Senda Biosciences, Inc., a company harnessing nature to enable the world’s first comprehensive programming of medicines, announced the appointment of Paula Hammond, Ph.D., Institute Professor and Head of MIT’s Department of Chemical Engineering, to the Company’s Board of Directors.
“Paula is a truly gifted chemical engineer whose extraordinary body of research has contributed immeasurably to advances in the fields of nanotechnology and immunotherapeutics,” said Ignacio Martinez, Chairperson of the Board, cofounder of Senda Biosciences, and General Partner, Flagship Pioneering. “I can think of no better addition to the Board, and I look forward to working with Paula and the rest of the team to help Senda maximize the potential of its platform and realize its vision to pioneer the development of comprehensively programmable medicines for patients in need.”
Dr. Hammond’s lab at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT focuses on self-assembly of polymers to develop nanoparticles targeting cells of interest via multiple modes. Her work has potential applications for cancer therapeutics across a range of solid tumors, cancer vaccines, and immuno-oncology treatment strategies.
“I’m pleased to be joining the Board of an organization whose mission, vision, and goals are so closely aligned with mine and those of my lab,” said Dr. Hammond. “I’ve dedicated much of my career to developing novel systems, materials, and technologies to solve key therapeutic challenges. I believe Senda’s unique approach to fully programming medicines—both within the cell via the genetic code and to the cell by using the chemical addressing coding language that evolved over millennia—has the potential to do just that. Senda’s platform has the potential to finally unlock the full therapeutic promise of this information molecule era, and I welcome the opportunity to help shape and support its advancement.”
Beyond leading her lab and the Department of Chemical Engineering, Dr. Hammond is also a founding member of the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology and the MIT Energy Initiative. Her work has garnered numerous honors, including election to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Hammond is also the recipient of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Margaret H. Rousseau Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement by a Woman Chemical Engineer, the Materials Research Society David Turnbull Lectureship Award, and the American Chemical Society Award in Applied Polymer Science. Dr. Hammond is a Board Member and co-Founder of LayerBio, Inc., a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Moderna Therapeutics, Inc., a member of the Board of Alector, Inc., a member of the Board of Focal Medica, and a member of the President’s Council for Science and Technology (PCAST). She holds an S.B. and M.S. in chemical engineering from MIT and Georgia Institute of Technology, respectively, and a Ph.D. from MIT.
