People who think across science, capital, and execution.

Tom lnsel, M.D., a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, has been a national leader in mental health research, policy, and technology. From 2002-2015, Dr. Insel served as Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). More recently (2015 – 2017), he led the Mental Health Team at Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) in South San Francisco, CA. since 2017 has co-founded five mental health start-ups (Mindstrong Health, Humanest Care, NeuraWell Therapeutics, Vanna Health, AdvocateMH). He served as Chair of the Board of the Steinberg Institute from 2019-2024 and as Special Advisor for Behavioral Health for Governor Gavin Newsom (2019-2020). He currently serves on the boards of Fountain House and the Peterson Health Technology Institute as well as being an advisor to several mental health start-ups. He is the author of Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health (Penguin Random House, 2022). His most recent start-up, AdvocateMH, is a public benefit corporation that seeks to change the eco-system of digital mental health by building a marketplace based on quality. Dr. Insel is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has received numerous national and international awards including honorary degrees in the U.S. and Europe.

Globally recognized neuroscientist and drug development leader with deep expertise in mood disorders and neurodegeneration. Bridges academia and pharma to accelerate translational brain-health therapeutics.

Former Director of the NIMH and current Harvard professor leading psychiatric genetics research. Brings unparalleled policy and scientific authority to the brain-health investment thesis.

Rick completed his undergraduate work in biochemistry at Vassar College and received his Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology from Cornell University, where he did his thesis research in the laboratory of Efraim Racker. After a postdoctoral fellowship in Paul Greengard's laboratory at Yale University School of Medicine, Rick joined the faculty of Rockefeller University, where he was an Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience. He is currently Professor and Director of the Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience and Professor of Biological Chemistry at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Brain Science Institute.

Dr. Nestler studies the molecular basis of addiction and depression in animal models, focusing on the brain pathways that regulate responses to natural rewards such as food, sex and social interaction. His research has established that drug- and stress-induced changes in genetic transcription factors and chromatin remodeling mechanisms in reward pathways mediate long-lived behavioral changes relevant to addiction and depression. Before moving to Mount Sinai, Dr. Nestler was Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and the Director of the Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities and the Division of Molecular Psychiatry at Yale.

Dr. Malenka is a world leader in elucidating the mechanisms underlying the action of neurotransmitters in the mammalian brain and the molecular mechanisms by which neural circuits are reorganized by experience. His many contributions over the last 30 years have laid the groundwork for a more sophisticated understanding of the mechanisms by which neurons communicate and the adaptations in synaptic communication which underlie all behavior. He was trained as both a clinical psychiatrist and cellular neurobiologist and has been at the forefront of helping to apply the knowledge gained from basic neuroscience research to the treatment and prevention of major brain and behavior disorders. Dr. Malenka received his Bachelor's Degree, summa cum laude, from Harvard and his Ph.D. in neuroscience and M.D. from Stanford University School of Medicine.

UK-based subject matter expert with deep knowledge of brain-health innovation. Brings clinical and commercial insight to portfolio evaluation and deal sourcing.

Jerry Rosenbaum, MD is the Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and served as Chief of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital for two decades, leading more than 600 clinicians and researchers. A recognized leader in mood and anxiety disorders, he has authored over 400 scientific papers and edited 20 books. Dr. Rosenbaum is Director of the Center for Neuroscience of Psychedelics at MGH, where his team investigates how psychedelics alter brain function to uncover new mechanisms for treating psychiatric illness. He has received numerous honors for his contributions to research and education, including the C. Charles Burlingame Award and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. In addition, he co-founded Psy Therapeutics and Sensorium Therapeutics, both dedicated to advancing novel psychiatric and neurologic therapeutics.

Dr. Maurizio Fava is the psychiatrist-in-chief at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), director of the division of clinical research at the MGH Research Institute, executive director of the Clinical Trials Network and Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the associate dean for clinical and translational research, as well as the Slater Family Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Fava is a world-leader in the field of depression. He has edited eight books and authored or co-authored more than 800 original articles published in medical journals with international circulation— articles which have been cited more than 75,000 times in literature and with an h index of over 135. Dr. Fava obtained his medical degree from the University of Padova School of Medicine and completed residency training in endocrinology at the same university. He then moved to the United States and completed residency training in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. He founded and was director of the hospital’s depression clinical and research program from 1990-2014. In 2007, he also founded and is now the executive director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatry Clinical Trials Network and Institute, the first academic CRO specialized in the coordination of multi-center clinical trials in psychiatry. Under Dr. Fava’s direction, the depression clinical and research program became one of the most highly regarded depression programs in the country, a model for academic programs that link, in a bi-directional fashion, clinical and research work. Dr. Fava has been successful in obtaining funding as principal or co-principal investigator from both the National Institutes of Health and other sources for a total of more than $120 million. Dr. Fava’s prominence in the field is reflected in his role as the co-principal investigator of STAR*D, the largest research study ever conducted in depression, and of the RAPID Network, the NIMH-funded series of studies of novel, rapidly acting antidepressant therapies. Dr. Fava has received several awards during his career and is on the editorial board of five international medical journals. Since 1990, Dr. Fava has also mentored more than 50 trainees, who have gone on to become lead investigators in the area of psychiatry. With Dr. David Schoenfeld, he developed a novel design (with over five patents) to address the problem of excessive placebo response in drug trials and to markedly reduce sample size requirements for these trials. In 2009, Dr. Fava received the A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award from Harvard Medical School, and, in 2013, the John T. Potts, Jr., MD Faculty Mentoring Award from Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also the former president of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology. Dr. Fava is a well-known national and international lecturer, having given more than 300 presentations at national and international meetings.

Leading BrainMind, she connects top brain scientists with entrepreneurs and funders to turn research into real-world ventures. They have built a vibrant community where innovators, operators, and capital meet, and where promising ideas get the leadership and funding they need to scale. Diana also serves as President of Entrepreneur of Your Own Life, where she has backed early-stage founders and seed-stage social ventures across STEM fields. They mentor underserved students and build partnerships in healthcare, technology, and education, with a focus on aligning industry incentives with public benefit.

UK-based advisor with connections to the Mental Health Innovation Network. Brings cross-border perspective on brain-health investment opportunities.