Influential Woman · Biotech
Priyanka Bajaj
Founder and CEO of New Variant Bio, QB3
San Francisco, CA
Her Story
About Priyanka
Priyanka Bajaj is the Founder and CEO of New Variant Bio, a biotech startup she is spinning out of her postdoctoral research at UCSF. Her platform technology focuses on functional genomics to identify driver mutations prevalent in solid tumors and assess drug responses, aiming to create an AI-native approach for target identification and cancer variant trial matching. She earned her PhD in Molecular Biophysics from the Indian Institute of Science in 2022, following an MSc in Biochemistry from the University of Hyderabad where she received a gold medal for highest academic ranking, and a BSc in Biochemistry from Delhi University, Sri Venkateswara College in 2014. Bajaj has served as lead inventor on her technology and as an organizer of the Variant Effect Seminar Series for one and a half years with the Atlas of Variant Effects organization until May 2026. She participates in the QB3 Early-Stage Mentoring Program and the Nucleate Activator Program, building relationships with key opinion leaders in pharma and clinicians at UCSF's Molecular Tumor Board to advance her venture.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Priyanka
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would attribute my success to a lot of people around me, including my mentors who I call gurus in Hindi, my family, my husband who has been a great support, my friends, and my team. My mentors from UCSF and PhD guided me on the next steps, and my family and husband enabled me to pursue entrepreneurship without burdens.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
All my mentors mentioned that they really like my persistence and resilience. The advice was always that stay at it, just don't give up.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Take up a problem that really interests you and that you feel you want to solve. Strive towards it, figure out the technical abilities you need to learn and the relations you need to build. Have a vision that you are striving for, work towards it, don't give up, believe in yourself, and keep progressing. There will be a lot of people who join you and support you.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The number one challenge is fundraising - people find the technology cool but question if it is commercializable. As a leader, you need to keep putting yourself in uncomfortable situations to learn partnerships, legal language, licenses, and customer interviews. It's challenging but a lot of fun and an opportunity for deep learning and personal growth.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important values are to have very high integrity so that when you say A, the other person understands it's A. There may be conflicts but we come to a common conclusion based on facts with nothing personal in the way. Also, behavioral traits and right fit beyond just skills on paper.
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