Our Team
Scientists and builders who originate conviction.
MEET THE TEAM
MATTHEW THERKELSEN, PhD
Associate
LAURA STOPPEL, PhD
Analyst
GERALD SEWACK, PhD
Director of Scientific Operations
BARBARA HERBST
Deputy Chief Compliance Officer
RYAN BERRY, PhD
Analyst
KAI WU
Chief Financial Officer
MATTHEW THERKELSEN, PhD
Associate
Matthew is an Associate within the TechAtlas division of RA Capital Management. Matthew’s primary responsibility at RA Capital is to create competitive landscapes of drugs and medical devices for disease indications and capabilities. Matt holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from Purdue University as well as BA in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology (and a Minor in Mathematics) from Hamilton College.
LAURA STOPPEL, PhD
Analyst
Laura Stoppel is an Analyst on the Investment Team at RA Capital Management. Laura’s primary responsibility at RA Capital is to conduct due diligence on biotechnology companies. Prior to this role, Laura was a Senior Associate on the Oncology, Ophthalmology, and Neurology Teams within the TechAtlas division of RA Capital, where she mapped competitive landscapes of drugs and medical devices for disease indications and capabilities, with a focus on hematologic malignancies, cell therapies, retinal diseases, and orphan neurodevelopmental disorders. Laura holds a BA in Biology and Psychology from Harvard University, and a PhD in Neuroscience from MIT. Her graduate research investigated synaptic translation in syndromic autism.
GERALD SEWACK, PhD
Director of Scientific Operations
Gerald is the Director of Scientific Operations at RA Capital Management. Gerald’s primary responsibility is to leverage RA Capital’s TechAtlas platform to identify differentiated opportunities for new venture formation. Gerald holds a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Harvard Medical School. His research investigated chromatin structure and transcription factor binding. He worked previously at Global Prior Art, an intellectual property analysis firm, as a Partner and the Director of the Life Sciences Division.
BARBARA HERBST
Deputy Chief Compliance Officer
Barbara Herbst is the Deputy Chief Compliance Officer at RA Capital Management. She is involved with the firm’s back office and operations, including finance, audit, compliance, partner relationships, and business continuity and policies. Barbara holds a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Boston University and has 11 years of experience in operations, compliance, and trading.
RYAN BERRY, PhD
Analyst
Ryan Berry is an Analyst on the Investment Team at RA Capital Management. Ryan’s primary responsibility at RA Capital is to is to conduct due diligence on biotechnology companies. Prior to this role, Ryan was an Associate on the Cardio-Renal Team within the TechAtlas division of RA Capital, where he mapped competitive landscapes of drugs and medical devices for disease indications and capabilities, with a focus on coronary artery disease, stroke, and dyslipidemia. Ryan holds a BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and a PhD in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from Yale University. His doctoral research focused on cellular mechanisms of adipogenesis.
KAI WU
Chief Financial Officer
Kai Wu is the Chief Financial Officer at RA Capital Management. He is involved in the firm’s back office and operations, including finance, accounting, auditing, taxes, regulatory, and legal. Kai previously served as the CFO/CCO of both Palo Alto Investors and Lucerne Capital Management. He holds a BS in Business Administration from Georgetown University.