Sophie de Boer

Sophie de Boer joined Flagship Pioneering after completing the 2017 Flagship Pioneering Fellowship. At Flagship, Sophie conducts explorations to discover unexplored biological mechanisms and new biotechnologies. As part of a Flagship Lab's team of entrepreneurial scientists, she develops the science, intellectual property and business strategy that form the foundation of the firm’s breakthrough startups.

Prior to joining Flagship, Sophie completed her post-doctoral fellowship and graduate work in the laboratory of Professor Kevin Eggan at Harvard University and the Broad Institute. Sophie’s research focused on stem cells and regenerative biology. She investigated the mechanisms leading to neurological diseases such as ALS and schizophrenia and developed novel assays to identify therapeutic candidates. Her research has been published in Science Translational Medicine, among other journals. During her studies at Harvard, Sophie received funding from Nantkwest to investigate cellular immunotherapies for her post-doctoral fellowship. She was awarded a Ph.D. fellowship from Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds for outstanding junior scientists. As part of her master’s degree, Sophie conducted research in Professor Christine Mummery’s lab on germ cell development to improve reproductive medicine efforts.

In addition to her academic work, Sophie consulted for Biogen’s Corporate Development and Strategy team and interned at several companies, including PureTech Ventures and Nantkwest. She also completed course work at Harvard Business School.

Sophie received a Ph.D. from Leiden University while performing her thesis research at Harvard University. She holds a master’s degree in cancer genomics and developmental biology and a B.S. in biomedical sciences from Utrecht University.