Empowering Revolutionary Companies

Our unique platform includes the synergistic combination of NSG Tomorrow, NSG BioLabs and NSG Ventures, all having the intent of empowering entrepreneurs and innovators to achieve their visions.

Our Panel of Mentors & Advisors

Our mentors and advisors are scientists, executives, and/or founders of exciting and successful companies, so they have first-hand experiences relevant to your journey. They will work closely with you in providing mentorship and advice to your team as you pursue your technological and medical breakthroughs.

Daphne Teo

Founding Partner

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Daphne Teo

Daphne is an experienced investor and company builder, with over a decade of experience in real estate, biotech, and investment banking. She is the founder and CEO of NSG Ventures and NSG BioLabs Singapore’s largest and leading biotech co-working laboratory and office space. She led the entire setup of NSG, including financing, operational setup, and recruited a team a team of internationally renowned professors, investors, and biotech executives to advise NSG and its companies.

She was one of the initial shareholders and co-founders of the Singapore- and US-based Engine Biosciences and previously served as a board director and head of finance and operations in its critical early days before and after venture financing. She continues to serve as an advisor to Engine Bio.

She currently also serves as Chief Investment Officer of D3 Capital and previously worked at Goldman Sachs and HSBC in the Investment Banking Division in Hong Kong and Singapore.

At D3, she has executed and overseen a number of multi-million investments in real estate and natural resources across Asia and USA. She also serves as a board director at selected portfolio companies. In 2013, she was a co-founder and investor in the 3.6M sq. ft. Golden City integrated real estate development in Yangon, Myanmar and helped drive the successful sale of the company at a valuation of US$110 million in 2016 achieving triple digit IRR for D3.

Daphne received her master’s from Stanford University’s School of Engineering and her bachelor’s from Purdue University (highest honors), and she is currently pursuing her master’s in biotechnology at Johns Hopkins University.

Darin Baur

CFO

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Darin Baur

Darin has over 20 years’ experience in corporate finance, legal and regulatory matters. He has led or coordinated a wide range of financing, mergers and acquisitions and other strategic corporate transactions in Asia, the U.S.A., Australia and Europe. In addition, he has dealt directly with regulatory and licensing bodies in multiple jurisdictions, setting up and/or serving as responsible persons or officers for licensed entities in several countries.

Darin has been an advisor to multiple entities, including start-ups and funds in the biotechnology space, assisting with corporate finance and legal matters, and working on investments and related transactions.

He started his career as an attorney with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom in the United States, followed by senior investment banking roles with Citigroup, HSBC and Canaccord Genuity in the United States and Hong Kong.

Darin holds a J.D. from the Harvard University Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. and a B.A. from Albion College in Albion, Michigan, U.S.A.

Timothy Lu

Founding Partner

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Timothy Lu

Tim is a world leader in the field of synthetic biology and has co-founded multiple successful venture-backed platform biotech companies, including Synlogic, Corvium, and Senti BioSciences, raising over $100MM in VC funding from Atlas, NEA, 8VC, the Gates Foundation, Orbimed, Deerfield, and Flybridge. At MIT, Timothy leads the Synthetic Biology Group and serves as an Associate Professor of Biological Engineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He is an Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Timothy’s numerous accolades include the NIH New Innovator Award, the US Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and the Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholar in Aging Award. He was also selected as a Siebel Scholar and Kavli Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences. Tim was nominated as the 2018 Xconomy Scientific Founder of the Year.

Tim received his S.B. and M.Eng. from MIT in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and Ph.D. from the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Medical Engineering and Medical Physics Program.

Donald Tang

Partner

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Donald Tang

Donald Tang, CFA, is Founder and Managing Partner of Celadon Partners, a private equity firm focused on transformative innovations in traditional industries.

Mr. Tang has over 18 years of experience in alternative investments. Prior to Celadon Partners, he co-founded and was Chief Executive Officer of D. E. Shaw & Co. (Asia Pacific) Limited, the firm’s main investment presence in Asia. He started his career at Citadel Investment Group, L.L.C.

Mr. Tang is a member of the Harvard Kennedy School Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government Advisory Council, Special Advisor (China) to the Milken Institute, and a former member of the Asia-Pacific Steering Committee of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc.

In 2016, Mr. Tang was named one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders. He is a Fellow of the fifth class of the China Fellowship Program and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Mr. Tang is also a member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO).

Mr. Tang graduated with honors from Carnegie Mellon University in 2003 with B.S. degrees in computer science and business administration and a minor in computational finance.

Jeffrey Lu

Founding Partner

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Jeffrey Lu

Jeff brings extensive experience as a successful technology and healthcare businessperson and entrepreneur over the past decade. He has held CxO and senior executive roles at successful technology-driven start-ups and blue-chip companies. Jeff co-founded Engine Biosciences, and was previously with AAE (acquired by Expedia), AirAsia, Goodman Capital and Bain & Company. Two of the high-performing companies Jeffrey was instrumental in building reached sizable exits with a total valuation of $450MM. With his experience in venture, M&A, and company building, Jeff has made many active and promising investments in healthcare, biotechnology, and Internet companies from both the US and Asia.

Jeff graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania.

David Epstein

Advisor

Ken Nesmith

Venture Partner

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Ken Nesmith

Ken Nesmith has been active in healthcare and life sciences as a technologist and executive for over 15 years. He is the CBO of the oncology business at Lunit. He was the cofounder and CEO of Lexent Bio, an innovative liquid biopsy company focused on solid tumor cancer diagnostics, acquired by Foundation Medicine in 2020. Prior to Lexent Bio, he led product strategy at Counsyl, leading a team of clinical and software product managers. He built his career in health and technology at companies including Noom, Boston Consulting Group, and Codon Devices. He completed undergraduate studies at MIT and an MBA at Wharton.

Cheryl Cui

Advisor

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Cheryl Cui

Trained as a biomedical engineer, Cheryl’s personal mission is to identify promising technologies that address unmet clinical needs and work directly with founders during the venture building process. She was a former Venture Partner at VentureHealth, a Silicon Valley-based healthcare fund, where she coordinated portfolio companies’ growth strategy in the Asia Pacific. Cheryl previously co-founded a mobile health company that facilitates the care of Alzheimer’s patients, which was successfully acquired in 2012 and led to her selection as one of Canada’s Next 36. She currently serves as a Board Member of Rootpath and HiFiBio Therapeutics.

Cheryl earned her joint PhD degree in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics from MIT and Harvard Medical School. Her research in building synthetic gene circuits and molecular systems have lead to publications in Science and Nature journals. Cheryl received her B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science and Biomedical Engineer from the University of Toronto.

Paul Lin

Venture Partner

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Paul Lin

Dr. Lin has over 20 years of life sciences and technology industry experience. He spent significant time at Plexxikon, where most recently he served as Chief Operating Officer. He joined Plexxikon in 2005 and held positions of increasing responsibility in business development and operations management. Dr. Lin led much of the IND filing effort for vemurafenib/Zelboraf® and was a principal contributor to the drug’s early development. He was part of Plexxikon’s deal team responsible for three licensing deals valued collectively at over $2 billion. Prior to Plexxikon, Dr. Lin was an assistant to the CEO of Dendreon Corporation and served as a consultant to multiple pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies including Medtronic, Othera Pharmaceuticals and Acuity Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Lin was also formerly Vice President of Business Development for eTechtransfer, a biotechnology licensing and marketplace start-up that he co-founded. Previously, Dr. Lin was an operations engineer managing large scale manufacturing operations across multiple industries for BASF AG and Shell Oil Company. Dr. Lin received dual M.D. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Wharton School of Business. Before graduate school, he earned a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, where he graduated summa cum laude.

Our Awesome Facility

Management of office and laboratory space

Storage facilities for hazardous substances and Class 3 flammable materials

Financing and mentorship connections

24/7 secured access

In compliance with national guidelines for handling chemical and biological materials, laboratory safety and waste disposal

Biosafety Level 2 compliant

Provisioning of emergency power system for critical storage items

CRO support and service providers network

Biohazardous and chemical waste removal

Preferred rates for consumables from A*STAR’s Research Support Center (RSC) and other strategic partners