MANAGEMENT TEAM
RICHARD TSAI, PHD
MANAGING PARTNER
Dr. Richard Tsai is a founding member of Helicase Venture. Prior to founding Helicase, Richard was a Partner at BioEngine Capital where he was head of life science investments and involved in the founding of several companies. He previously served on the boards of Center Laboratories (TPEx: 4123), Glac Biotech, Lumosa Therapeutics (TPEx:6535), Mycenax (TPEx: 4726), BRIM Biotech, Ausnutria (HKG: 1717), TOT Biopharma (HKG:1875) and involved in a number of other ventures.
Prior to Helicase Venture and BioEngine Capital, Richard came from Biogen Idec, where he worked in the corporate strategy and the commercial organizing; launched Tecfidera for Multiple Sclerosis, and both Eloctate and Alprolix for Hemophilia. Prior to his role at Biogen, he was a consultant at L.E.K. Consulting advising U.S. and European clients in the pharmaceutical and health provider sectors. Prior to that, Richard has held roles at Exelixis Pharmaceuticals, J&J's Alza Corp and UCSF in drug discovery and clinical research.
Prior to his move into the life sciences, he was at Hewlett Packard where he led regional marketing. Richard holds a Ph.D. and M.S.in BioEngineering from The University of Pennsylvania. His work focused on the study of immune responses to self-cells. He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The University of California, Berkeley.
Education
Ph.D. and MS, University of Pennsylvania
B.S., University of California, Berkeley
JOY LEE, PHD
PARTNER
Dr. Joy Lee is a Partner at Helicase Venture.
Prior to joining Helicase Venture, Joy was a senior consultant at ICF International, independent contractor for federal science policies and Project Manager at the United States Department of Agriculture. Her area of expertise ranges from virology, microbiology, neurobiology, molecular biology, human health risk assessments, operations to regulatory affairs. Joy received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Northwestern University. Her work focused on the study of Herpes Virus and neuronal interactions. She received a B.A. in Molecular Biology from The University of California, Berkeley.
Education
Ph.D. Northwestern University
B.A. University of California, Berkeley