
S Phase BioFund is a student-led investment fund dedicated to educating advanced degree candidates and early career researchers on investing in emerging life science companies by performing due diligence, creating and pitching investment theses, actively managing portfolios, and hosting networking events while seeking capital growth.
We leverage our collective academic and scientific expertise to identify and invest in publicly-traded small- and mid-cap life science companies that are currently undervalued due to market inefficiencies.
We are aiming to outperform the XBI (SPDR S&P Biotech ETF that tracks an equal-weighted index of US biotechnology stocks) as well as the S&P 500 index.
As advanced degree candidates, we possess knowledge and skills valuable to many sectors outside of academia and industry. While learning about and/or discovering biochemical and molecular mechanisms during research, we also become familiar with drug development processes, clinical trial and patient data, and drug regulatory pathways. Additionally, we learn how to parse through vast amounts of scientific data with great attention to detail, work in and lead collaborative teams efficiently, and communicate scientific concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences with ease.
One little known sector where these capabilities are exceedingly valued is investment consulting. Several companies, ranging from Silicon Valley-based life science venture capital firms to Wall Street banks are hiring recent advanced degree graduates to perform equity research on biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to aid in investment decisions. However, most advanced degree and postdoctoral scholars lack the financial and investment expertise that would truly help them succeed in this career. One could apply for internships, but it is rare for any one internship to be able to offer a well-rounded experience in equity research in the life sciences, financial modeling, biotech stock market, and biopharma intellectual property laws.
The Greater Nashville Area is home to a top-tier research environment that provides state-of-the-art facilities and abundant resources to ensure that graduate students become adept members of the scientific community. Yet, there is scarcely any support available for those of us interested in learning about investment research as a career post-graduate school. Considering this, we established a student-run general partnership that will allow advanced degree candidates and postdoctoral researchers to learn about investing in biotechnology companies and apply that knowledge to make equity investments and manage portfolios.
Membership to the fund is open to advanced degree and postdoctoral scholars as well as undergraduates on a case-by-case basis. Partners will be selected through an application process. Elections will be held annually for management leadership positions. The leadership will comprise of a Managing Director and Directors of Strategy, Education, External Relations, Operations, and Finance. Non-leadership members will have Associate roles. Future roles at the fund will be added as and when required.
We meet monthly to participate in investment pitches, make investment discussions, discuss biotech and pharmaceutical stock market news, screen investment leads, review clinical trial data, and/or monitor portfolio companies. Additional events will include analyst training programs, financial literacy modules, and networking events, which will occur outside of the monthly meetings.
Richard has over a decade of experience working in biotech across investment banking, venture capital / public equity investing, and as a cofounder of venture backed biopharma companies. He is currently the founder of Bay Bridge Bio, a research firm focused on biotech financial markets serving clients ranging from venture funds, growth-stage startups, university endowments and large corporations. Bay Bridge Bio also creates free educational content and resources to help grad students, postdocs and early-mid career scientists learn about the biotech startup and investing world.
MANAGING DIRECTOR, CO-FOUNDER
Pragun Tuladhar is a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry at Vanderbilt University. An international student from Nepal, he received his BS in Biochemistry from Ramapo College of New Jersey in 2018. At Vanderbilt, Pragun is a member of the Cliffel research lab, where he is developing techniques to inst
MANAGING DIRECTOR, CO-FOUNDER
Pragun Tuladhar is a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry at Vanderbilt University. An international student from Nepal, he received his BS in Biochemistry from Ramapo College of New Jersey in 2018. At Vanderbilt, Pragun is a member of the Cliffel research lab, where he is developing techniques to instrument microphysiological systems (organs- on-chips) with a multiplexed electrochemical detection platform to gain a broader understanding of cellular metabolic and ds physiological changes in response to toxins, infections, and therapeutics. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of his research, Pragun is familiar with concepts and techniques spanning several fields, including electrochemistry, cellular biology, immunology, neurology, toxicology, biomedical engineering, and material sciences. Outside the lab, Pragun enjoys learning about entrepreneurship and how scientific discoveries can be commercialized. At the BioTN Scipreneur Challenge Nashville held in spring 2021, his team pitched a commercialization plan for a novel nerve visualization technology and won 2nd place. He also volunteers as consultant in the Wond’ry Innovation Consulting Program at Vanderbilt. Pragun enjoys traveling, watching English football, cooking, and collecting trivia in his spare time.
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, CO-FOUNDER
Cody Marshall is a 2nd year biomedical science PhD candidate at Vanderbilt University. He received his BA in molecular cell biology with an emphasis in molecular neurobiology at University of California, Berkeley. He went on to gain his MS while helping discover a neural circuit associated with stress behav
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, CO-FOUNDER
Cody Marshall is a 2nd year biomedical science PhD candidate at Vanderbilt University. He received his BA in molecular cell biology with an emphasis in molecular neurobiology at University of California, Berkeley. He went on to gain his MS while helping discover a neural circuit associated with stress behavior under guidance from Dr. Danny Winder. To further develop his research experience, Cody worked at Stanford University where he learned computational and chemical methods of drug discovery with Dr. James Chen. Now as a PhD student, Cody is rotating through chemical and physical biology research labs at Vanderbilt that apply new technology to neuroscience drug discovery. Cody first developed a passion for investing and the business side of life science when he enrolled in “The Business of Biotechnology”, an interactive online course taught by Peter Kolchinsky, managing director at RA Capital. Cody also volunteers virtually as an analyst for Evexia, a similar student-led biotechnology fund consisting of biology graduate students located mainly throughout the Bay Area, CA. Outside of research, Cody enjoys exercising, reading, playing (but primarily still learning) the electric piano, and enjoying Nashville’s live music scene. His favorite summer vacations are traveling to new places with family and friends, and during the winter, you can usually count on him finding time to make ski trips.
DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Shannon Taylor is a 3rd year biomedical engineering PhD student at Vanderbilt University. She received her BS in bioengineering with a focus on bioelectronics and minored in business at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. Now at Vanderbilt, Shannon studies non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging techniques un
DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Shannon Taylor is a 3rd year biomedical engineering PhD student at Vanderbilt University. She received her BS in bioengineering with a focus on bioelectronics and minored in business at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. Now at Vanderbilt, Shannon studies non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging techniques under the direction of Dr. Rachelle Crescenzi to investigate the interplay of tissue structure and lymphatic vascular function. Her interdisciplinary work incorporates image processing, physics, and translational physiology. She also serves as a General Body Member of the Vanderbilt Innovation Council. Shannon’s excitement for the role of science in the business landscape began during her undergraduate engineering capstone project while working with her team to conduct market research for their prototyped point-of-care device. Since then, she’s grown a passion for biotechnology startups and advocating for the translatable skills that graduate-level researchers can add to analytical teams in industry. Outside of research, Shannon enjoys traversing Nashville’s many coffee shops, doing the New York Times crossword, and playing tennis.
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Hayden Pagendarm is a 3rd year PhD student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. He received his BS in Bioengineering with a biomaterials concentration as well as a minor in Economics from Clemson University in 2020. While at Clemson, he completed his Departmental Honors thesis under t
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Hayden Pagendarm is a 3rd year PhD student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. He received his BS in Bioengineering with a biomaterials concentration as well as a minor in Economics from Clemson University in 2020. While at Clemson, he completed his Departmental Honors thesis under the guidance of Dr. Jeoung Soo Lee by helping develop a targeted drug delivery platform to reduce inflammation following spinal cord injury. He then joined the lab of Dr. John Wilson at Vanderbilt, where he is working on multiple projects aimed at modulating the immune system to achieve a therapeutic outcome. He is developing a scalable formulation pipeline to produce polymeric nanoparticles capable of delivering innate immune agonists to the cytosol, where they can activate their respective receptors and reinvigorate exhausted T cells to fight cancer. He is also developing an extracellular vesicle-based platform to co-deliver autoantigens and immunosuppressive cues to reprogram antigen-presenting cells to present autoantigens in a non-inflammatory context, subsequently inducing peripheral tolerance among autoreactive T and B lymphocytes. Outside of the lab, Hayden enjoys following the markets, trying new foods, traveling, cooking, exercising, and watching a variety of sports. He also enjoys volunteering at various local public schools by teaching STEM classes.
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
Grahame Evans is a PhD candidate in the Department of Human Genetics at Vanderbilt Univiersity. He received his BS in Biology with Distinction from Duke University in May 2019 before matriculating through the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program at Vanderbilt in August 2019. A fourth-year PhD candidate and third-year stud
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
Grahame Evans is a PhD candidate in the Department of Human Genetics at Vanderbilt Univiersity. He received his BS in Biology with Distinction from Duke University in May 2019 before matriculating through the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program at Vanderbilt in August 2019. A fourth-year PhD candidate and third-year student in the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Grahame’s work involves applying computational genetics, bioinformatics, and software development to investigate novel approaches to large-scale genetic relatedness and mapping analyses in the lab of Jennifer Below, PhD. Outside of lab work, Grahame enjoys playing tennis, skiing, traveling, web scraping and automation, and cooking.
DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY
Matthew Dungan is a 3rd year biomedical sciences Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Molecular Pathology and Immunology at Vanderbilt University. Matthew graduated Phi Beta Kappa from William & Mary with Departmental Honors in Biology and Finance in 2020. Following graduation, he matriculated into the Interdiscipl
DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY
Matthew Dungan is a 3rd year biomedical sciences Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Molecular Pathology and Immunology at Vanderbilt University. Matthew graduated Phi Beta Kappa from William & Mary with Departmental Honors in Biology and Finance in 2020. Following graduation, he matriculated into the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program at Vanderbilt University and joined the lab of Dr. Amanda Doran. Matthew studies the role of the immune system in heart disease. Specifically, he is interested in a
druggable receptor thought to play a critical role in immune cell activation. As the son of a businessman, Matthew has always had an interest in entrepreneurship and innovation. After discovering his love for biology in undergrad while studying Alzheimer’s disease in the lab of Dr. Helen Murphy, Matthew was inspired to marry his two passions into a career. His search for
the perfect combination of business and biology led him to a passion in life science investing. Outside the lab, Matthew loves to run, travel as much as possible, and make pottery (if you have a studio in Nashville you love, please let him know).
Co-Founder, Managing Director
Please reach us at sphasebiofund@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Partners will meet every month to discuss pitched companies and vote on investments. The Fund's day-to-day operations will be managed by an Executive Team, comprising a Managing Director, and Directors of Finance, External Relations, Research and Strategy. The Executive Team will be elected for a one-year term.
Absolutely! A part of our mission is to educate Partners about investing in biotech and pharma companies.
In biology, the S Phase is the stage of the cell cycle where DNA, the genetic code for the cell, is replicated. The growth of genetic information is a fundamental property of life and initiates growth. The S Phase Biotechnology Fund is looking to build on the concept of sharing information between experts in the life sciences in the hopes of "growing" value.
The average time commitment for Partners will be around 2 hours/month to attend meetings. Each Partner can expect to present at least one pitch per year as part of a pitching team. Crafting a pitch, which includes due diligence, will take anywhere between 10-20 hours for that month. Partners may also choose to do more than pitch per year. We encourage Partners to stay current on biotech and pharma news for engaging discussions during pitch meetings. Executive Team members will need more time commitment to fulfill Partner duties.
No, we are an independent general partnership with no affiliations to any university or company.
Please use the sign-up form on our website. We'll follow up with an application as well as information about upcoming meetings and events.
After your application is accepted, you will be required to buy-in a minimum number of shares equivalent to $250 in value. The number of shares will vary depending on fund's valuation at time of purchase. Depending on your background, we may also ask you to attend one of our Research Analyst Programs to ensure that the quality of investment pitches is consistent. Once your buy-in is deposited into the fund's brokerage account, you are officially a Partner!
Yes! The purchase of additional shares is allowed and encouraged.
We will be using Bivio, an accounting software for tracking investments, preparing taxes, and bookkeeping made for investment clubs like ours.
Any Partner may withdraw a part (a minimum investment of $250 is required for membership) or all of the value of his or her capital account in the Partnership at any time by notifying the Director of Finance via email. Valuation of the Partner's assets will be calculated by Bivio when the market opens the next working day.
Partner contributions will initially be deposited into S Phase BioFund's brokerage account. Once Partners decide to invest in a pitched company by a majority vote, we will typically use 5-10% of the Fund’s assets to buy shares. We also rebalance our portfolio as and when needed, and also invest in ETFs as a derisking strategy.
No, S Phase BioFund is run by volunteers (the Executive Team) who do not receive compensation for their roles, except for reimbursements for expenses related to the Fund's operations.
All Partners will be given access to view the fund's Bivio account. You will be able to monitor all transactions including the fund's net asset value and stock purchases. While all Partners will vote during pitch meetings whether to take up a position in a company, only the Director of Finance will have the authority to execute those transactions.
Our Partnership is limited to less than 100 members and we only invest in publicly traded companies. For more information, please see: https://www.sec.gov/reportspubs/investor-publications/investorpubsinvclubhtm.html
Publicly-traded small- and mid-cap biotech companies developing novel therapies.
Long term value investing. We identify and invest in companies whose stock values are trading for less than their intrinsic value.
Currently, we are raising capital solely from Partner investments.
We will be benchmarking the Fund's performance against XBI, the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF. It invests in growth and value stocks of companies operating across health care, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and life sciences sectors. It seeks to track the performance of the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index, by using representative sampling technique. XBI currently has 156 holdings in its portfolio.
Bivio, the accounting software, will generate K-1 forms for all Partners in mid-February. Each Partner will be responsible for reporting earnings and losses on their investments on their individual federal and state income tax return documents.
The only charge is buying into the partnership. Annual operating costs will be deducted from the cash in the S Phase bank account.
Pitches will be held to identify biotech companies that are under-appreciated and therefore undervalued by the market. Each month, one or two teams of Partners will present these pitches, which will include the company’s scientific technology, clinical trial data, DCF valuation, etc. A template slide deck that describes the considerations and characteristics of an ideal pitch will be made available to Partners.
One month before the pitch, the Partnership may decide on a biotech landscape. The team/s of Partners that will be pitching may then pick an emerging company developing novel therapeutics within that landscape and perform a thorough investment analysis.
Pitches will be followed by a discussion period where Partners will discuss and ask questions about the company that was pitched. All Partners will have 24 hours after the pitch to vote on whether to invest in the pitched company. A 40% vote participation and a simple majority will be required to make investment decisions.
The pitching team recommends a stop loss price during their pitch. We place stop orders in our brokerage account at that price to limit losses. We also monitor trending news, including clinical trial data updates, conference presentations, M & A, licensing deals, etc. diligently through RSS feeds and bots for heightened market activities for stocks in our portfolio.
Josh has spent his career in the life science industry in senior leadership roles of operating companies as well as on the investment side in equity research and portfolio management.
Prior to co-founding CUREX in 2019, Josh was a buy-side research analyst covering the biotech and medtech sectors for a firm with approximately $3 billion i
Josh has spent his career in the life science industry in senior leadership roles of operating companies as well as on the investment side in equity research and portfolio management.
Prior to co-founding CUREX in 2019, Josh was a buy-side research analyst covering the biotech and medtech sectors for a firm with approximately $3 billion in assets during his tenure. Josh has previously led pre-clinical drug development for a NASDAQ-listed biopharmaceutical company and co-founded a clinical stage company developing companion diagnostics for cancer immunotherapy. Earlier in his career, Josh worked as a senior biomedical engineer in the medical device industry where he oversaw the development and commercialization of devices that treat life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias. Josh attained his bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees in biomedical engineering from Vanderbilt University and his MBA from Emory University. He is co-author on papers published in peer-reviewed biomedical journals and is a co-inventor on multiple patents. Josh also currently holds a part-time adjunct appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University.
After the seminar, join us for a biotech happy hour at Fable Lounge, located at
114 28th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37203. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres will be generously sponsored by the Vanderbilt Quantitative Systems Biology Center! (RSVP required)
Dilek provides program management for the development of vaccines and therapeutics and supports the planning and delivery of government and commercial programs. She received her PhD in bioelectrochemistry under the mentorship of Dr. David Cliffel at Vanderbilt University.
Join us for biotech networking following the seminar at Old Glory located at 1200 Villa Pl Suite 103, Nashville, TN 37212 !
Sara manages BioCentury’s comprehensive database of global biopharmaceutical companies to provide key insights to clients in the pharmaceutical industry and venture capital firms. In her current role as a Senior Data Analyst, she performs analysis to investigate the market trends. She obtained her PhD in chemistry from Vanderbilt University in 2021.
After the seminar, join us for biotech networking at TailGate Music Row (1538 Demonbreun St, Nashville, TN 37203)
Evan manages equity investments in fundamentally under-valued public securities of the biotechnology sector. He obtained his PhD from UCSF, where he also co-founded Evexia BioFund, the Bay Area Biotechnology Group, and the Investment Club UCSF. Evan has worked as a consultant for ARCH Ventures and interned at Mission Bay Capital, Genentech, and Bayer Healthcare in the past.
After the seminar, join us for a biotech happy hour at Fable Lounge, located at
114 28th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37203. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres will be generously sponsored by the Vanderbilt Quantitative Systems Biology Center! RSVP required.
Max is a Senior Associate in the TechAtlas Division at RA Capital Management, where he identifies breakthrough products and puts data into context to identify potential investments. He also advises RA's portfolio companies on program and pipeline strategy. Max earned his PhD from the University of Michigan, where he also advised the Wolverine Venture Fund, a student-run VC fund.
This series aims to connect students and early career researchers with business professionals in the life sciences industry by hosting relevant speakers and panels every month. The format is a 30 minute talk followed by 30 minutes of Q&A/Discussion.
Featuring Ron Shigeta (co-founder of IndieBio and a serial biotech entrepreneur/VC based in San Francisco, CA), with guests Will Clem and Orin Wilson (co-founders of Bite Ninja, YC ’21 based in Memphis, TN)
Effective networking among those in the biotech/healthcare/venture space and exploratory discussions regarding the evolution of biotech, deal-sourcing, and innovating at the intersection of biotech, healthcare, and academia.
The seminar and meetup will be hosted in the 3rd floor lounge of the Wond'ry, located at 2414 Highland Ave, Nashville, TN 37213.
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