About Epernicus

Epernicus is a professional networking platform for research scientists. Our goal is to connect researchers with their real world scientific networks, enabling them to find the resources they need to advance their work. We believe that having a useful network isn't necessarily about adding as many contacts as possible. In fact, most scientists already have a large network based on their current institution and their prior research advisors. The bigger challenge is tapping this network to find the right people with the right expertise at the right time. That's why we created Epernicus.

Scientists use Epernicus to search efficiently for expertise, methods, and materials in their network. Through our scientific profiles, researchers also maintain a professional web presence and stay connected to their current and former colleagues. As many of our members would say, when you're looking for something, it's always better to find it through someone in your network.

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Epernicus is a resource built by scientists to advance research and scientific careers. As you join the community and explore Epernicus, we hope that you will share your feedback with us.

Management Team

Vivek Murthy

Vivek Murthy

B.A., Biochemical Sciences, Harvard University; M.D. Yale School of Medicine;
M.B.A., Yale School of Management

Vivek, our Chairman, has been building communities for over a decade. He co-founded VISIONS, a non-profit focused on HIV/AIDS youth education that expanded to 10 chapters in the U.S. and India at its peak. He also co-founded Swasthya, a community health partnership in rural India. If you're ever at the Brigham and need a doctor, ask for Vivek. In his spare time, he is an attending physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. During his medical training, he conducted research in microbiology with Gerald Pier (Harvard), and later engaged in health services and public health research initiatives with Cary Gross and David Katz (Yale).

vmurthy@epernicus.com

Mikhail Shapiro

Mikhail Shapiro

Ph.D., Biological Engineering, MIT; B.Sc., Neuroscience, Brown University

For his PhD thesis in Biological Engineering at MIT, Mikhail developed molecular sensors for non-invasive imaging of the brain. A Hertz Fellow and Soros Fellow, he was co-advised by Robert Langer and Alan Jasanoff. Before graduate school, Mikhail was a co-founder of Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc, a publically traded neuroscience-focused medical technology company. Mikhail studied neuroscience at Brown University. In addition to being a co-founder and director of Epernicus, Mikhail is a Senior Associate at Third Rock Ventures.

mshapiro@epernicus.com

Ezra Freedman

Ezra Freedman

B.A., Mathematics, Columbia University

In addition to having the strongest frisbee throwing arm on the Epernicus team, Ezra is our CTO and is responsible for all technical aspects of epernicus.com. In this role he endeavors to present our members a usable, reliable, great-looking and well performing site. Prior to joining Epernicus, Ezra was VP, Technology for Schematic, a leading Los Angeles-based interactive agency that develops interface and technology solutions for the Web, television and mobile devices.

efreedman@epernicus.com

Eric Silberstein

Eric Silberstein

B.A., Computer Science, Harvard University

Eric, our CEO, may not have studied life sciences, but he can now explain the difference between a western blot and a northern blot thanks to asking Vivek and Mikhail about all the fascinating assets our members list on their profiles. Prior to Epernicus, Eric was founder and Chairman of Idiom Technologies (acquired by SDL). Idiom's technology enables Fortune 500 companies, including five of the top ten web companies, to maintain multilingual web sites. Eric lives in Cambridge with his wife, Frances, and his son, Andy.

esilberstein@epernicus.com

Member Advisory Council

Our Member Advisory Council comprises Epernicus members from various institutions, fields, and stages of their careers. We formed the Council to supplement the valuable guidance that we receive from our in-person focus groups at Harvard and MIT. Council members contribute their ideas on a variety of areas from specific tools to the grander vision of Epernicus.
Kathryn T Applegate

Kathryn T Applegate, B.Sc., B.A.

Graduate Student - Ph.D.
Cell Biology
The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA)
Alex B Berezow

Alex B Berezow, B.Sc.

Graduate Student - Ph.D.
Microbiology
University of Washington (Seattle, WA)
Gevorg Grigoryan

Gevorg Grigoryan, Ph.D.

Post Doctoral Fellow
Biochemistry and Biophysics
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (Philadelphia, PA)
Junya Hirokawa

Junya Hirokawa, Ph.D.

Post Doctoral Fellow
National Institute for Basic Biology (Okazaki, Japan)
Johannes Huebner

Johannes Huebner, M.D.

Associate Professor
Division of Infectious Diseases
University Medical Center Freiburg (Freiburg, Germany)
Philip A Romero

Philip A Romero, M.S.

Graduate Student - Ph.D.
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Biology
California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, CA)
Xavier Salvatella

Xavier Salvatella, Ph.D.

Group Leader
Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
ICREA and Institute for Research in Biomedicine
Erin R Steenblock

Erin R Steenblock, M.S.

Graduate Student - Ph.D.
Biomedical Engineering
Yale University (New Haven, CT)
Shalu Suri

Shalu Suri, M.S., M.Sc.

Graduate Student - Ph.D.
Biomedical Engineering
University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX)
Jay C Sy

Jay C Sy, B.Sc.

Graduate Student - Ph.D.
Biomedical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
Krystyn J. Van Vliet

Krystyn J. Van Vliet, Ph.D.

Thomas Lord Assistant Professor
Materials Science and Engineering
Biological Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
Melissa A Wilson

Melissa A Wilson, B.Sc.

Graduate Student - Ph.D.
Integrative Biosciences
Center for Comparative Genomics and Bioinformatics
Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA)