Dr. Michael Chen stands as a visionary leader in the field of protein science and biotechnology innovation. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Nuclera, a pioneering life science tools company with operations spanning Cambridge, UK and Boston, US that has revolutionized protein accessibility for researchers worldwide. Dr. Chen earned his BSc in Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology before completing his PhD in Chemistry through a prestigious collaboration between the National Institutes of Health and the University of Cambridge. His scientific journey began with award-winning research in structural biology, where he published in high-impact journals including Nature, but his career took a transformative shift when he identified critical barriers to protein accessibility during his doctoral studies. In 2013, driven by frustration with the limitations facing researchers, Dr. Chen co-founded Nuclera with a mission to democratize protein access for scientific discovery.
Dr. Chen's groundbreaking development of the eProtein Discovery rapid protein access benchtop platform represents a paradigm shift in protein production technology, eliminating traditional constraints that previously hindered research and drug discovery pipelines. His innovative approach to cell-free protein synthesis has enabled researchers to prototype proteins in hours rather than weeks, dramatically accelerating the pace of biological research across academia and industry. Under Dr. Chen's leadership, Nuclera has secured $83 million in funding to advance this transformative technology, building a robust intellectual property portfolio that addresses long-standing challenges in protein expression. His work has profound implications for therapeutic development, enabling faster iteration in antibody engineering, enzyme optimization, and novel biomaterial design, thereby removing protein accessibility as a bottleneck in scientific progress.
As a respected industry leader, Dr. Chen regularly shares his expertise at major scientific conferences and serves as a strategic advisor on biotechnology innovation and commercialization. He has cultivated a vibrant research culture at Nuclera that values interdisciplinary collaboration, having expanded the company to over 100 employees across two continents while maintaining scientific rigor and entrepreneurial spirit. Dr. Chen's commitment to advancing scientific tools extends beyond his company, as he actively engages with the broader research community to understand evolving needs in protein science. His curiosity-driven approach to problem-solving is reflected in both his professional work and personal interests, which include exploring cultural institutions like the Whipple Museum of the History of Science that document scientific progress. Looking ahead, Dr. Chen continues to drive Nuclera's mission to transform the accessibility of proteins worldwide, with the potential to significantly accelerate breakthroughs in therapeutic development and fundamental biological research.
