The Institute for Protein Innovation (IPI), a nonprofit research organization advancing protein science to accelerate biomedical research and improve human health, today announced the appointment of Kevin J. Harvey, Ph.D., as President and Chief Executive Officer.
Dr. Harvey joins IPI from Aviva Systems Biology, bringing more than two decades of leadership and research experience focused on antibodies, protein research, and life science research tools. The IPI Board believes Dr. Harvey is well positioned to lead the Institute through its next phase of growth as it expands its recombinant antibody platform, develops new protein tools for neuroscience and extends its protein engineering expertise to more researchers across the life sciences community.
“IPI has built something unique: a model and platform that researchers worldwide can already access,” said Dr. Harvey. “I’m joining at this pivotal moment, when the foundation is strong and the impact imminent. We want to reach more scientists with best-in-class reagents and programs, and further invest in scientific leadership that will carry our mission forward. That combination of infrastructure, mission and potential is what drew me to IPI.”
Founded in 2017 by Harvard Medical School professors Timothy Springer, Ph.D., and Andrew Kruse, Ph.D., IPI was established to transform how protein-based research tools are discovered, developed and shared.
Today, IPI provides high-quality recombinant antibodies and protein science expertise to researchers worldwide while advancing new technologies for antibody discovery, validation and machine learning-enabled protein science. Under the guidance of former President and CEO Kenneth Fasman, Ph.D., IPI strengthened its scientific and organizational foundation, while developing protein tools and expanding its education initiatives to empower researchers, particularly in the molecular neuroscience community.
“Kevin joins IPI at an inflection point,” said Samantha Singer, Chair of IPI’s Board of Directors. “The Board is confident that the stability and infrastructure IPI has already achieved position us well for our next chapter. Kevin’s broad and deep experience in scaling antibody businesses and their impact make him the right leader to grow IPI’s reach and sustainability.”
As President of Aviva, Dr. Harvey directed the company’s operations and strategy with a focus on innovative product development, expansion of the company’s recombinant antibody portfolio and profitable growth. Before joining Aviva, he led Thermo Fisher Scientific’s antibody business and has held leadership positions spanning research, commercialization and business strategy across multiple biotechnology organizations.
A scientist by training, Dr. Harvey earned a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from the University of Illinois Chicago, where he mapped a molecular cell death pathway and probed related cell death events. The results have implications for cancer and neurodegenerative disease.
Dr. Harvey continued his research during his postdoctoral training in John Newport’s laboratory at the University of California, San Diego. The two studied the molecular workings of a protein complex critical to DNA replication and genomic stability.
Eager to continue research and apply it for broader impact, Dr. Harvey joined EMD Millipore, now part of MilliporeSigma. There, he contributed to a systematic, broad-based screen of small-molecule kinase inhibitors that examined off-target activity, not only as an undesirable liability but as an opportunity to harness the inhibitors’ ability to act on multiple therapeutically relevant targets.
As he later made his way to Thermo Fisher, Dr. Harvey continued his commitment to research in service of manufacturing and scaling, co-authoring a book chapter highlighting a method dubbed N-ChIP to improve reproducibility and standardization in studying DNA-protein interactions. While at Aviva, he participated in a consensus platform for antibody characterization, established to help antibody users compare antibody performance.
Dr. Harvey joins IPI during a period of significant organizational momentum. In recent years, the Institute has expanded its recombinant antibody discovery platform, launched the Community Access Antibody Program (CAAP), published advances in machine learning-guided antibody discovery and continued to grow its educational programs in yeast display technology and laboratory automation.
“My focus in the months ahead is straightforward,” said Dr. Harvey. “We’ll grow our recombinant antibody catalog and platform, reach further across the scientific community, particularly in neuroscience, and build the financial sustainability that enables IPI to do more science. I’m committed to further building the scientific leadership that will set the long-term research vision for the Institute.”
About the Institute for Protein Innovation
The Institute for Protein Innovation is pioneering a new approach to scientific discovery and collaboration. As a nonprofit research institute, we provide the biomedical research community with synthetic antibodies and deep protein expertise, empowering scientists to explore fundamental biological processes and pinpoint new targets for therapeutic development. Our purpose is to advance protein science to accelerate research and improve human health. For more information, visit proteininnovation.org or follow us on social media, @ipiproteins.
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