Julie Harris has been appointed vice president of The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group at the Seattle-based Allen Institute.
Harris previously spent nearly 10 years at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, from 2011 to 2020, as a researcher and associate director of neuroanatomy. She helped build several of the Institute’s signature, foundational open science resources, including the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas.
Harris was most recently the executive vice president of research management at the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund where she oversaw the funding strategy and research priorities for a roughly $29 million grant portfolio in support of scientists working to end Alzheimer’s disease.
Harris, who has a a Ph.D. in Neurobiology and Behavior from the University of Washington, was also vice president of preclinical biology at Cajal Neuroscience, a Seattle biotech startup focused on identifying therapies for neurodegenerative disease.
“I am extremely excited to be returning to the Allen Institute, Harris said in a news release Tuesday. “Truly game-changing science opens entirely new fields with impact that exceeds expectations. Ideas can come from surprising sources, and I look forward to working with The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group to find and support these vital discoveries.”
A division of the Allen Institute, The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group is dedicated to exploring the landscape of bioscience to identify and foster ideas and recommend funding to the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, which then invests through award mechanisms to accelerate the understanding of biology.
Other key personnel changes across the Pacific Northwest tech industry:
— Stacy Brown-Philpot resigned from the Nordstrom board of directors, effective immediately, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Dec. 13. Brown-Philpot had been a member of the board since 2017 and served as chair of the Tech Committee and was on the Audit and Finance Committee. A member of numerous boards, she previously spent more than eight years at Google and was COO and CEO of TaskRabbit. Brown-Philpot is the co-founder of a new venture fund called Cherryrock Capital.
— William Canestaro is joining Pioneer Square Labs, a Seattle-based startup studio and venture fund. “I’ll be a ‘Health and Life Sciences Lead,’” Canestaro told GeekWire via email. “I’m helping them with ideation and diligence for software-first companies serving healthcare and life sciences industries.” Canestaro was managing director of the Washington Research Foundation from 2018 until this past September. He currently serves as an advisor at the organization, and he also joined the University of Washington Institute for Protein Design as a translational advisor in November.
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