Jennifer Leeds
Executive Director at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research | Head, Search and Evaluation, West Coast and Canada, Novartis Business Development and Licensing

Dr. Leeds is responsible for identifying new technology from organizations in the western US and across Canada for potential partnering with Novartis, as well as out-licensing assets to external partners. Jennifer joined Novartis in 2003, where she co-invented and co-led the project team for the novel antibacterial LFF571 through Ph2, among other projects, before becoming Head of Antibacterial Discovery in 2010.  In 2018, Jennifer joined Novartis BD&L, supporting out-licensing of anti-infective programs to Boston Pharmaceuticals, Gilead, and Amplyx Pharmaceuticals and in-licensing deal flow across all Novartis disease areas. Jennifer is a member of the Novo Holdings REPAIR Impact Fund SSB, an Expert Reviewer for Innosuisse, a mentor for California Life Sciences Institute start-ups and a mentor for Nex Cubed, Y Combinator, and IndieBio portfolio companies.  

Jennifer did her postdoc in bacterial genetics and membrane protein structure and assembly at Harvard Medical School with Jon Beckwith, received her BSc (Microbiology) from Cornell University and her PhD (Medical Microbiology and Immunology) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She lives in Northern California (SF Bay Area) with her husband, who is a patent attorney and angel investor, and is mom to two grown sons.