Yuval Luria ‘22 is working to advance medical technology on the front lines of medication production. The chemistry major, who concentrated in biochemistry and minored in religion, is working as the chief of staff at Nuevivo Inc. in Palo Alto, CA. Nuevivo is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing new treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
Neuvivo’s investigational therapeutic, NP001, is a small molecule which, through a series of biochemical interactions in the body, is converted to a compound that can transform inflammatory macrophages (M1) to the non-inflammatory, wound healing state (M2), with the goal of stopping damage to motor neurons and, therefore, halting progression of ALS.
“My role as the chief of staff includes developing manufacturing plans for NP001, a therapeutic treatment of ALS. I also work closely with the CEO to develop presentations for the Board of Directors, investors, and the FDA,” Luria said. “My role is currently expanding as I become more comfortable with the position and learn more about the science and development of our treatment.”
Luria additionally manages communication with patients, and works with patient-advocacy groups to ensure their needs are met and their voices are heard during each stage of development. This work has shown Luria, first-hand, the value of communication between physicians, patients, and researchers.
That experience will be useful because Luria is planning to pursue a path to medical school. He is interested in conducting clinical research in addition to treating patients, for which both his work at Nuevivo and research at Haverford have prepared him.
“Conducting research at Haverford made me interested in exploring non-research roles at a pharmaceutical company. Hopefully this experience will help me become a better physician,” he said.
Luria thanked Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Grant Spoors for helping him better understand the breadth and depth of conducting research.
He also emphasized the importance of talking to people in your field as you figure out your career path. “While not everyone will offer you a job,” said Luria, “they can put you into contact with people who share your interests. Just talking to other chemists and physicians has been incredibly helpful in figuring out what I love to do.”
“Where They’re Headed” is a blog series chronicling the post-collegiate plans of recent Haverford graduates.