Watershed's 2023 Year In Review
2023 was a pivotal year in Watershed's growth, and we couldn't have done it without our incredible team and scientific community. Here is a collection of some of our top highlights from this year.
1. We closed our Series A funding round.
At the end of March, we announced the closing of our Series A funding round with $14.5M in financing. These investments have had a profound impact on our commercialization, expansion, and innovation efforts, and will continue to do so in 2024. We thank Canvas Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Accomplice Ventures for their invaluable support and commitment to accelerating breakthroughs in biomedicine.
2. We connected with scientists across the East Coast.
We met up with a lot of amazing researchers at events connecting scientists across industry and academia. We were lucky to have a few right in our backyard in Boston, including: the International Society for Stem Cell Research's (ISSCR) Annual Meeting, BioProcess International (BPI), and the Festival of Genomics.
Our team travelled further down the East Coast to meet up with folks in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore as well for the Annual Meetings of the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) and the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT).
In 2024, we will also be attending the American Association for Cancer Research's (AACR) Annual Meeting in San Diego, as well as the BioIT World Conference & Expo in Boston. Are you or your team members going to any of these events? Let's meet up and connect!
3. We processed an enormous amount of biological data.
Our team handled an incredible variety and quantity of biological data, from every kind of -omics data, to assays for gene editing efficacy, and much more. Some of our favorite sources for public datasets included: UK Biobank, the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP), The Cancer Genome Atlas Program (TCGA), the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE), and Open Targets. For an expanded list of the public datasets we frequently access, check out the Public Datasets section on our Applications page.
4. We grew our team and our Cambridge, MA headquarters.
We welcomed an impressive raster of experts to every department of our team, including:
- Leadership: Stefanie Morgan and Ben Cappellacci
- Bioinformatics: Rebecca Panitch, Andrew Wight, and Mike Lafferty
- Engineering: Rachel Tang, Tzu-Chun (Angela) Tsieh, Katharine Xiao, and Jae Choi
- Marketing: Siobhan Keegan and Silvin Golumbeanu
- Operations: Ethan Van der Heide, Blake Gowen, Zachary Watson, and Matin Sasaluxanon
We also moved into our new headquarters at 64 Sidney St in Cambridge, MA.
5. We revamped our website and expanded our social media presence.
Last but not least, we launched our new website – the one you're on right now! – and ramped up our LinkedIn and Instagram presence. If you haven't already, follow us to stay up-to-date on all of the latest happenings at Watershed, as well as the fast-growing world of biotech and biomedical research.
Thank you for an incredible year, and see you in 2024!