Two experts in genetic medicines, Devan Shah and Michelle Lynn Hall, discuss the recently announced federal funding cuts for mRNA research and what it means for this area of science going forward

They explain the size and depth of the cuts, and how it will affect research on both respiratory and non-respiratory conditions. Plus, what it means for global competitiveness for the United States going forward.

The Experts

Representing herself today.

Michelle Lynn Hall, PhD, is a biotech executive and scientist with a background that spans small molecules, RNA therapeutics, genetic medicine, and platform development. She has spent the past several years at Eli Lilly, where she founded and grew the Genetic Medicine group in Boston, transforming it from a blank slate into a team of over 140 scientists and helping to shape a significant portion of Lilly’s R&D pipeline. Before that, she held senior roles at Moderna (she does not currently hold any stock in Moderna) and Schrödinger, contributing to advancements in mRNA design, LNP delivery, and computational drug discovery.

Michelle holds a PhD in chemistry from Columbia University, where her research focused on quantum modeling and algorithm development. She’s served on advisory boards for RNA Leaders and Women in the Enterprise of Science and Technology, and was named to C&EN’s “Talented 12” for her work in drug discovery and therapeutic innovation.

She originally hails from Texas but has become begrudgingly accustomed to the snow since moving to Boston. Michelle shares her home with her husband and their two cats – Amelia Purrhart and Sir Isaac Mewton. Outside of work, she enjoys trail running year-round, hiking, growing too many houseplants, and mentoring early-career scientists. She’s especially passionate about supporting biotech founders and building platforms that connect deep science to real-world impact.

Devan Shah is the founder and CEO of RNAV8 Bio (“Renovate”), a mRNA engineering and design platform focused on radically improving mRNA therapeutic performance across rare and common diseases. His background spans finance/VC, BD, nucleic acid manufacturing, cell/gene therapy, and computational biology. 

He recently was the founding head of BD and founding business head of the Nucleic Acids and Cell Therapy Franchises at National Resilience (“Resilience”). At Resilience, he built the Nucleic Acids business from $0 to >$100M in contracted revenue with publicly disclosed clients such as Intergalactic Therapeutics and Moderna. He recruited and built a team of 15 leading nucleic acids and nanoparticle scientists for pre-GMP and GMP nucleic acids/lipid nanoparticle (“LNP”) manufacturing and recruited several critical cell therapy scientists and leaders.

Before Resilience, Devan led business development at Stanford Medical School’s Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine (CDCM), where he negotiated industry partnerships with biotechs and manufacturers in the cell, gene, and antibody fields to accelerate the translation of these novel Stanford-developed therapies into the clinic. 

Prior to Stanford, Devan was VP of Business Operations at a pioneering computational pathology startup named 3Scan, where he helped raise $14M, served as an interim product lead, and was instrumental in pharma and biotech BD deals. 

Devan started his career on Wall Street in healthcare investment banking and life science VC at Citigroup and New Leaf Venture Partners, respectively, where he led analysis and diligence on several billion dollars of deals at all stages of company development.