Corey Goodman is a scientist, educator, entrepreneur, and investor. He spent 25 years as Professor of Biology at Stanford University and Evan Rauch Chair of Neurobiology at U.C. Berkeley (Dept. of Molecular and Cell Biology), where he was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, Head of the Neurobiology Division, and co-founder and Director of the Wills Neuroscience Institute.

He is currently Adjunct Professor of Neuroscience in the Wills Neuroscience Institute at U.C. Berkeley. Dr. Goodman is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Philosophical Society, and recipient of many honors including the Alan T. Waterman Award, Canada Gairdner Biomedical Award, March-of-Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology, Reeve-Irvine Research Medal, and Gruber Prize in Neuroscience.

Dr. Goodman co-founded eight biotechnology companies (the first being Exelixis), and led one of them (Renovis) as President and CEO from a private to public company until its acquisition by Evotec. Two of the companies he co-founded have been acquired and three have done IPOs to date.  At Pfizer, he was President of the Biotherapeutics and Bioinnovation Center and a member of the executive leadership team.

Today, Dr. Goodman is co-founder and a Managing Partner of venBio Partners LLC. He is Chair of the Board of ALX Oncology, Tallac, Axonis, Attralus, Axent, MindRhythm, and Insamo. He is a member of the Board of NFlection and FOG. He chaired Labrys Biologics, a company he founded, until its acquisition by Teva. The Labrys drug, called Ajovy, is a CGRP antibody for chronic migraine that was approved by the FDA in 2018.

Dr. Goodman’s public service has been at the interface of science and public policy. He is former Chair of the California Council on Science and Technology (advising the Governor and State Legislature), former member of the University of California Innovation Council (advising the UC President), and former Chair of the National Research Council’s (NAS) Board on Life Sciences (advising the Federal Government).

Dr. Goodman received his B.S. in biological sciences from Stanford University and his Ph.D. in neurobiology as a National Science Foundation Fellow from the University of California, Berkeley.  He received postdoctoral training in developmental neuroscience as a Helen Hay Whitney Fellow at the University of California, San Diego.