# Server Ertem

> Server Ertem is the founder and CEO of Sanavia Oncology, a New York biotech developing antibody drug conjugates, T-cell engagers, and CAR-T therapies aimed at the roughly 80% of cancer patients whose tumors escape today's treatments. He built the company after a PhD in cancer cell biology at Weill Cornell, a postdoc at Memorial Sloan Kettering, and a Runway Startup Postdoc fellowship at Cornell Tech - stitching high-throughput cell biology, super-resolution microscopy, and machine learning into a platform designed to find cancer-specific epitopes on validated targets with atomic-level precision.

- **Role:** Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Sanavia Oncology Inc.
- **Organizations:** Sanavia Oncology Inc., Cornell Tech (Runway Startup Postdoc, alumnus), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (former), Weill Cornell Medicine (alumnus)
- **Education:** PhD, Oncology and Cancer Biology, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Runway Startup Postdoc Fellow, Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute / Cornell Tech
- **Known for:** Founded Sanavia Oncology, backed by Two Bear Capital, and raised roughly $26M in total funding., Selected for Cornell Tech's Runway Startup Postdoc program, an equity-based fellowship that funds scientists to found companies., Winner of the Bristol Myers Squibb Golden Ticket for Sanavia Oncology.

## Career timeline

- **2003** — Enters Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences to study cancer cell biology.
- **2009** — Completes PhD; begins postdoctoral research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
- **2019** — Joins the Runway Startup Postdoc program at Cornell Tech / Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute.
- **2020** — Founds Sanavia Oncology in New York.
- **2021** — Becomes CEO of Sanavia (Feb 2021).
- **2023** — Sanavia closes Series A funding (last raise July 2023).
- **2024** — Two Bear Capital publicly features Sanavia in its portfolio.
- **2025** — Speaks at BIO International Convention 2025 in Boston.
- **2026** — Sanavia attends JPMorgan Healthcare Conference and BIO International Convention 2026.

## Achievements

- Founded Sanavia Oncology, backed by Two Bear Capital, and raised roughly $26M in total funding.
- Selected for Cornell Tech's Runway Startup Postdoc program, an equity-based fellowship that funds scientists to found companies.
- Winner of the Bristol Myers Squibb Golden Ticket for Sanavia Oncology.
- Developed a proprietary epitope-discovery platform combining high-throughput sequencing, super-resolution microscopy, 3D protein modeling, and machine learning.
- Named inventor on multiple issued patents related to cancer-relevant nucleic acids and proteins.

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Sanavia Oncology attending JPMorgan Healthcare Conference 2026.
- **2025-06** — Server Ertem listed as a speaker at BIO International Convention 2025 in Boston.
- **2024** — Two Bear Capital publicly features Sanavia Oncology as portfolio company.

## Links

- Website: https://sanavia.bio
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/server-ertem/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/server-ertem
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-08