Meet the nextGEN member
Michal Shoshan - metaLead Therapeutics
Who or what called you to lead?
I wanted to be a vet but couldn’t stand the sight of blood, so I became a scientist.
I always thought I’d become a vet. As a child growing up in Israel, I always surrounded myself with dozens of cats, taking them in and caring for them. So medicine, biology – anything that could improve the lives of living beings – felt like my calling. I even volunteered at a community vet clinic, convinced this was my path.
But two things happened during my teenage years that changed everything.
First, I discovered I couldn’t stand the sight of blood. That’s a big deal when it comes to becoming a vet or an MD. And second, I fell in love with chemistry and biology, not just as subjects but as ways of understanding and changing the world.
So, I pivoted when it came time to choose a university course. If I couldn’t heal animals directly, I’d do the next best thing: I’d become a scientist.
I studied biology and chemistry for my bachelor’s degree in Israel, then pursued a PhD in medicinal inorganic chemistry. The deeper I went into research, the more fascinated I became by metal-binding peptides and their potential in medicine.
Academia felt like the perfect place to explore this, and I set my sights on becoming a professor. That path took me beyond Israel – to ETH Zurich, where I completed my postdoc, and then to the University of Zurich, where I established my own research group as a group leader.
But, as much as I loved academic research, I began to see its limitations. In the lab, we made discoveries with real potential – unfortunately, academia wasn’t structured to take them forward.
The impact I wanted to make, and the reason I’d chosen this path in the first place, was just out of reach. I realised that if I wanted to see my science translated into real treatments, I had to do it myself. I had to take the leap into leadership. That’s what led me to build my company.
Michal’s full profile is available for our members inside the community.