John Tran

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Venture Associate

John Tran, Ph.D., is an experienced scientist with a background in early-stage startups and pre-seed investing.  As a venture capital professional, he is driven by innovation that scales and takes pride in identifying founders building flywheels.  His goals include understanding the current business traction that produces the catalyst for startups to reach their next inflection point and make them a great investment today.  John has been recognized for his extraordinary commitment to excellence, equity, diversity, and inclusion in research and higher education by Michigan State University as a University Distinguished Fellow and Bouchet Honor Society Inaugural Inductee.  For his Ph.D., he used CRISPR-Cas9 technologies to identify a potential gene target for enhancing the bioenergy trait of plants.  A University of California, Davis, alum, John was a McNair Scholar before becoming a Spartan to build his venture career in life sciences and biotechnology.  John’s experience throughout the venture ecosystem stack includes managing a startup accelerator program, assisting faculty technology spin-outs, and working for a Series A startup building a marketplace for open innovation.  John is currently a venture analyst for the Red Cedar Ventures and Michigan Rise fund.

 EDUCATION

  • University of California, Davis

BS, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

  • Michigan State University

Ph.D., Plant Biology

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