UF Innovate | Accelerate Welcomes John Mayfield to Its Advisory Board
GAINESVILLE/ALACHUA, Fla., and CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — UF Innovate | Accelerate is honored to welcome John D. Mayfield, Ph.D., vice president of corporate and business development at EQRx, to its advisory board.
In his role, Dr. Mayfield will mentor select biotech startups from UF Innovate | Accelerate’s 80+ client portfolios at both Sid Martin Biotech and The Hub.
Dr. Mayfield is currently driving business development efforts at EQRx to build a robust pipeline of important new medicines to bring to patients at radically lower prices. Previously, he was director of business development at Voyager Therapeutics where he helped build strategic partnerships to advance Voyager’s gene therapy programs and provide capital to reach corporate objectives.
Prior to that, he served as associate director of business and corporate development at Foundation Medicine where he built global biotech and pharma partnerships to integrate the company’s testing within clinical trials. He also held roles in medical reporting and product development at Foundation Medicine and Illumina.
“The journey from scientist to biotech executive has been one of the most rewarding in my career, and I am thrilled to return to my alma mater to not only help researchers navigate the process of bringing life-saving and world-changing technologies to market but to also help foster their entrepreneurial spirit and talent,” says Dr. Mayfield. “At the end of the day, for me, it’s about helping people.”
Dr. Mayfield earned his Ph.D. in the plant molecular and cellular biology program in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Ferl at University of Florida in 2007, followed by postdoctoral research appointments in breast cancer biology at Washington University in St. Louis and genomics at Duke University’s Institute of Genome Science and Policy. In 2012, he founded Triangle Biotech Tuesday, a biotechnology networking and industry advocacy group in North Carolina’s Research Triangle that continues to grow and hold monthly events.
“In addition to the expertise that John brings from being immersed in the biomedical community for over a decade, his passion for bettering the world and paving the pathway for entrepreneurial success make him a perfect fit for the UF Innovate team,” says Karl R. LaPan, director of UF Innovate | Accelerate. “He will undoubtedly be a huge asset to our mentoring and advising program, and especially to our rapidly-growing regional biotech industry, and the community of patients who benefit from the scientific advances our startups are pioneering.”
UF Innovate | Accelerate provides a place and a program, coaching, and connections for young companies. The goal is to give them the best chance for ongoing success.
The program plays a crucial role in Alachua’s and Gainesville’s innovation landscapes. Resident client and alumni startups of Sid Martin Biotech and The Hub have generated more than $10.7 billion in invested capital, grants and revenue, and created thousands of jobs, most in the local economy.
About UF Innovate | Accelerate
UF Innovate | Accelerate includes Sid Martin Biotech, the globally recognized biotechnology incubator headquartered in Alachua, Florida, at Progress Park, and The Hub, the award-winning mixed-used incubator in the Gainesville, Florida, Innovation District. The incubation programs have been honored with nine national and international awards for incubator excellence and achievements in technology commercialization, funding access, job creation, and technology-based economic development. UF Innovate | Accelerate is dedicated to mentoring and accelerating the growth of innovative early-stage bioscience and biotechnology companies and supporting the economic growth of the North Central Florida region. For more information, visit UF Innovate.
UF Innovate Contact:
UF Innovate | Accelerate
Karl R. LaPan
Director
klapan@ufl.edu
https://innovate.research.ufl.edu/