has received over $55 million in competitive R&D funding to combine advanced computational technologies with preclinical and clinical experimentation. The NIMML translates novel scientific discoveries into commercial applications that address unmet patient or consumer needs. Dr. Bassaganya-Riera has published over 150 peer-reviewed publications in reputable biomedical journals, founded 3 successful biotech companies (Pervida, Biotherapeutics and Landos Biopharma), and was recently named 2017 Innovator of the Year by the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council. Dr. Bassaganya-Riera, and his companies have been active members of a statewide group that supports the planning behind the Governor’s 2015 Virginia Bioscience Initiative.  This initiative calls for Virginia to be in the top three pharmaceutical regions by 2023. Dr. Bassaganya-Riera was a featured presenter at the Governor’s Forum on Bio and Big Data.