# Richard Novak

> Richard Novak is a bioengineer and entrepreneur who co-founded and leads Unravel Biosciences, a rare disease therapeutics company built on its BioNAV platform that uses RNA network analysis to ask whether a drug will help real patients before working backward to find its target. A former lead engineer at Harvard's Wyss Institute with 15+ years in drug discovery systems, he also founded the swab company Rhinostics during the COVID-19 pandemic and the science-education nonprofit Future Scientist. Novak holds a PhD in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley and a BS in Biology from Emory, and is a 2024 Termeer Fellow.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Unravel Biosciences
- **Organizations:** Unravel Biosciences, Rhinostics Inc., Future Scientist, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering (Harvard), Termeer Institute
- **From:** Czech Republic
- **Nationality:** Czech-American
- **Education:** BS in Biology, Emory University, PhD in Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Unravel Biosciences and its proprietary BioNAV RNA-network drug discovery platform, Founded Rhinostics Inc., scaling a 3D-printed nasal swab from design to sterile mass production in roughly three months during COVID-19, Co-founded the science and engineering education nonprofit Future Scientist

## Career timeline

- **High school** — Conducted independent research on turtle migration using genetic sequencing, encouraged by his father
- **Pre-2020** — Lead Engineer on the Advanced Technology / Microengineering Team at Harvard's Wyss Institute, running drug discovery, disease models, Organ Chips, and automation programs
- **2020** — Co-developed a 3D-printed nasal swab during COVID-19 - designed in 3 days, molded within a month, scaled to sterile production in two months - founding Rhinostics Inc.
- **2021** — Co-founded Unravel Biosciences with Frederic Vigneault; closed a pre-seed funding round
- **2023** — Advanced RVL001 for Rett Syndrome toward clinical trials; enrolled trials in Colombia with CRO partner TMA Precision Health
- **2024** — Named a Termeer Fellow (Class of 2024)

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Unravel Biosciences and its proprietary BioNAV RNA-network drug discovery platform
- Founded Rhinostics Inc., scaling a 3D-printed nasal swab from design to sterile mass production in roughly three months during COVID-19
- Co-founded the science and engineering education nonprofit Future Scientist
- 15+ years developing microfluidic and drug discovery systems at the Wyss Institute
- Discovered a new drug target for Rett Syndrome and patented RVL002
- Named a 2024 Termeer Fellow
- Achieved pre-IND status in the US and advanced multiple rare-disease programs

## Latest updates

- **2024** — Named to the Class of 2024 Termeer Fellows.
- **2023** — Advanced RVL001 for Rett Syndrome toward N-of-1 clinical trials and enrolled trials in Colombia with CRO partner TMA Precision Health.

## Links

- Website: https://unravel.bio
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/richardnovak

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/richard-novak
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-21