Jennifer Cochran
Shiram Chair, Bioengineering
Professor, Bioengineering
Jennifer Cochran is the Shriram Chair of the Department of Bioengineering at Stanford University. She is a Professor of Bioengineering and, by courtesy, Chemical Engineering and a member of the Cancer Biology, Biophysics, and Immunology graduate programs. Dr. Cochran serves as the Director of the Stanford/NIH Biotechnology pre-doctoral training program, and co-Director of the Stanford NIST pre-doctoral training program. Her research group uses interdisciplinary approaches in chemistry, engineering, and biophysics to study complex biological systems and to develop new tools for basic science and biomedical applications. Dr. Cochran translational interests span protein-based drug discovery and development for applications in oncology and regenerative medicine, and development of new technologies for high-throughput protein analysis and engineering.
Dr. Cochran’s depth of experience and talent—as the chair of the Bioengineering Department and as an entrepreneur with a track record of successful drug discovery and development efforts—epitomizes the IMA’s aspiration to forge partnerships between industry and academia. She is widely regarded as a leading protein engineer. In 2016 she and her collaborators reported the engineering of a decoy receptor that binds GAS6, an important driver of cancer metastasis, with exceptional potency. This engineered protein is undergoing clinical trials in patients with ovarian and other cancers.