# Amira Barkal

> Amira Barkal is the principal founder, scientific advisor, and a board director of Pheast Therapeutics. An Oregon State graduate who earned her M.D. and Ph.D. at Stanford in 2021, she helped establish Pheast around her graduate research and served as interim CEO at its 2022 public launch. Her career includes a 2022 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award and recognition on the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

- **Role:** Principal Founder, Scientific Advisor, and Board Director at Pheast Therapeutics
- **Organizations:** Pheast Therapeutics, Stanford University, Oregon State University, University of California, San Francisco, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- **Education:** B.S., Biochemistry and Biophysics, Oregon State University, M.D. and Ph.D., Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University
- **Known for:** 2022 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award recipient., Included in the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 list., Recognized by the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Women of Influence.

## Career timeline

- **2011** — Participated in Oregon State’s 11-week summer undergraduate research program.
- **2013** — Oregon State’s departmental newsletter identified her as working at Harvard.
- **2019** — Lead author of a Nature paper that became foundational to Pheast.
- **2020** — Pheast Therapeutics founded; Barkal is its principal founder.
- **2021** — Earned M.D. and Ph.D. degrees at Stanford.
- **2022** — Served as principal founder and interim CEO at Pheast’s public launch and $76 million Series A announcement on April 26.
- **2023** — Appeared as Pheast’s chief development officer in a September conference program.
- **2024** — Invited seminar speaker at Northwestern on May 8, identified as principal founder and chief development officer.

## Achievements

- 2022 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award recipient.
- Included in the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
- Recognized by the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Women of Influence.
- Principal founder of Pheast Therapeutics, which announced a $76 million Series A in April 2022.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — In a February 26 podcast, co-founder Roy Maute discussed Barkal’s central role in bringing Pheast into existence and their earlier laboratory collaboration.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amira-barkal-md-phd

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/amira-barkal
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-15