Dr. Julia Owens is an experienced biopharmaceutical CEO and board member with a deep commitment to advancing innovative therapies for patients over a 20+ year professional career. She brings a unique combination of business/executive leadership experience with a deep understanding of science and unwavering integrity. Julia is currently founding CEO early stage drug discovery company, Verto Therapeutics. Previously she was CEO of Ananke Therapeutics and Millendo Therapeutics. Earlier in her career, Julia spent a dozen years in business and corporate development roles at Tularik Inc, QuatRx Pharmaceuticals, and Lycera Corp. Julia has worked primarily in companies focused on small molecule therapeutics, in a diverse set of therapeutic areas, including women’s health, oncology, immunology, endocrinology, and rare diseases. Julia is an advisor to GV (Google Ventures), focusing on investments in Women’s Health. She also is on the board of EVOQ Therapeutics, and BIO, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. She is on the Leadership Council of the University of Michigan Life Science Institute and the Investment Advisory Board of the Michigan Biomedical Venture Fund. Julia has a PhD from UCSF, along with a BS in Chemistry and BA in MCB from UC Berkeley.