Antonina Simakova, Ph.D., is a Co-Founder and Vice President of Research at BioHybrid Solutions LLC. She completed her BS and MS at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia in Moscow, Russia. During her Master’s work, she spent two years working in an influenza virus laboratory, studying influenza strain distribution, and investigating conductive polymers for biosensing applications. She further continued her education at the Department of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University, where she joined a group of Prof. Matyjaszewski as a Ph.D. student. During her graduate research, she has worked on the technology at the interface of polymer and protein science, which can transform enzymes into efficient catalysts useful in pharmaceutical, chemical, and biofuel industries. Upon graduation, she became an Innovation Fellow at CMU, a program that aims to foster and encourage entrepreneurship among graduate students and postdocs. Shortly after, she co-founded BioHybrid Solutions together with Alan and Kris. Tonia currently directs research and development efforts at the Company.