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Venture Catalyst: Exploring Life Sciences VC in Los Angeles

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On the evening of Tuesday, September 16th, 2025, a full house of scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, and students packed the Magnify incubator at UCLA’s California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) for Venture Catalyst: Exploring Life Sciences VC in Los Angeles. In collaboration with UCLA Ventures and Magnify at CNSI, the program created a vibrant forum for understanding how breakthrough academic discoveries can become tomorrow’s medicines and diagnostics.


The evening featured an inspiring keynote by Mira Chaurushiya, Ph.D., Managing Director at Westlake BioPartners, whose own trajectory exemplifies the possibilities that emerge when scientific curiosity meets entrepreneurial opportunity. Trained as a biologist at Carleton College and drawn early to research at Rockefeller University and University of Chicago, Chaurushiya completed her Ph.D. at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies before beginning a postdoctoral fellowship at Genentech. It was during this period, she recounted, that she first glimpsed the excitement of company creation and began working with the Oxbridge Biotech Roundtable—an experience that led to the founding of Biotech Connection Bay Area, the precursor to BCLA. From there she joined 5AM Ventures, rising from associate to partner and discovering her vocation in life science investing. In 2018 she returned to Los Angeles to help launch Westlake BioPartners, where she now manages three funds totaling about $1.3 billion and invests primarily in early-stage therapeutics.


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Chaurushiya described the venture capital model with unusual clarity, tracing the flow of capital from universities, hospital endowments, and other limited partners into Westlake’s funds and on into a carefully chosen portfolio of only 10 to 12 companies per fund. Unlike technology investors who may place dozens of small bets hoping for a single blockbuster, Westlake concentrates large, early investments—often $20–30 million per company—around outstanding scientific ideas and, above all, outstanding teams. “I have seen great science fail because of a weak team, and I have seen a great team turn mediocre science into an effective medicine,” she said, stressing that people matter more than technology in determining a company’s fate. Despite recent turbulence in biotech capital markets, she remained upbeat, calling this “the time you invest when everybody is scared,” and predicting that firms courageous enough to build now will be best positioned three years hence when the next wave of innovation crests. She closed by urging students and entrepreneurs to follow people rather than titles, to build relationships with peers who will become collaborators and champions, and to “be a good friend,” since the network formed early in one’s career often proves decisive decades later.


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Following the keynote, Sonia Setayesh, Ph.D., Investment Partner at Civilization Ventures, moderated a wide-ranging panel discussion that showcased the many different paths leading into venture capital. Kelly Kaihara, Ph.D., Founding Partner of Blueward Ventures, drew on her experience as a UCSF-trained scientist and eight-year life-science operator to explain how she now supports UCLA-affiliated startups from inception to seed funding. Lee Gordon, J.D., MBA, Chairman of Pasadena Angels, recounted his transition from two decades of litigation to early-stage investing, highlighting the mental shift from the backward-looking world of legal discovery to the forward-looking uncertainty of venture. Matthew Sferrazza, J.D., the Founding President of UCLA Bruins Angels and a former SEC enforcement attorney, described how his expertise in fund formation and governance helps alumni and friends of UCLA pool capital for promising young companies. Beverly Lu, Ph.D., a Caltech-trained chemist who went on to postdoctoral work in immuno-oncology at Harvard, a four-year tenure at McKinsey & Company, and portfolio leadership at Amgen before becoming an investor at Yosemite, emphasized the importance of disciplined prioritization and of asking, in every potential deal, the “three kill questions” that can determine whether an idea is worth pursuing.


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Over the course of the conversation the panelists explored the mindset shifts required to move from research to investing. They noted that scientists and lawyers alike are trained to prize exhaustive certainty, whereas investors must make educated decisions quickly and with incomplete information. They advised aspiring venture capitalists to seek practical experiences outside the lab—understanding startup financing, regulatory milestones, and reimbursement dynamics—while recognizing that the critical skills of pattern recognition and judgment are best learned through apprenticeship and active participation on boards. “Venture is an apprenticeship business,” Chaurushiya later added in response to an audience question. “You learn by sitting in the room, watching people disagree, and figuring out how to have influence.”


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The discussion also turned to what makes a successful founder or CEO. Across backgrounds the panelists converged on a core set of qualities: integrity, perseverance, and the ability to inspire and retain talent. Fundraising skill and storytelling were described as indispensable, as was coachability—the willingness to accept advice and pivot when necessary. Gordon stressed the importance of building a complementary team rather than going it alone, while Liu highlighted the need to think years ahead to ensure that a therapy will remain relevant and reimbursable when it finally reaches the clinic. Kaihara drew on her years of company creation to emphasize the necessity of keeping “an eye on the exit” from the earliest days, ensuring that a business plan leads efficiently to value inflection and eventual acquisition or IPO.


By weaving together the personal narrative of Chaurushiya’s scientific and investment career, the practical insights of a multidisciplinary panel, and the enthusiasm of a diverse audience, Venture Catalyst showcased how academic discovery, entrepreneurial drive, and venture capital can converge to accelerate the translation of science into medicine. The event also underscored a message echoed by every speaker: relationships—built early, nurtured over time, and grounded in trust—are the true catalyst for long-term success in biotechnology and beyond.


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As the formal program concluded, guests gathered for a reception and happy hour, where the CNSI space buzzed with energy and animated discussion. Students and postdocs compared notes with investors, entrepreneurs sketched ideas on notepads, and new collaborations began to take root. The evening closed not only with exchanged business cards, but with shared optimism about Los Angeles’s growing role as a hub for life-science innovation and venture creation. We are deeply grateful to our speakers and panelists for sharing their insights, and to all who joined us in making the event a meaningful and memorable experience. We also thank our event sponsors—Corning, Insperity, and Carrigent—and our core sponsors—Magnify at CNSI, USC Bridge Institute, Keck Graduate Institute, and LA BioSpace—whose generosity made Venture Catalyst possible.







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