Ben Portney

About

Ben Portney, PhD, is an investing partner on the Bio + Health team. He is a scientist and entrepreneur with a focus on investing in early stage companies building platforms for novel therapeutic discovery and development. He is involved with companies including: Orbital Therapeutics, insitro, BigHat Biosciences, Rezo Therapeutics, and Octant Bio.

Before joining Andreessen Horowitz, Ben was a Senior Associate at Flagship Pioneering, where he worked as part of a venture-creation team to found and grow several biotechnology companies. Prior to Flagship, Ben received his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, studying the role of epigenetics in cancer plasticity. His graduate work resulted in publication in multiple peer-reviewed journals and several pending patents.

Ben holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore and a BS in Biology from the University of Maryland, College Park. He is a proud native of Baltimore and passionately believes that the Wire is the best TV Series of all time.