Our Team
Scientists and builders who originate conviction.
MEET THE TEAM
NATE DAVIS
Senior Associate
ZACH SCHEINER, PhD
Principal
REZ HALSE, PhD
Partner, RA Ventures
JESSE CHEN, PhD
Entrepreneur in Residence
DING SUN
Senior Software Engineer
ANA CASTRO
Senior Research Assistant, Venture Analytics
NATE DAVIS
Senior Associate
Nate Davis is a Senior Associate with the TechAtlas division of RA Capital Management. Nate’s primary responsibilities at RA Capital are to work closely with the Investment Team to originate conviction in potential investments by identifying breakthroughs and putting data into context, as well as advising RA's portfolio companies on many aspects of program and pipeline strategy. Nate has a BS in Biological Sciences from University of Vermont. Nate previously worked as an Investment Analyst at Wolfram Ventures.
ZACH SCHEINER, PhD
Principal
Zach Scheiner is a Principal on the Investment Team at RA Capital Management. Zach works on both public and private investments and serves as a Board Director for Adagio Medical, Exo Imaging, LENZ Therapeutics, Nkarta Therapeutics, and Sydnexis. Previously, Zach covered the neurology, ophthalmology, and dermatology landscapes. Zach holds a BS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University, and a PhD in Neurobiology and Behavior from the University of Washington. Zach previously worked as a Science Officer at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
REZ HALSE, PhD
Partner, RA Ventures
Rez Halse is a Partner, RA Ventures at RA Capital Management. Rez’s primary responsibility is to lead early-stage private investments in, and oversee the creation of, new companies developing drugs, medical devices, diagnostics, and research tools. Rez brings to RA over 20 years of experience working in the life-science industry. Prior to RA, he served in a dual role at Merck Research Laboratories (MRL). He was Vice President of Merck business development and licensing where he led BD activities in the US (West Coast), Europe, and Asia Pacific region, as well as President of MRL Ventures where he led equity investing in early-stage therapeutics companies. Prior to Merck, he was a Partner with the Partners Innovation Fund, the corporate venture arm of Mass General Brigham hospital (formerly Partners HealthCare), where he invested in Seed/Series A therapeutics-focused companies. Rez has also held roles at Novartis, a virtual R&D company (BVD), and Xcellsyz Ltd, a UK-based start-up. Rez holds a BSc in biochemistry and PhD in cell biology from Newcastle University, UK.
JESSE CHEN, PhD
Entrepreneur in Residence
Jesse Chen is an EIR at RA Capital. In this role he works closely with RA’s Venture Team to evaluate various drug discovery platforms and initiate novel therapeutics programs. Jesse has more than a decade of discovery research and management experience, from early discovery through preclinical development. Prior to joining RA, Jesse was Senior Director of Discovery at Kymera Therapeutics. As the first and founding member of Kymera’s scientific team, Jesse was responsible for building the company’s industry-leading targeted protein degradation platform and pipeline, and he helped secure the company’s Series A and B financings as well as a partnership with Vertex. Jesse also held research leadership roles at Moderna Therapeutics and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for developing novel platforms and leading discovery programs. Jesse earned his Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from MIT and was a Harvard Origins Research Fellow.
DING SUN
Senior Software Engineer
Ding Sun is a Senior Software Engineer at RA Capital Management. Ding’s primary responsibility at RA Capital is to help guide internal software development to support competitive landscapes of drugs and medical devices across a range of disease indications and capabilities. He holds a BS in Computer Science from The University of California, San Diego, and worked previously as a Software Engineer at IBM and Fidelity Investments.
ANA CASTRO
Senior Research Assistant, Venture Analytics
Ana is a Senior Research Assistant, Venture Analytics at RA Capital Management. Ana’s primary responsibility is to conduct research and analysis for competitive landscapes of drugs and medical devices across a range of disease indications and capabilities. Ana’s previous experience includes Research Assistant positions at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital, the Lupus Clinic/Renal Department at the BU Medical Center, and Harvard University Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Ana holds an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Boston University School of Public Health and a BA in Neuroscience from Boston University.