The Team at LabCentral

CEO, Cambridge Biolabs and ViThera Pharma; Cofounder, Cequent Pharmaceuticals

Johannes Fruehauf (MD PhD) has a background as a physician working in diverse health systems. In his 15+ years as a serial biotech entrepreneur, Dr. Fruehauf has dedicated much of his professional endeavors to the mission of re-defining life science entrepreneurship and building start-up ecosystems.

He is the Founder and President of LabCentral, the preeminent private/public partnership model for life science incubator space, while also serving as CEO for BioLabs, the largest provider of laboratory co-working space for startups nationwide. LabCentral and Biolabs currently are home for over 300 startups in 8 cities and companies started within this network now routinely account for over 20% of all Seed and Series A venture capital invested in life sciences in the US.

Johannes is founder and General Partner of Mission BioCapital (MBC). In his role at MBC, he sources, diligences, and leads new life-science investment transactions and represents the fund on the board of a number of MBC portfolio companies.

Dr. Fruehauf studied medicine in Germany and France, while also conducting field work in Africa (Zimbabwe and Guinea). He graduated from University of Frankfurt and received his doctorate from the University of Heidelberg. Johannes is the author of over 30 peer reviewed publications and is named inventor on 9 patents.

Maggie O’Toole is the executive vice president and chief operating officer at LabCentral. She provides overall direction and guidance to the operational activities of the company and oversees expansion projects including the Harvard Life Lab, a branch of the Harvard Innovation Labs operated by LabCentral as well as MIT's The Engine. Maggie has more than 20 years of experience in business start-ups working with the founders to establish a company’s infrastructure and ultimately is responsible for business management and daily operations. Prior to LabCentral, she served as director of operations for Pervasis Therapeutics, an early-stage biotech acquired by Shire. Previously, she has held management positions with Reputation Technologies; acquired by Security Source, Inc., Synetics, Inc.; acquired by ACS, and Elephant Engineering; acquired by Syntronics, LLC. Maggie earned her bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

Favorite school science project: “Fifth grade, protect the falling egg challenge – maybe it was just that we all got to go outside and drop things off the side of the building but I loved this – my winning technique…Rice Krispies!”

Gretchen Cook-Anderson is an award-winning marketing/communications executive with over 28 years promoting the sciences (life sciences, biotech, aerospace and Earth science), global education, political candidates and major household products.

In her current role as inaugural Executive Director at Cambridge, MA-based nonprofit Ignite, Gretchen Cook-Anderson is leading efforts at the first-and-only-of-its-kind platform that’s addressing systemic racial, gender and other underrepresentation in talent across the life sciences and the biotech industry – from labs to leadership, and from the STEM student pipeline to the entrepreneurs advancing life-changing innovations. Ignite was launched in early 2021 by LabCentral, a preeminent early-stage biotech startup accelerator, as a forward-thinking, equity-driven way to support the workforce needs of the industry.

Gretchen was honored in October 2020 among the inaugural 50 Most Influential Businesspersons of Color by the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce (MetroWest region). She was also recognized in February 2021 by the Massachusetts Legislature as a Black Excellence on The Hill honoree.

She is active as a board/advisory member for several organizations including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, WorldBoston, Facing History & Ourselves, and the Japan-US Friendship Commission, and independent schools (Belmont Hill School & Dana Hall School), cares deeply about social justice, equity, and inclusion, and speaks publicly and consults on related themes dozens of times locally and globally each year.

Gretchen is an alumna of Spelman College (BA), of The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (dual MA), and of Harvard University’s Executive Education Leading Difference for High-Performance program.

Something most don’t know about her: She speaks Japanese and taught it at the university level here in the States for 6 years, and once climbed a mountain in the Swiss Alps.

Favorite thing to do outside of work: Travel globally – trying to hit places on her long bucket list, including Greece, South Africa, Ghana, the Maldives, the Seychelles and Zanzibar, and New Zealand.

Favorite science experiment: "An oldie but goodie: Making a paper maché volcano erupt in elementary school!"

Pete is the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer for LabCentral. He is responsible for leading and managing the organization’s fiscal and operational success. Prior to LabCentral, Pete spent over 20 years with growth companies in the services sector including Sapient Corporation, Razorfish, and Racepoint Global. He held various global executive roles in finance, operations, real estate and corporate development. He has deep experience helping organizations change and plan for growth. Pete also served over 10 years in the US Marine Reserves and has lived or spent considerable time in Boston, LA, Denver, DC, Munich, London and New Delhi. Pete serves on the board of directors for Vitalwave.

Favorite science experiment: "The potato clock! I loved how a seemingly inert object can produce electricity – what else don’t we understand about the world around us."

Nathan is the Chief People Officer for LabCentral. In this role, Nathan leads strategies to recruit, build, and retain top-tier talent and culture across LabCentral sites. Prior to joining LabCentral, Nathan spent years in operational and leadership roles across the social sector, most recently serving as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief People Officer at Last Mile Health, a global health non-profit. Additionally, Nathan brings significant international experience, including serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Turkmenistan, leading humanitarian programming in post-conflict Kosovo, and supporting operations across several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with Last Mile Health. He earned a PhD in Social Policy Analysis from Columbia University, where he studied disparities in maternal and child health.

Nathan is an avid runner and reader, and is a fan of a wide array of musical genres (Fun Fact: Nathan played guitar in a number of bands in his youth and only begrudgingly went to college when his plans fell through to move to Seattle with his band Generic Bread Products). But more than anything, Nathan loves spending time with his wife and daughters making homemade pizza or roaming the forest near their home. Nathan is also an elected Town Meeting Member in the Town of Milton, where he resides.

Favorite science project: A couple of years ago my daughter was in a science fair. She swabbed a number of different surfaces and cultured the germs in petri dishes to see which produced the most bacteria growth. Unfortunately, we learned that cell phones are dirtier than toilets - gross!

In his role as Chief Business Officer, Mike helps lead the value that LabCentral offers its industry partners, as well as its corporate and governments partners, focusing on the intersection of entrepreneurship, science, design thinking and innovation.

Prior to LabCentral, Mike was Chief Business Officer, at New Lab with its 140+ member startup companies in residence at their 84,000SF facility in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He also served as President of MassChallenge, Inc, a global network of accelerator programs for early stage startups, headquartered in Boston, MA. Mike helped expand the impact of MassChallenge on a global scale to 7 programs in 5 countries. He drove the revenue, marketing, and talent strategies for the organization, as well as building its community of over 2,000 high impact alumni startup companies.

Prior to MassChallenge he was a Principal with Collective Next, a collaborative design firm based in Boston. He has also held senior leadership roles at AchieveGlobal, Korn Ferry, Symantec, and Sapient Corporation. He holds an undergraduate degree from Boston College and a Masters from Boston University.

Mike has spoken extensively on accelerating innovation through entrepreneurship at forums like the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, the Chief Innovation Officer Summit, Innovfest Singapore, Smart Philanthropy Conference, NYC Innovation Collective Panel on Entrepreneurial Ecosystems.

Favorite Science Experiment: "High school physics – building a rocket and predicting its landing spot once launched. The science was interesting, but running a poker game during the down time was even more fun!"

Anneka Cialdea is the senior lab manager at Lab Central 238. Anneka manages all aspects of lab operations from asset management to overseeing lab procedures and processes to ensure safety and efficiency. Anneka brings over twelve years of laboratory and scientific expertise to her role at LabCentral. Anneka formerly worked as a pre-clinical scientist researching various rare disease, cardiovascular and metabolic drug targets at several large pharma companies before moving into a role in operations. Anneka holds a bachelor of Veterinary Science from Mount Ida College and graduated from Brown University with a masters in Biology. In her spare time you can catch her underwater with her SCUBA gear!

Favorite School Project: "My first grade science fair project which launched my love of science - finding out which common household items cleaned coins the best, and learning about acids and bases in the process."

Damla Cehreli is a Lab Operations Lead at 700 Main Street, focusing on instrument and operations in the Bioanalytical Chemistry Lab as well as general assistance for the lab operations team. Prior to LabCentral, they worked as a quality control analyst in multiple pharmaceutical companies in the Boston area and briefly as a technical writer. They studied chemistry and criminal justice at Northeastern University. When they’re not in the lab, they’re reading stacks and stacks of library books or working on fiber crafts.

Favorite school science project: I was always a fan of the experiments that incorporated color changes. My favorite was the iodine clock reaction because it’s such a quick and dramatic color change.

Daniel is a Lab Operations Associate and his main tasks involve asset management and cold storage allocation. He's in charge of ensuring lab equipment is running properly, making calls to our sponsors and vendors when things need to be serviced, and providing maintenance. Daniel also keeps track of residents' cold storage and ensures that their needs are well taken care of. He's held a few different lab positions in past roles, each one focusing on something different, so those broad experiences led him to enjoy all aspects of lab work. He has his Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Natural Resource Conservation from UMASS Amherst. Wildlife and Sustainability is also a great professional interest of his.

Outside of work, Daniel really enjoy the outdoors, especially hiking in new places and bird watching. Another passion of his is live music. He's always going to concerts or weekend-long festivals, or heading to bars to enjoy live local music.

Favorite Science Experiment: One of my favorite science experiments is actually one I performed for the science fair in middle school. It was determining the effect that music has on people’s resting heart rate. The combination of music as well as the formulation of scientific thinking has always made this experiment stick with me. Simple, yet informative and fun!

Elsy Sanchez is a Lab Operations Associate at 700 Main Street. She supports our team by maintaining general laboratory equipment and helping resident scientists. Before coming to LabCentral, she worked as a BioBank Technician. She graduated from Salem State University in 2021, earning her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry and Spanish. She loves to travel with her family and volunteer in the community during her free time.

Favorite Science Experiment: One of my favorite science experiments was making a volcano in elementary school. My best friend and I had to present it in front of the whole school.

Hanane Talea is a Lab Operations Assistant at LabCentral. Hanane is an enthusiastic professional who has a diverse work history that involves providing support in multiple fields, ensuring turnover projects remain on track and engaging with residents. She also shares her skillset by helping maintain lab equipment and lends a helpful hand to resident seeking training and access to shared equipment. She holds an impressive record in the field as a certified Pharmacy Technician, and also contributed some remarkable work during her volunteer course as administrative assistant for youth weekend school. Away from work, Hanane has varied interests like cooking, traveling & being culturally aware which makes her life fulfilling at home with her family.

Favorite Science Experiment: One of my favorite experiments was the egg drop test I did in high school. Learning about momentum and energy transfer was very interesting to me as a high school student.

Jill is a Lab Operations lead at LabCentral. She supports resident scientists, manages the inventory, and provides general operational support for the lab. She also assists with equipment training, maintenance, and troubleshooting. Jill started her career in science education, working in academia at Vanderbilt University as well as the nonprofit world at the Museum of Science. She was previously employed by Thermo Fisher Scientific, specializing in lab operations and inventory management. Jill earned a Bachelor’s degree in Field Biology from Belmont University in Nashville, TN.

Favorite Science Project: Mark-recapture studies of grasshopper populations in college. We spent a few beautiful spring afternoons in a local park capturing grasshoppers with our bare hands, marking them with colored nail polish, and coming back later to recapture and count the marked grasshoppers to estimate population sizes.

Katherine is a lab operations lead at LabCentral. Katherine assists in establishing and streamlining lab operating procedures, supporting resident scientists and maintaining shared equipment. Before coming to LabCentral, Katherine completed her doctorate in Neuroscience studying the relationship between social hierarchy position and stress exposure in mice. Before that, she spent several years working in the Longwood medical area where she ran a metabolic core which provided open circuit indirect calorimetry, thermal imaging and bomb calorimetry services. Prior to that, Katherine studied neuroscience at Vassar college with concentrations in Studio Art and Japanese.

Favorite School Science Project: Visualizing brain activity in a mouse after it ate chocolate chips by clearing the whole brain -- making it see through -- and using fluorescence to locate individual neurons in 3D.

Ken Cook is a senior lab operations associate at LabCentral. He provides general laboratory equipment maintenance as well as management of the supplies provided to shared laboratory spaces. Ken assists in the development and modification of standard operations procedures for the lab. Before coming to LabCentral Ken worked for many years at Grass Instrument/Astro-Med/Natus Neurology which manufactures clinical and research neurodiagnostic recording equipment and supplies. He was involved in many facets of this company including product development and testing, service/tech support, sales management, marketing, production management, purchasing and regulatory affairs. Ken earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Anna Maria College. He also has an AS degree in marketing and a diploma in electronics.

Favorite School Science Project: "In the 8th grade a friend and I designed and built a multi-station, portable model rocket launcher. Single or groups of rockets could be launched simultaneously, and we included audio/visual safety alerts."

Layne Kasprzyk is the Associate Manager of Lab Operations at LabCentral, focusing on instrument and operations support in the Bioanalytical Chemistry Lab, as well as providing general assistance to residents and the lab ops team. He brings over ten years of experience working in multiple scientific fields that range from bioanalytical testing support, environmental analysis of water and soil, and, most recently, quality control of precious metals and alloys. Layne holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Ithaca College and in 2019, was certified as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt through Kent State.

Favorite school science project: “During a summer research project after my junior year of college, our professor unexpectedly called us into the lab on a Saturday. We didn’t know what it was about but when we arrived, she told us that we would be “synthesizing ethanol” and proceeded to teach us how to brew beer! I loved learning this new way to utilize chemistry in a creative way and have been homebrewing ever since. I even went on to earn a certificate in brewing science in 2016 and took on part-time work in several breweries around Buffalo to stay involved in the local brewing community.”

Michelle Chen is a Lab Operations Lead and provides equipment and operations support for the shared BL2 tissue culture rooms, as well as the general lab spaces. This consists of maintaining and troubleshooting equipment, hosting BL2 trainings, resolving resident issues, and managing TC cold and dry storage allocations. Before coming to LabCentral, Michelle worked in the biotech industry collaborating closely with research scientists in designing and executing experiments for IVD development, including blood stability projects and SOP validation. Fun fact, Michelle used to be a LabCentral resident!

Favorite science experiment: My Master’s consisted of SCUBA diving in Panama to collect samples of Caribbean corals. I observed how temperature affects the health of various coral species in one project and in another project I extracted and amplified microbial DNA to compare the differences in microbiomes of healthy and unhealthy coral.

Nathan C. Donelson is the biology lab operations manager and bio safety officer at LabCentral. He provides managerial support to the lab operations associates, oversees equipment process development, and interfaces with sponsor and resident companies to ensure that they have the resources they need to meet their unique goals. Nathan previously worked as a scientist at Biogen, with a research focus on sleep disorders and Alpha-synuclein clearance in Parkinson’s Disease cell models. He previously studied as a postdoc at Harvard Medical School and Brandeis University where he developed novel methods for collecting and analyzing long-duration locomotor and circadian rhythm data with Drosophila. He earned a PhD in neuroscience from Bowling Green State University and has extensive research experience in animal behavior, genetics/molecular/cell biology, and biostatistics. Nathan’s diverse background also includes teaching as an adjunct professor at Brandeis University and developing curricula for middle school inquiry-based science lessons.

Favorite school science project: "My favorite experiment from middle school was when we used acid to dissolve the zinc core of a penny, leaving only the thin copper jacket behind. It was amazing to see the solid metal bubble away."

Nicholas T. Charlton is the Senior Manager of Lab Operations at Lab Central’s 700 Main Street location. Originally from Concord Massachusetts, Nick received his master’s degree in Microbiology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Prior to joining LabCentral, he was the Lab Supervisor at LabCorp in Bedford, Mass. Travelling is a passion of Nick's, along with rooting for the local favorites, the Celtics and the Red Sox.

Favorite Science Experiment: Genetically modifying Bacteria that generated electricity.

Nivedita is the Manager of Lab Operations at the Blavatnik Harvard Life Lab. She manages the operational workflow of the lab space to maximize its efficiency and oversees lab practices to ensure safety of all residents involved. Nivedita formerly worked as an associate scientist with a focus on early detection of cancer markers, oncoproteins and pre-clinical model development in oncology. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Biotechnology from PESIT and graduated from University of Hartford with a Masters in Neuroscience. In her spare time, she enjoys playing video games, reading books istening to some true crime podcasts and putting some puzzle pieces together!

Favorite School science project: My first experiment ever was the Golden Rain Experiment- It involves the precipitation of lead iodide from lead nitrate and Potassium Iodide. Watching the golden particles form was mesmerizing and has left an imprint in my memory to this day!

Prarthana is an associate of lab operations at LabCentral. She provides support with the maintenance and calibration of the lab equipment, along with the management of the inventory. Her responsibilities include preparing the laboratory spaces for new companies, advising and instructing residents on equipment usage, and facilitating training sessions with vendors. Assist in the development and modification of standard operating procedures for the labs and respond to lab-related issues. Before coming to LabCentral, she worked as a Research Assistant in the Analytical Instrumentation and Vascular Department at Boston University. She also worked for Abbott as a Manual Tester back in India. Prarthana earned a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Research Technologies from Boston University and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Biomedical Engineering. Her favorite pastime is dancing, working out, watching movies, and traveling. During her school years, along with her academics, she managed to do extra-curricular activities by doing TV shows, Dance Reality shows.

Favorite Science Experiment: My favorite experiment would be the one during my Masters where I was first exposed to the intensive Lab procedures and equipments. Working with the small molecules was intriguing, where I had to do the chemical characterization of the Lipids in Streptococcus Agalactiae, a glycosyl carrier lipid for the cell wall polysaccharide biosynthesis.

Randy Echavarria is the Senior Facilities and Lab Associate at LabCentral 238. He helps oversee the coordination and organization of inbound and outbound shipments. He also helps maintain facility and lab appearance and ensures optimal functionality and cleanliness. Prior to joining LabCentral, Randy worked as a shift manager where his primary goal was to enhance the customer experience. As he starts a new chapter with LabCentral he hopes to continue to deliver great service and strive to be in line with LabCentral’s core mission. Randy earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Massachusetts Boston. In his free time, Randy enjoys playing sports.

Favorite Science Experiment: “I took a plant physiology in college where I ran my own research project about Arabidopsis, a small plant. I chose to study the lbd16 mutant, which is a version of Arabidopsis that has lateral root formation deficiency. I studied the effects of having excess phosphorus in the median because I believed it would counteract the deficiency. It resulted with the plant growing lateral roots and proving my hypothesis correct.”

Tony is a Lab Operations Lead at LabCentral. Tony provides general laboratory equipment maintenance as well as supporting resident scientists and maintaining shared equipment. Additionally, he assists in the development and modification of standard operations procedures for the lab. Tony has been in the biotech industry for several years working within calibration, inventory, and asset management. He studied Biology at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

He enjoys making visits to zoos and aquariums while travelling. In his spare time, he likes to unwind listening to random YouTube videos and play computer games. He also has a wide collection of shoes and mechanical keyboards.

Favorite Science Project: In 10th grade I performed my first gel electrophoreses experiment. Although the lab steps did not seem like much, such as using a microwave to make the gel ourselves, we were ultimately successful and were able to see the DNA bands in the gel with the help of fluorescence. This lab helped inspire me to pursue a career path in the sciences.