September 9, 2026
Mandy Pinheiro, Yongkwon Song and Yannick Schreiber will advance Northwestern innovations in women’s health, battery technology and cell-based therapeutics.
The Q has welcomed three new Entrepreneurial Fellows who are working to translate Northwestern University research into high-impact startups and commercial ventures.
Mandy Pinheiro, PhD, co-founder of Evina Biosciences; Yannick Schreiber, an MD/PhD candidate; and Yongkwon Song, PhD; join The Q with technologies spanning women’s health, energy storage, and cell-based therapeutics.
Through the Entrepreneurial Fellowship, each fellow will have dedicated time and support to advance the scientific, translational and commercial work required to move promising technologies from academic research toward the marketplace.
Mandy Pinheiro, PhD | Evina Biosciences
Mandy Pinheiro is co-founder of Evina Biosciences, a Northwestern startup developing a first-in-class, small-molecule, non-hormonal therapy for uterine fibroids.
Evina’s technology emerged from the laboratory of Serdar Bulun, MD, Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and John J. Sciarra Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Feinberg School of Medicine. The company is translating discoveries from Bulun’s research into a potential new treatment option for uterine fibroids, a common condition that can cause heavy menstrual bleeding, pain, infertility and other significant health complications.
As an Entrepreneurial Fellow, Pinheiro will focus on advancing Evina’s lead therapeutic program while continuing to build the company and prepare it for its next stage of growth.
Pinheiro has already played a central role in moving Evina from an academic research program toward a biotechnology startup through translational research, grant strategy, company formation and venture development. Most recently, she served as an Entrepreneurial Fellow at the Chicago Biomedical Consortium, where she supported commercialization of early-stage life sciences technologies across the Chicago ecosystem.
Her work with Evina also earned national recognition through her selection to present at Science2Startup, an invitation-only symposium that brings together academic innovators, biotechnology investors and pharmaceutical partners to accelerate the formation of new therapeutic companies.
Yannick Schreiber, MD/PhD Candidate | Cell Engineering for Solid Tumor Therapies
Yannick Schreiber is an MD/PhD Candidate at the Feinberg School of Medicine whose graduate research is providing the foundation for a potential new therapeutics company focused on treating solid tumors.
Schreiber completed his PhD research in the laboratory of Joshua Leonard, PhD, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering. His work focused on developing cell engineering technologies for the treatment of solid tumors.
While cell-based therapies have transformed the treatment of some blood cancers, effectively applying these approaches to solid tumors remains a major challenge. Schreiber’s research explores new engineering strategies intended to help overcome barriers that have limited the effectiveness of cell therapies against solid tumors.
The technology developed through his graduate work now forms the foundation of an early-stage therapeutics venture that Schreiber is building alongside scientific, clinical and commercial advisors.
As an Entrepreneurial Fellow, he will focus on the translational and strategic work required to move the technology beyond the academic laboratory and toward company formation. His fellowship will include advancing the technology, defining its development path and building the scientific and commercial foundation for a new therapeutic company.
Yongkwon Song, PhD | BeoBatt
Yongkwon Song will focus his Entrepreneurial Fellowship on BeoBatt, a Northwestern battery technology designed to address one of the most persistent safety challenges facing lithium-ion batteries: thermal runaway and fire.
Developed through research in the laboratory of Mark Hersam, PhD, Chair of Materials Science and Engineering and Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering, BeoBatt addresses the risk of battery fires caused by overheating and thermal runaway. The technology is an inherently flame-retardant battery separator that can withstand temperatures far beyond those tolerated by conventional separators while also improving battery performance. Designed as a low-cost, drop-in replacement, the separator could be integrated into existing battery manufacturing processes without significant modifications to production lines.
As an Entrepreneurial Fellow, Song will lead the commercialization activities needed to evaluate BeoBatt’s potential as the foundation of a new company. His work will include customer discovery and market research, assessing the competitive landscape and commercialization pathways, developing the business model, and engaging with prospective industry partners and investors.
Song will also help define development milestones, build a commercialization and fundraising strategy, and advance preparations for potential company formation and financing.
Bridging Academic Discovery and Entrepreneurship
The three fellows reflect both the breadth of Northwestern research and the central purpose of The Q’s Entrepreneurial Fellowship: helping emerging founders bridge the gap between academic discovery and company creation.
Academic researchers often develop technologies with significant commercial potential, but transforming those discoveries into viable companies requires a different set of activities—from validating markets and defining product development strategies to building teams, engaging industry partners and preparing for investment.
The Entrepreneurial Fellowship provides emerging founders with dedicated time, mentorship, commercialization resources and access to The Q’s network as they work through those critical early steps.
With Pinheiro advancing a new approach to treating uterine fibroids, Schreiber exploring new cell engineering technologies for solid tumors, and Song working to make lithium-ion batteries safer and higher-performing, this newest group of Entrepreneurial Fellows demonstrates the range of Northwestern innovations with the potential to create meaningful real-world impact.
The Q looks forward to supporting each fellow as they work to translate Northwestern discoveries into the next generation of science-based ventures.