From our roots in Boston to innovation hubs across the globe, the Termeer Institute is building a community of biotech leaders who believe that collaboration—not competition—will define the next era of life sciences innovation.
The Termeer Fellowship program focuses on the human side of innovation, developing leaders who are value-driven, patient-centric, and prepared to navigate the complexity of biotech. Doing this work well requires connectivity, empathy, and shared perspective in addition to just technical excellence.
Today, our work extends far beyond Boston. Through intentional engagement with biotech ecosystems in Texas, California, the Netherlands, and across Europe, we are strengthening a national and international network of innovators who share a common purpose.
A Global Network with Purpose
What began as a Fellowship supporting first-time CEOs of early-stage biotech companies in Boston has grown into a global leadership network. Each year, our Fellows, mentors, and alumni bring new perspectives from across the United States and around the world, shaping a truly interconnected community.
In recent years, we’ve deepened our engagement with regions such as California, Texas, and the Netherlands, each representing a distinct yet complementary part of the global biotech ecosystem. These partnerships allow us to learn from emerging hubs, share best practices, and strengthen our collective impact on patient outcomes.
As Senior Director of Programs, Erica Mawby-Roche notes, this work is about more than visibility. “Our goal is to connect with other ecosystems to learn from them and contribute to building leadership capacity within the global biotech community,” she says. “When we bridge these regions, we’re strengthening the human infrastructure of biotech.”
Learning from Every Ecosystem
In Texas, our growing network began with 2024 Termeer Fellow Dr. Tinashe Chandauka, whose enthusiasm for building local connections led to our first visits to Dallas and Houston. Since then, we’ve engaged with innovators across the state, attended the BioNTX ic3 Summit, and are planning a dedicated Fellows Session and Innovation Visit in Dallas in 2026.
On the West Coast, we’ve cultivated a thriving community through events at the BIO International Convention in San Diego and gatherings in San Francisco around the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference. These programs have helped us reach a more diverse pool of leaders and foster lasting collaborations with organizations such as MassBio and Aquilius.
Our transatlantic engagement continues through annual participation in the Program of Cooperation between the State of Massachusetts and the Netherlands. Each year, we host sessions at Innovation for Health, present our Transatlantic Connections Award, and collaborate with partners such as Leiden University Medical Center and Mahzi Therapeutics to spotlight innovation in rare disease. We’ve also built relationships across Denmark and Sweden, where mentors like Kristina Masson help link our Boston-based community with growing European biotech clusters.
Through this global approach, Fellows and mentors gain access to a richer exchange of ideas, learning how diverse leadership models and cultural perspectives can influence innovation. The result is a community that is more resilient, inclusive, and adaptive, which are qualities essential to leading in a complex, fast-moving industry.
Looking Ahead: Expanding the Global Biotech Ecosystem
As conclude the first quarter of 2026, our goal is to continue bridging ecosystems by hosting new sessions in Dallas, returning to the Netherlands, and expanding collaborations in California and beyond. Each connection reflects our belief that leadership is a shared endeavor, and that the future of biotech will be shaped not by individual breakthroughs but by collective progress.
Global by design and patient-focused at heart, the Termeer Institute remains committed to empowering life sciences leaders who bring values, vision, and humanity to the innovation process. When leaders connect across borders, backgrounds, and disciplines, patients everywhere stand to benefit.