Retro Biosciences

Currently serving as a Staff Scientist at Retro BioSciences, I am an accomplished Postdoctoral Researcher with a rich history in the higher education sector, particularly at Harvard Medical School. Proficient in statistical analysis, specializing in genomic and transcriptomic data, my expertise also encompasses animal research in aging and cancer, along with adept project management skills. Armed with a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and a Master's in Bioengineering and Bioinformatics from Lomonosov Moscow University, I bring a strong research background to my role.

Guoxian (Greg) Wu brings 20+ years of global biopharmaceutical experience in leading R&D from discovery to the clinic. He enjoyed his journey in fields of medicinal chemistry and structure-based drug design (SBDD), where he gained expertise in hit and lead generation, optimization, preclinical studies in oncology and immuno-oncology. Before joining in Retro Bio, Greg led a cross-functional team to advance multiple NCEs into the clinic at Nerviano Medical Sciences, and contributed to drugs garnering regulatory approval (Vemurafenib and Pexidartinib) at Plexxikon-a Daiichi Sankyo company. He is an inventor of over 50 patents and craves for new challenges. Retro’s mission elates him to conquer a different kind of optimization-optimizing quality of life. Greg earned his PhD in Organic Chemistry from Princeton University and Chemistry degree from Fudan University in China. He likes hiking to experience nature in his spare time.

Dr. Petcherski completed his PhD at Goethe University Frankfurt and the Massachusetts General Hospital researching the effects of repurposed drugs on autophagy induction in a model Batten's disease. He went on to become a postdoctoral research fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Orian Shirihai at UCLA to continue research on mitochondrial dynamics and metabolism, mitophagy, and lipid droplet biology. During that time he cofounded several start up companies with his mentor Dr. Shirihai in the metabolism and mitophagy space. In 2024 Dr. Petcherski joined Retro Bio to help develop the autophagy program.

Multidisciplinary biologist with broad experience across cell biology, immunology, molecular biology, and regenerative medicine, focused on developing gene- and cell-base therapy for aging, age-related diseases, and human longevity.

Currently serving as a Staff Scientist at Retro BioSciences, I am an accomplished Postdoctoral Researcher with a rich history in the higher education sector, particularly at Harvard Medical School. Proficient in statistical analysis, specializing in genomic and transcriptomic data, my expertise also encompasses animal research in aging and cancer, along with adept project management skills. Armed with a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and a Master's in Bioengineering and Bioinformatics from Lomonosov Moscow University, I bring a strong research background to my role.

I studies DNA methylation and demethylation in the fields of epigenetics and developmental biology during 2005 and 2011, and I graduated as a PhD from Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2011. I moved to the US in 2011 and my research area has been on epigenetic reprogramming and its application in anti-aging drug development since then. My research work has been published on Science, Cell, Cell Stem Cell, Nature Neuroscience, and several other journals. I am holding two US patents related to induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) applications.

Dr. Swathi Karthikeyan leads the Reprogramming Team within Retro Biosciences’ patient-specific Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapy Program. She oversees the development of the iPSC generation pipeline for autologous therapies and its adaptation for clinical manufacturing. She previously led the development of a functional genomics platform used across Retro’s research programs. Dr.Karthikeyan earned her PhD from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, studying the impact of genetic heterogeneity on breast cancer development. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University investigating genomic drivers of cancer immune evasion.

Entrepreneurial and energetic Machine Learning Engineer experienced in bioinformatics pipelines and computational omics methods. My current focus is to explore how gene regulatory dynamics influence disease and my goal is to apply in silico models to uncover novel biological insights and accelerate drug discovery efforts.

Jacqueline Larouche leads the wet lab group of the applied AI team at Retro Biosciences. Prior to Retro, she received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering and Scientific Computing from the Aguilar Lab at the University of Michigan. Her thesis on cellular and molecular communication networks driving skeletal muscle health and disease was awarded honorable mention for the ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award, recognizing the top 20 (out of >800) dissertations submitted annually across all departments at the University of Michigan. She was also a recipient of the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships and a Whitaker International Fellowship prior to that.

Dr. Siddharth Menon is a stem cell biologist with experience spanning academic research and biotechnology. He earned his PhD in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University, where his research explored skeletal stem cells, cartilage regeneration, and osteoarthritis. As a Senior Scientist at Turn Biotechnologies, he led preclinical pharmacology and toxicology studies supporting cellular reprogramming therapies. He is currently a Scientist at Retro Biosciences, developing regenerative approaches for osteoarthritis and age-related musculoskeletal decline. His work connects fundamental stem cell biology with therapeutic development to restore tissue function.