Experiential learning opportunity for graduate students and post-doctoral researchers.
Entrepreneurial skills are critical for many high-impact careers, including academia, biotech, healthcare, private practice, investing, and consulting. Our fellowship program is a paid 10-hour weekly commitment for up to one year. This is expected to be in addition to the participants’ current responsibilities in academic research. Throughout the program, Fellows develop executive skills including competitive analysis, analytical marketing, regulatory affairs, intellectual property and aspects of legal and finance. The fellowship includes didactic sessions led by Celdara leadership, as well as invited subject matter experts. Select applicants, through expressed interest, will specifically study Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and be trained to critically examine novel AD innovations.
Lebanon, NH (CHEF Program)
Senior graduate students (at least 3 years into terminal degree), including MDs and dual degrees (e.g., MD/Ph.D., MD/MBA), as well as post-doctoral researchers are welcome to apply. Interested applicants should submit their CV, cover letter (1 page maximum), and a letter of support from PI or Department Chair to chef@celdaramedical.com.
The Lita Nelsen Prize
Celdara Medical celebrates the extraordinary contributions of Lita Nelsen as she retires from our Board of Directors after a decade of transformative leadership and visionary guidance. In honor of her unparalleled impact on the field of technology transfer, and her many contributions to our company, Celdara Medical is proud to announce the creation of the Lita Nelsen Prize.
The Lita Nelsen Prize will be awarded annually to the Celdara Fellow who demonstrates exceptional achievement in technology transfer. Honoring Lita’s legacy, the prize celebrates excellence in innovation sourcing, due diligence, and development planning. Recipients of this award will reflect her hallmark qualities of bold leadership, insight, and rigorous execution, serving as role models in advancing impactful innovation.
Alumni
Celdara has trained over 60 fellows who are pursuing a variety of academic, government and industry careers, including at Parexel, Acceleron, JDRF, Leerink, Bicycle Therapeutics, MIT, MGH, Monitor, Deloitte, Palantir, RBC Capital Markets, Genentech, Harvard, Cornell, Brigham & Women’s, and Advent Life Sciences, BMS, Virtici, and Celdara Medical.
Class of 2026-2027
Qi Yao
Shahad Abdulsahib
Natalie Edwards
Kelly Wan
Dartmouth
Qi Yao
Qi is a 4th-year PhD candidate in Dr. Orellana’s lab at Dartmouth College, where her research focuses on tRNA modifications in neurodevelopmental diseases and cancer. Before Dartmouth, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Hubei University of Chinese Medicine and her master’s degree from Northeastern University. She then worked at Moderna, developing next-generation therapeutics targeting cancer and autoimmune diseases. Outside the lab, Qi enjoys playing music, swimming, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, discovering local eateries, and playing tennis.
UT Health San Antonio
Shahad Abdulsahib
My path into cancer biology began with a strong interest in understanding how discoveries in the lab can translate into better options for patients. After earning my B.S. in Biochemistry from Texas State University, I joined the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UT Health San Antonio and conducted my doctoral research at the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute. Over five years, I studied THOC7 and its role in medulloblastoma, the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor. My dissertation identified a novel therapeutic vulnerability, with a first-author manuscript currently under review at Cancer Research. Beyond the bench, I gained experience across clinical and translational research, including clinical research at the Mays Cancer Center and participation in tumor boards at MD Anderson. I also founded and led a national Clinical Development 101 program through Nucleate and was selected as an SMDP Biotech Scholar from more than 1,000 applicants. I completed my PhD in Cancer Biology in summer 2026 and am now based in Houston, Texas. I joined Celdara to build on my scientific and clinical development experience and help translate promising discoveries into meaningful opportunities for patients.
Columbia University
Natalie Edwards
I am a 5th-year PhD Candidate in Neurobiology and Behavior at Columbia University, where my doctoral research focuses on understanding the contributions of vascular and inflammatory processes to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Broadly, my work aims to understand the biological factors that contribute to heterogeneity in AD pathology and disease progression, with a translational focus on identifying mechanisms that may inform earlier intervention and therapeutic development.
My research integrates human neuroimaging, blood-based biomarkers, and clinical and cognitive data, with a particular focus on adults with Down syndrome, who are genetically predisposed to developing Alzheimer’s disease. By studying vascular, inflammatory, and AD-related biomarkers across large human cohorts, I aim to better understand how these biological processes converge over the course of disease and contribute to differences in disease progression.
More broadly, I am interested in translating insights from human biomarker studies into therapeutically actionable biology, including identifying markers of early disease and biological pathways that may ultimately inform patient stratification and therapeutic development.
Dartmouth
Kelly Wan
I am a fifth-year PhD student in Molecular and Systems Biology at Dartmouth College, where I study the molecular mechanisms that regulate Wnt/β-catenin signaling, a pathway essential for development and frequently dysregulated in cancer. In Dr. Yashi Ahmed’s lab, my research identifies and characterizes previously unrecognized regulators of Wnt signaling and investigates how they control gene expression and tissue development. My work has uncovered new mechanisms that shape Wnt pathway activity and may reveal opportunities for therapeutic intervention in Wnt-driven diseases. Alongside my doctoral research, I have pursued experiences in consulting and science-focused business strategy to better understand how scientific discoveries can progress toward real-world applications. Through the Celdara Fellowship, I am excited to develop the skills and perspective needed to bridge fundamental research with biotechnology innovation and ultimately help translate scientific discoveries into improved patient outcomes.