# Marc Lajoie

> Marc Lajoie is a protein designer turned biotech CEO. He co-founded Outpace Bio in 2021 in Seattle, where he is chief executive, building engineered cell therapies that aim to bring the kind of cures seen in blood cancers to the solid tumors that make up the vast majority of cancer cases. Trained in George Church's genome-engineering lab at Harvard and David Baker's Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington, Lajoie helped pioneer the design of proteins with moving parts - molecules that compute, switch, and make decisions inside living cells. Outpace raised a $144M oversubscribed Series B in 2024 to push its AI-powered, protein-designed therapies toward the clinic.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Outpace Bio
- **Organizations:** Outpace Bio, Lyell Immunopharma, GRO Biosciences, Institute for Protein Design (University of Washington), Harvard University
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA in Biophysical Chemistry, Dartmouth College, PhD in Chemical Biology (George Church lab), Harvard University, Postdoctoral research (David Baker lab), University of Washington / Institute for Protein Design
- **Known for:** Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science (2012), MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35 (2019), Endpoints 20 Under 40 in Biopharma (2021)

## Career timeline

- **2012** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science
- **PhD era** — Created the first genomically recoded organism with a reassigned genetic code in George Church's Harvard lab; co-founded GRO Biosciences
- **2014** — Joined David Baker's lab at UW to master de novo protein design, working with Scott Boyken on proteins with moving parts
- **2018** — Co-founded Lyell Immunopharma; led technology development in protein and cell engineering
- **2019** — Named MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35
- **2020** — Co-lead author on Co-LOCKR, designed protein logic for targeting cells by antigen combinations (Science)
- **2021** — Co-founded Outpace Bio with Scott Boyken; named Endpoints 20 Under 40 in Biopharma
- **2024** — Outpace Bio closes $144M oversubscribed Series B to advance AI-powered cell therapies into clinical development

## Achievements

- Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science (2012)
- MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35 (2019)
- Endpoints 20 Under 40 in Biopharma (2021)
- Created the first genomically recoded organism with a reassigned genetic code
- Co-pioneered de novo design of proteins with moving parts
- Co-lead author on Co-LOCKR designed protein logic system
- Author of 30+ scientific publications; inventor on 19 published patent applications
- Co-founded three biotech companies: GRO Biosciences, Lyell Immunopharma, Outpace Bio
- Led Outpace Bio to a $144M Series B (total funding ~$199M)

## Latest updates

- **2024-08** — Outpace Bio closed a $144M oversubscribed Series B to advance AI-powered, protein-designed cell therapies into clinical development, targeting solid tumors.

## Links

- Website: https://outpacebio.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/marclajoie

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/marc-lajoie
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-11