ECHO Pitch Keynote Presentation

Dr. Farah Sheikh is an entrepreneur and Professor of Medicine at UC San Diego who has successfully translated cutting-edge science into biotechnology ventures. She launched and exited ARVC Therapeutics Inc. and Stelios Therapeutics Inc., whose assets fueled the acquiring company’s IPO, with her role recognized at NASDAQ. Building on that success, she is now spearheading new ventures, MyoTherapeutix and Papillon Therapeutics, focused on advancing next-generation therapies for acquired and systemic based cardiac diseases. Her scientific program is internationally recognized for pioneering discoveries on the genetic cardiac disease, arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Her laboratory has developed human-relevant models, uncovered novel therapeutic targets, and advanced adeno-associated viral-based gene therapy into Phase 1/2 clinical trials, with publications in top-tier journals including The Journal of Clinical Investigation and Nature Cardiovascular Research. Dr. Sheikh also plays a leading role in shaping the cardiovascular research and biotech ecosystem. She is Chair of the American Heart Association Basic Cardiovascular Sciences (BCVS) conference and serves on the BCVS Leadership Council. She is Past Chair of the American Physiological Society (APS) Cardiovascular Section and a newly elected APS Board member, as well as Councilor for the International Society for Heart Research–North American Section. At UC San Diego, she is Associate Director of the NHLBI Cardiology T32 training grant, serves on the Board of the UCSD Gene Therapy Initiative, and Director of the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program. She is also Editor-in-Chief of Life Sciences and Associate Editor of npj Regenerative Medicine.