# Parastoo Khoshakhlagh

> Parastoo Khoshakhlagh is a biomedical engineer, serial entrepreneur, and the CEO and co-founder of Cambridge-based GC Therapeutics. From neural-engineering hydrogels at Tulane to an experiment aboard the International Space Station and a transcription-factor library developed in George Church's Harvard lab, her career has followed one practical question: how can difficult biological processes become programmable, repeatable, and scalable?

- **Role:** CEO & Co-Founder at GC Therapeutics
- **Organizations:** GC Therapeutics, Tympanogen, Wyss Institute at Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Tulane University, MassBio
- **Education:** B.S. in Materials Science & Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, Mini-MBA course, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Co-inventor and co-author of a comprehensive library of 1,732 human transcription-factor isoforms for cell-fate engineering., Co-founder and CEO of GC Therapeutics, which announced a $65 million Series A in 2024 and $75 million in total financing at launch., Co-founder and former CSO of Tympanogen, whose hydrogel research was flown to the International Space Station.

## Career timeline

- **2006** — Earned a bachelor's degree in Materials Science & Engineering from Iran University of Science and Technology.
- **2008** — Earned a master's degree in Biomedical Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology.
- **2013** — Earned an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University; her Tulane research focused on neural-engineering hydrogels.
- **2014** — Co-founded Tympanogen and won the $25,000 Tulane Business Model Competition grand prize with Elaine Horn-Ranney.
- **2015** — Completed a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Tulane University and a mini-MBA course at Harvard Business School.
- **2017-2018** — Worked on TFome research in George Church's lab, supported by Harvard's Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator; presented the project at Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation Day in 2018.
- **2018** — A Tympanogen hydrogel experiment launched to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo mission.
- **2019** — Co-founded GC Therapeutics; appeared in a CBS 60 Minutes segment about George Church's lab.
- **2020-2021** — Co-authored the Nature Biotechnology paper introducing a comprehensive human transcription-factor library for cell-fate engineering.
- **2024** — GC Therapeutics publicly launched with a $65 million Series A, bringing total financing announced at the time to $75 million.
- **2025** — Co-authored Nature Communications research on iterative transcription-factor screening for rapid generation of microglia-like cells.
- **2026** — Named an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 New England Award winner.

## Achievements

- Co-inventor and co-author of a comprehensive library of 1,732 human transcription-factor isoforms for cell-fate engineering.
- Co-founder and CEO of GC Therapeutics, which announced a $65 million Series A in 2024 and $75 million in total financing at launch.
- Co-founder and former CSO of Tympanogen, whose hydrogel research was flown to the International Space Station.
- Recipient of Tulane Biomedical Engineering's 2020 Outstanding Alumna Award.
- Member of the Wyss Lumineers Class of 2022 with Alex Ng.
- Winner of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 New England Award.
- Presented the TFome project when it won second prize at the 2018 Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation Day research showcase.
- Co-authored peer-reviewed work in Nature Biotechnology and Nature Communications.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — EY named Khoshakhlagh an Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 New England Award winner.
- **2026-05** — GC Therapeutics appointed stem-cell-therapy leader Stefan Irion as chief scientific officer.
- **2026-01** — GC Therapeutics appointed Kate Haviland as board chair and reported progress across its pipeline and TFome platform.
- **2025-06** — GC Therapeutics announced Nature Communications data validating iterative transcription-factor screening for rapid generation of microglia-like cells.

## Links

- Website: https://www.gc-tx.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parastookh

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/parastoo-khoshakhlagh
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-27