# Pilgrim Jackson

> Pilgrim Jackson is a San Diego biochemist, biotechnology founder, and former Celgene systems-proteomics leader who co-founded Yatiri Bio in 2020. After helping drug-discovery programs deliver six therapeutics to the clinic, he built a company around a persistent problem: promising medicines are often tested across patient populations whose biology differs sharply. Yatiri combines proteomic measurements, patient-derived models, clinical data, and machine learning to identify response signatures, guide trial design, and develop precision-oncology programs.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Yatiri Bio
- **Organizations:** Yatiri Bio, Celgene, University of California, Santa Cruz, Yale University
- **Education:** Ph.D. in Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz, B.S. in Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics, Yale University
- **Known for:** Contributed to drug-discovery projects at Celgene that delivered six therapeutics to the clinic across biologic, protein-degrader, and small-molecule modalities., Named as an inventor on four patents, according to his Yatiri Bio biography., Built and led Celgene's systems proteomics group.

## Career timeline

- **1998** — Earned a B.S. in Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics from Yale University, where he worked in Lynne Regan's lab and captained the mountain-bike club.
- **2005** — Earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
- **2007-2020** — Worked at Celgene for 13 years, building and leading multidisciplinary drug-discovery teams and later heading systems proteomics.
- **2020** — Co-founded Yatiri Bio and became CEO.
- **2023** — Co-authored an American Society of Hematology abstract on a proteomics-defined AML patient subset sensitive to venetoclax; Yatiri Bio was also named a Connect Cool Company.
- **2024** — Yatiri Bio was selected as a finalist in the San Diego Angel Conference VI.
- **2025** — Yatiri Bio received Gates Foundation support for a proteomics-interoperability initiative, and Jackson discussed predictive patient selection on the Innovating Tomorrow's Medicine podcast.
- **2026** — Yatiri Bio entered an exclusive global option to license denfivontinib from Oscotec for development in AML.

## Achievements

- Contributed to drug-discovery projects at Celgene that delivered six therapeutics to the clinic across biologic, protein-degrader, and small-molecule modalities.
- Named as an inventor on four patents, according to his Yatiri Bio biography.
- Built and led Celgene's systems proteomics group.
- Co-founded Yatiri Bio in 2020.
- Co-authored a 2023 ASH abstract on proteomics-informed identification of an AML subset sensitive to venetoclax.
- Led Yatiri Bio as it became a 2024 San Diego Angel Conference finalist and pursued a 2026 option agreement for an oncology asset.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Yatiri Bio entered an exclusive global option to license denfivontinib from Oscotec for development and commercialization in AML.
- **2025-12** — Jackson appeared on the Innovating Tomorrow's Medicine podcast to discuss proteomics-informed prediction of treatment response and biomarker-driven trial design.
- **2025-11** — Yatiri Bio presented work titled 'Personalized Therapeutic Prediction in AML via Proteomics-Informed Deep Learning' at HUPO 2025.
- **2025-09** — Yatiri Bio announced Gates Foundation support for a proteomics-interoperability project beginning with cervical cancer data.

## Links

- Website: https://yatiribio.com/team/pilgrim_jackson_p-h-d/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pilgrimjackson/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/pilgrim-jackson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-26