# Diana Abdueva

> Diana Abdueva is the co-founder and CEO of Aqtual, a Hayward biotechnology company developing an active-chromatin cell-free DNA platform. Trained in applied mathematics and computational biology at the University of Southern California, she moved through academic research and bioinformatics roles at Affymetrix, Verinata Health, Ion Torrent and Guardant Health before co-founding Aqtual. Her career connects algorithms, molecular measurement and company building, including a $31 million Series B in 2025 and research presented across major scientific meetings.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Aqtual, Inc.
- **Organizations:** Aqtual, Inc., Guardant Health, Ion Torrent by Life Technologies, Verinata Health, Affymetrix, Veracyte, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, University of Southern California
- **Education:** PhD; MA in Applied Mathematics; MS in Computational Biology, University of Southern California, Applied Physics, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
- **Known for:** Co-founded Aqtual and led it through Series A and Series B financing totaling $47 million., Led Aqtual's transition from stealth to a platform company with a clinical study and an expanding publication program., Named as an inventor on 17 listed granted US patents spanning Guardant Health, Verinata Health and Aqtual-related methods.

## Career timeline

- **2000-2005** — Completed graduate training at the University of Southern California in applied mathematics and computational biology under PhD adviser Simon Tavaré.
- **2006-2008** — Published computational and experimental work on microarray measurement and gene-expression analysis through USC and Children's Hospital Los Angeles affiliations.
- **2008-2018** — Held bioinformatics and biostatistics roles across Affymetrix, Veracyte, Verinata Health, Ion Torrent by Life Technologies and Guardant Health.
- **2017** — Guardant Health patent filings named Abdueva as an inventor on fragmentome profiling and nucleic-acid analysis methods.
- **2018-2019** — Co-founded Aqtual with Rich Rava and began building the company's laboratory and active-chromatin cfDNA platform.
- **2023** — Aqtual emerged from stealth, announced a $16 million Series A and presented early platform findings at ACR Convergence.
- **2024** — Aqtual's active-chromatin extraction work appeared in Communications Biology and the company expanded its scientific presentation program.
- **2025** — Aqtual raised a $31 million Series B and continued clinical and conference validation work.
- **2026** — Presented at PMWC, appeared in Aqtual's ASCO and EULAR research program, and was named among the San Francisco Business Times' Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Aqtual and led it through Series A and Series B financing totaling $47 million.
- Led Aqtual's transition from stealth to a platform company with a clinical study and an expanding publication program.
- Named as an inventor on 17 listed granted US patents spanning Guardant Health, Verinata Health and Aqtual-related methods.
- Co-authored peer-reviewed research beginning with computational biology and microarray analysis in the 2000s.
- Named a 2026 Most Influential Woman in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times.
- Presented Aqtual's active-chromatin approach at PMWC 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Aqtual announced additions to its senior leadership team as it entered its next growth phase.
- **2026-06** — Aqtual presented active-chromatin cfDNA findings at ASCO and EULAR 2026.
- **2026-05** — The San Francisco Business Times named Abdueva among its 2026 Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business.
- **2026-03** — Abdueva presented at PMWC on reading tissue-specific regulation through active chromatin in blood.
- **2025-07** — Aqtual announced a $31 million Series B to advance its platform and commercialization work.

## Links

- Website: https://aqtual.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-abdueva-a648b044

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/diana-abdueva
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-18