IBD Ventures Team
Andrés Hurtado-Lorenzo, Ph.D. - Senior Vice President – Translational Research & IBD Ventures
Andres Hurtado-Lorenzo is the Senior Vice President of Translational Research & IBD Ventures at the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. He is responsible for planning and oversight the Foundation's translational research portfolio that aims to advance solutions for patients based on research in the fields of Precision Medicine, Genetics, Microbiome, Environmental Triggers, Fibrosis, Pain and Biosensors. He started and has been leading from its inception, the Foundation’s venture philanthropy program, IBD Ventures, that advances new products for IBD by investing in for-profit and non-profit organizations.
He is a translational scientist leader with proven success directing multidisciplinary drug discovery and development teams in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry (Wyeth, Pfizer, Proteostasis Therapeutics), resulting in the development of clinical candidate drugs. He obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine & Gene Therapy from the University of Manchester in England, where he pioneered work in gene therapy for neurodegenerative diseases. He completed his postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital and Columbia University.
Russ Wyborski, Ph.D. - Director, IBD Ventures
Dr. Wyborski received his B.S. (Chemistry) from the University of Notre Dame and his doctorate (Biochemistry) from Indiana University (Bloomington). He completed a postdoctoral fellowship focused on neuronal gene expression in the lab of Dr. David Gottlieb in the Department of Neuroscience at Washington University at St. Louis School of Medicine.
Dr. Wyborski is currently the Director of IBD Ventures Investments at the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation where he oversees a growing portfolio of therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, and digital health applications focused on improving IBD patients’ lives. He began his drug development career at Pfizer where he conducted preclinical research in the therapeutic areas of neuroscience, cardiovascular, and inflammation. He led discovery programs in neurotrophic factors, nuclear receptors, and kinases. After his time at Pfizer, he led a research group in the consumer product field by developing products for skin care.
Prior to coming to the Foundation, Russ was a Director of Technical Operations at BioMotiv, a start-up company which functioned as a Drug Development Accelerator in Cleveland, OH. In this role, he conducted technical diligence on potential new investments while leading a company (Koutif Therapeutics) through IND filing for an inhibitor of an E3 Ligase for Crohn’s Disease. He has consulted for several academic technology transfer offices at institutions such as the University of Pittsburgh, Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
Since arriving at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, Dr. Wyborski has been invited to give presentations at the Crohn’s & Colitis Congress, Microbiome Connect, and has served as a judge for an IBD Innovation contest sponsored by LyfeBulb and Bristol Myers Squibb. He is passionate about accelerating the development of novel therapeutics for patient’s unmet needs.
Nicole Schwerbrock, Ph.D. - Associate Director of IBD Venture Investments
Nicole Schwerbrock, Ph.D., Senior Manager of IBD Venture Investments since April 2022, manages key aspects of the IBD Ventures team, focusing on the identification, development, and management of high-impact investment opportunities that advance novel products addressing unmet patient needs. She leads outreach efforts to engage stakeholders from industry and academia, as well as overseeing planning for the annual IBD Innovate conference.
Prior to IBD Ventures, Nicole directed the Technology Commercialization team at the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), which supports emerging IP-based life sciences companies seeking to secure dilutive and non-dilutive funding. As an Entrepreneurship Fellow at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy, she supported faculty seeking to transform their research into commercially impactful innovations. Nicole served as an R&D scientist in both startup and established pharmaceutical companies (Qualiber and Sanofi).
She holds a Masters degree in Biomedical Sciences and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her association with IBD began with her research thesis project under Dr. Balfour Sartor which established her commitment to addressing IBD patient needs.