About

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Business Development Director

Sebastien has been with NEIGHBORHOOD since its’ inception, where he is Business Development Director. He has a unique insight into the challenges faced by startup companies, from setting up his own medical device company in 2007, which he successfully ran for 7 years, and raised more than €4m. More recently, Sebastien broadened his entrepreneurial experience by getting involved in several biotech startups. This experience has further enhanced his understanding of the specific challenges and how they can be overcome. As part of this approach, Sebastien firmly believes that experience sharing and continuous networking are essential elements to the success of any venture; two characteristics of Neighborhood, which he intends to help further develop on behalf of client companies. Sebastien is fascinated by Entrepreneurship, Life Sciences and Education. Sebastien has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. Outside of work, when not playing squash, Sebastien likes to teach his three children to surf. Based in Paris, he enjoys working within the multi-cultural environment.

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Program Manager

As Program Manager at Neighborhood, Soraya is responsible for coordinating the healthtech startups’ acceleration programs (i.e., the year-long incubation and stand-alone mentoring sessions). She is involved in the management of partnerships with French government agencies, and national/ international institutes, incubators, and accelerators. Soraya’s expertise is in Drug Development. Soraya brings more than 12 years of experience in the life sciences, including research, innovation, and valorization, all leading to a deep knowledge of the French scientific ecosystem and expertise in scouting and partnering. Soraya has first-hand experience, with academics and startups, of how challenging it can be to meet regulatory requirements when developing a product. She has seen how dedicated external support can offer a huge boost. Before joining VCLS, Soraya worked at the Technology Transfer Office of Inserm (Inserm Transert), as Business Development Manager. She was responsible for the patent portfolio in infectious diseases and immunology, for licensing agreements with pharmaceutical companies and startups. She previously worked as Senior Scientist at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, leader in rare diseases, where she was responsible for a drug candidate research project in the context of a private-public partnership with Imagine Institute. Doctorate in Cell and Molecular Biology (Curie Institute), Soraya is a graduate of Université Paris-Cité. Through her various experiences, she grew passionate about multiple therapeutic areas such as oncology, infectiology and rare diseases. She is a fan of mountain climbing, skiing, Nordic countries, and interior design for children’s rooms. Based in the Paris office, she enjoys being immersed in the most innovative technologies and working alongside ambitious startups.

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Project Manager

At Neighborhood, Forum supports startups, by understanding their needs, and connecting them with resources (experts, collaborators, infrastructure) that can help accelerate their progress. She is an engineer at heart and is excited to solve social challenges using deeptech. She has 8 years of experience contributing to MedTech and Agri-foodtech projects for academia, innovation programs, VCs and startups. In the past, she has contributed to Medtech AI projects by identifying pressing medical challenges, ideating innovations, conducting clinical validations & facilitating commercialization of the medtech innovations. She developed a passion for synthetic biology projects following her experiences working with VC firms for technology assessment of synthetic biology projects, as well as mentoring startups at iGEM EPIC program. Through her experiences she has developed a deep understanding of the innovation ecosystem, the evolving needs of the startups and of different stakeholders; at different stages of getting innovations to the market. She has a master’s degree in biotechnology and a master’s in life sciences (synbio). Outside of work, Forum enjoys performing folk dances at cultural events, quoting movies, and hiking in forests.

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Project Associate

Dominique starts a new journey as Project Associate at Neighborhood. She is motivated to work with health tech entrepreneurs and help young ambitious startups achieve their goals. Dominique comes from a mechanical engineering background with a special interest in biomedical engineering. She is drawn to innovative and technologically exciting environments. What most drives Dominique is knowing that she’s impacting the lives of others and enabling access to essential and quality health tech products. After graduating from the University of Southampton, Dominique interned at Cerebra Innovation Centre, designing and manufacturing bespoke assistive devices for disabled children. She created electronic sensory and stimulatory devices for children with neurodisabilities. Dominique thrives in fast-paced 1environments where she can express her creativity and use her technical knowledge. In her free time, Dominique practices various martial arts, including muay-thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and is learning Japanese. Dominique is based in the Paris office and looks forward to collaborating with you.