Head of Drug Discovery
Maria-Jesus Blanco, Senior Vice President of Drug Discovery, brings over 25 years of experience in drug discovery and development working in the pharmaceutical industry and biotech. She was inducted into the Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame, a distinguished honor bestowed by the American Chemical Society’s Division of Medicinal Chemistry, in 2024. Maria joined Atavistik Bio from Sage Therapeutics, where she served as Head of Chemistry and Sr. Director. Maria began her career at Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis where she held positions of increasing responsibility over 17 years, including Director of Discovery Chemistry Research & Technologies. Her leadership, creativity, and strategic thinking have led to impactful contributions on new chemical modalities, chemical biology, protein-protein interactions, translational research, and small molecule therapeutics primarily in neuroscience and oncology. Maria has actively contributed to the delivery of 15 compounds to clinical studies.
Maria obtained her B.S. and Ph.D. degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. She held postdoctoral positions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and at University of Strasbourg, France with Nobel Laureate Prof. Sauvage. Maria has >100 scientific publications, presentations, patent and patent applications. She was the Division Chair of the ACS National Division of Medicinal Chemistry, in 2023. In 2021, she was inducted as an ACS Fellow for her lasting service to chemistry, society, and medicine. She has been recognized with the ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry Award in 2024.