Ashley Zehnder is CEO and co-founder of "Fauna Bio, a venture-backed biotech focused on developing new ways to treat human diseases, such as heart disease and neurodegenerative disease, by adopting mechanisms animals have developed for extreme traits like hibernation and deep-diving. The company leverages multi-omics data from hundreds of species in order to develop new therapeutics for human diseases. Prior to starting Fauna Bio, her research focused on translational science and veterinary informatics at Stanford, earning a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology, and her work spans >20 peer-reviewed publications including Cell, Nature and Nature Medicine.
It’s imperative that we remember that humans are animals. By ignoring this key association, we’re limiting the advancement of science, including the identification of breakthrough treatments for life threatening diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease, cancer and more.