Nicolas Velez is a current postdoctoral research fellow working at the Institute of Regenerative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai. His work focuses on the intersection between neural circuitry integrity and immunity in diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis. For his research he employs a gamut of experimental and computational techniques, going from synthetic biology, to genomics and AI, to study neuroimmune interactions in patient-derived tissue. He seeks to eventually find preclinical candidates that acquiesce pathology and can serve as a new basis for drug discovery in neurodegenerative disease. 

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Prior to joining Mount Sinai, Nicolas was a PhD student at the Rockefeller University where he created a completely novel microscope to image the whole-brain of zebrafish, while using directed optogenetics for interrogating sensory pathways with unprecedented precision. With this experience, he delved into the fields of high-content imaging and computer vision, and how they can be applied to questions in neuroscience, developmental, and regenerative biology. 

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While being, a student, Nicolas was highly immersed in the biotech scene in New York City. He was the Director of Community and Events at Nucleate and the Tri-I Biotech Club, as well as an integral part in the tech sourcing efforts of Nucleate’s activation programs, mentoring several emerging and talented teams through the process of tailoring their product and pitch for potential seed investors. 

At Atoll, Nicolas performs scientific due diligence and helps connect early-stage companies with innovative and timely proposals to potential investors. Being well attuned to the most cutting-edge innovations in the intersection between biology and AI, Nicolas brings to Atoll his expertise to best bring forward our company’s mission as a catalyst of biotechnological innovation.