The inspiration for Watershed’s Cloud Data Lab can be traced to a conversation between Co-Founders Jonathan Wang and Mark Kalinich, two close friends with vastly divergent career paths following their undergraduate studies at MIT.
Hearing Mark lament how the rate-limiting step in biological research had become not data availability but the specialized programming knowledge required for effective data analysis, Jonathan noticed a surprising parallel with his experience in quantitative trading.
Having solved the “bottleneck” at his own firm by developing an integrative, low-code platform that empowered both financial researchers and computer scientists to more effectively collaborate and freely pursue their specializations, Jonathan saw the potential of a similar approach to Mark’s dilemma. Drawing upon invaluable insights from two unique fields, a revolutionary tool for biologists was born.
Watershed brings together expertise in HPC research platforms, bioinformatics, practical NGS analysis, and user experience engineering. We also rely on the continued support of geneticists, computational biologists, biotech entrepreneurs, and biostatisticians.
During his Harvard-MIT MD/PhD program, Mark combined engineering, molecular biology, and bioinformatics approaches in the study of cancer diagnostics, metastasis, and longitudinal monitoring. Firsthand experience has helped him understand the challenges biologists face when trying to quickly and efficiently process and gain insights from their genomics data.
Jonathan brings extensive expertise in software development, machine learning, entrepreneurship, and business development to the team. The recipient of a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT, Jonathan boasts diverse training and experience in operating systems, machine learning, computer architecture, software optimization, computer security, algorithms, and software design.
Alvin’s skills lie in creating interfaces with phenomenal user experience and performant animations. His accomplishments include serving as the lead developer for Google Hangouts Chat, creating an internal, Sheets-driven website for Google’s VR and AR teams, revamping the job-alert experience as a Senior Front-End Engineer at Glassdoor, and developing a performance attribution tool using Oracle at Fidelity Investments.
Assistant Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School, a major focus of Dr. Lawrence’s ongoing research has been understanding the mutational mechanisms that underlie carcinogenesis. His groundbreaking work is supported by the National Institute of Health and National Cancer Institute.
A Trustee at the Jackson Laboratory and Co-founder of companies including Bowstreet (acquired by IBM), Bluefin Labs (acquired by Twitter), and Twine Health (acquired by FitBit), Dr. Moss has spent the past three decades engaged in efforts to apply his experience and expertise as a technology entrepreneur to solve critical problems in human health.
