Nicole Paulk is the founder, CEO, and President of Siren Biotechnology, a company pioneering Universal AAV Immuno-Gene Therapy—combining AAV gene therapy and cytokine immunotherapy into a single modality to fight solid tumor cancers.
She holds a Ph.D. in Viral Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine from OHSU and completed her postdoctoral fellowship in Human Gene Therapy at Stanford.
At Siren, Nicole leads development of an off-the-shelf platform that delivers vectorized, engineered cytokines directly into tumors, enabling long-term and controllable local cytokine expression while avoiding the systemic toxicities that have derailed cytokine therapies in the past. With a recently cleared FDA IND advancing the company to clinical stage and backing from Lux Capital, Nicole's journey from academic gene therapy pioneer to cancer-focused biotech CEO demonstrates how a bold scientific bet—sparked unexpectedly during the COVID-19 pandemic—can redefine an entire treatment modality.
.png)