Alex Tkachenko
Executive in Residence
Alex Tkachenko has over twenty years of experience in research, drug development, and venture creation. Before joining EcoR1 Capital as an Executive-In-Residence, Alex was CEO of Epiodyne, a venture-backed biotech developing new medicines to address the opioid crisis. Prior to Epiodyne, Alex served as CEO of BlackThorn Therapeutics, a biotech company developing targeted medicines for neurobehavioral disorders. Before BlackThorn, Alex was President of Siluria Technologies, where he led the company through incubation, launch, team building, and three rounds of financing. Alex started his industry career with Genentech. Alex has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University, where his graduate work led to the identification of one of the first transcription factors disrupted by chromosomal translocations in cancer. Earlier, Alex served as a squad leader in the Soviet Army and completed a tour of combat duty in Afghanistan.
Rocky Tkachenko
Permabear
Rocky is a native of Arkansas but does a great job disguising his hillbilly roots with San Francisco hauteur. Half Cavalier King Charles spaniel, half poodle, he is occasionally confused but never given to self doubt. Rocky describes himself as "lovable, compact and companionable", while the rest of the family refers to him as "that spoiled hound". When not napping in the sun, he can be found chasing baby deer and digging for moles. His true passion is squeaky tennis balls, although he is not quite on board with the "bring it back" part of playing fetch.
