Iryna Charapitsa
Iryna Charapitsa’s career path highlights how an extensive academic background can successfully pivot into the dynamic startup ecosystem. After earning her diploma in biology and biotechnology at Belarus State University, she moved to Germany to complete her PhD at EMBL Heidelberg.
She spent the following years building a strong academic track record, holding postdoc and project leader positions across top-tier research institutes, including the MPI, DKFZ, IMB Mainz, and EMBL. Afterwards, Iryna shifted her focus to the biotech sector, where her early industry experience included a Lab Head position at SolMic Reaserach, followed by a Senior Scientist role at Phenex Pharmaceuticals. She then took the entrepreneurial leap and became one of the founders of WM-Therapeutics, a Heidelberg-based biotech startup that develops precisely engineered small-molecule therapies targeting cancer, autoimmune diseases, and viral infections. Over the past six years, she has navigated this startup from the ground up, progressing from Head of Discovery Biology to Executive VP of Research, and now serving as CSO.
Check out WMT here.
