Nicole Rivera-Espinal
JSMF Venture Fellow
Nicole Rivera-Espinal, Ph.D., is a JSMF Venture Fellow with BioGenerator. Originally from Puerto Rico, she recently earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis from Washington University in St. Louis as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. Her dissertation explored how viral infection populations interact with the host’s molecular circadian clock. During her doctoral studies, she co-founded Aactiva Biotherapeutics, an RNA-based intratumoral immunotherapy startup focused on cancer treatment.
Nicole currently serves as Director of Marketing at The BALSA Group, a St. Louis-based nonprofit life science consultancy, where she leads brand strategy and marketing across digital and social media platforms. She also leads marketing strategy and initiatives for BioGenerator portfolio company, CapyBio. Prior to her doctoral studies, she completed a postbaccalaureate fellowship in Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She holds a B.S. in General Biology from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey.