Cecilia Fernández, a seasoned biotech executive with a proven track record in driving scientific innovation, operational excellence, and strategic growth, is currently Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Mass General Brigham Ventures. She leverages her expertise in building and leading cross-functional teams in early startups to solve scientific and operational challenges, bringing transformative medicines to patients.
A leader with a passion for bridging scientific and corporate strategy, Cecilia has held leadership roles at prominent biotech companies. Most recently, she led Strategic Planning and Operations at Chroma Medicine, a rapidly growing startup developing epigenetic editing therapeutic approaches. Previously, she served as Head of Strategy and Operations at a 5AM Ventures-backed Newco that focused on curative therapeutics for Type I Diabetes and prior to that she led Platform Strategy at Editas Medicine where she spearheaded the technology strategy to build the Company’s CRISPR genome-editing platform. Earlier in her career, Cecilia held roles of increasing responsibility at Novartis Institutes of Biomedical Research, Predictive Biosciences, and T2Biosystems.
Cecilia's expertise in strategy, business operations, and scientific research planning is complemented by her strong academic background. She holds a PhD in Applied Science from MIT, an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and completed post-doctoral training as a Harvard Medical School Fellow at Children's Hospital Boston. In addition to her industry roles, Cecilia serves on the Board of Advisors of the Museum of Science, providing support and insight to drive meaningful impact.