SIDD Team

Director of the Sealy Institute for Drug Discovery 
Vice President of Drug Discovery 
The John Sealy Chair in Innovations in Molecular Biology

Sanja joined UTMB in March 2024 from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where she led an NIH-funded research lab for 21 years. Her research elucidates molecular mechanisms of kidney diseases, with a focus on the GTPase dynamin and its role in regulating endocytosis and cytoskeleton dynamics. Sanja holds several patents and is a co-founder of Walden Biosciences, a Cambridge-based biotech company developing first-in-class therapies for kidney diseases. Her expertise spans every phase of drug discovery and development, including financing and fund-raising, business development, incorporation of companies, identification and validation of druggable pathways, and lead optimization. Sanja’s vision for SIDD is to solve challenging scientific questions and improve health by working across disciplines, leveraging local and regional resources, and engaging stakeholders.

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