Dr. Rose Nash is a serial biotech startup entrepreneur. With a passion for transforming innovative ideas into real-world solutions, she excels at guiding companies and their technologies from conceptualization to commercialization.
As CEO and Founder at Biota, Inc. and a self-proclaimed wastewater enthusiast, Dr. Nash sees wastewater as a treasure trove of data on human behavior. Biota, a VC-backed Colorado start-up, aims to harness this data to empower communities to make informed decisions regarding illicit drug use (fentanyl, heroin), public health issues (COVID-19, flu), and industrial pollution (PFAS, microplastics). In her previous role as Chief Operating Officer at Burst Diagnostics, she oversaw the development of a new class of diagnostic tests for improved patient care. During her tenure, Burst raised venture capital, secured SBIR grant funds, and hired an exceptional team of scientists and engineers to advance the mission of delivering lab-quality tests to anywhere they are needed. Before joining Burst, she served as the head of GT Molecular’s R&D division where she secured SBIR funds and oversaw the development and deployment of one the nation’s first commercial wastewater-based epidemiology monitoring program for COVID-19 that served over 100 communities. Dr. Nash grew both companies from their first employee to thriving, funded teams using both dilutive and non-dilutive mechanisms.
Her training includes a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Indiana University, a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and two post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Colorado-Boulder.
