About / Team

The Biopathio Team

Three scientists with complementary expertise: lipid chemistry, BBB biology, and nanomedicine characterization. Small team, deep focus.

Team Members

Steven Watts, CEO and Co-Founder of Biopathio, headshot

Steven Watts

CEO & Co-Founder

Steven leads Biopathio's scientific direction and partner relationships. His background is in LNP formulation science, with hands-on experience developing and characterizing ionizable lipid formulations for siRNA, mRNA, and CRISPR cargo across hepatic and non-hepatic applications. The gap between liver-targeted LNP performance and CNS delivery requirements — encountered directly while supporting a Huntington's disease program in 2022 — led to Biopathio's founding in 2024. He holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota and has worked in gene therapy CRO and formulation development settings since 2016.

Dr. Priya Mehta, Head of BBB Biology at Biopathio, headshot

Dr. Priya Mehta

Head of BBB Biology

Dr. Mehta leads Biopathio's BBB mechanistic research and in vitro model program. She completed her Ph.D. in neurovascular biology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where her thesis characterized LRP1 transcytosis kinetics in primary human brain microvascular endothelial cells under inflammatory conditions. At Biopathio, she is responsible for hCMEC/D3 transwell model development, TEER-validated transcytosis assays, and the experimental translation of TfR1 and LRP1 pathway biology into LNP surface engineering parameters. Her 2024 ASGCT poster presented the first Biopathio in vitro transcytosis data for receptor-targeted LNP formulations.

Dr. Marcus Chen, Lead Formulation Scientist at Biopathio, headshot

Dr. Marcus Chen

Head of Formulation

Dr. Chen designs and executes Biopathio's ionizable lipid screening, helper lipid optimization, and multi-modal characterization protocols. He completed his Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, where his dissertation work focused on ionizable lipid pKa effects on endosomal escape across cell types. His formulation development work at Biopathio includes the four-component LNP library screened against neural cell endosomal escape assays, the dual-cargo ABE8e mRNA + sgRNA co-encapsulation formulations, and the expanded CNS characterization panel including Gal8 endosomal escape quantification and primary cortical neuron editing efficiency readouts. He is corresponding author on Biopathio's 2025 bioRxiv preprint on base editor delivery in primary cortical neurons.

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