Frieda Chan, Ph.D. is the Director of Business Development at Yale Ventures, where she works with faculty and industry partners to advance innovations from Yale research toward commercialization. She brings over a decade of experience in intellectual property protection, technology licensing, startup formation, venture capital fundraising, and business development strategy for life science innovations.

Prior to joining Yale, Dr. Chan was an Innovation Manager at the University of Washington, supporting startup launches and commercialization across therapeutics, diagnostics, and biological materials. She has also served as a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Hans‑Peter Kiem, M.D., Ph.D. and later as a Technology Manager at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and as a USPTO-registered patent agent at Cooley LLP and Seed IP Law Group.

Dr. Chan holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biosciences from Washington State University. She is also a professional musician, earning Bachelor, Master, and Doctorate degrees in flute performance. In her free time, she is an artist, mountaineer, triathlete, coxswain, and horticulturist.