Akansha Bhargava is a physician turned entrepreneur with experience in pharmaceutical development, biosecurity research, and healthcare quality improvement. Akansha served as a medical director for a biotech company in the San Francisco Bay Area, Soleno Therapeutics where she provided strategic medical leadership for a rare
disease clinical development program for patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome. She also gained meaningful experience at a preclinical biopharmaceutical startup, Switch Therapeutics, developing a novel cell specific siRNA therapy. Akansha is passionate about solving complex problems across multidisciplinary fields. She has led policy research initiatives in the field of biosecurity including the completion of a series of case studies in Agricultural Biosecurity. She has successfully implemented quality improvement projects in an in-patient setting to improve resource utilization and patient safety. She earned her BS in Genetics and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin– Madison, her Masters from Johns Hopkins University in Biotechnology with a concentration in Biodefense and obtained her medical degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Outside of work, Akansha enjoys exploring the Northern California hiking trails, writing, glassworking and Ikebana.