Linda Avey

Linea (Linda) Avey
Avey in 2008
Born1960 (age 65–66)
South Dakota, United States of America
EducationAugustana University (BA)
Known forCo-founder of 23andMe
Precise.ly, Inc.
Scientific career
FieldsPersonal genomics,
Biotechnology, entrepreneurship

Linea Avey (formerly known by her birth name 'Linda Avey' )(née Bahnson) is an American biologist and entrepreneur. She is known for co-founding 23andMe, a consumer genetic data company.[1][2]

Early life

Avey was born Linda Bahnson in 1960, in South Dakota, United States. She attended Augustana University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in biology, in 1982.[3][4]

Early career

Avey began her scientific career in 1982 at University of California, Irvine as a staff research associate.[5] It has been stated that in 1985, she moved into various sales and business development in the fields of biopharmaceutical and academic research. As of 2024, a site to which Avey submits information was stating that she had "over 20 years of sales and business development experience in the biopharmaceutical industry in San Francisco, Boston, San Diego, and Washington, D.C."[3][6] She worked at Perlegen Sciences, where she was part of the company's alliance management team, working on research collaborations and grant submissions to the National Institutes of Health.[7] While at Perlegen, she worked on a Parkinson's disease study funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation, through which she met Google co-founder Sergey Brin, whose mother had the disease.[7] By late 2005, she had left Perlegen for Affymetrix.[3][7]

She also held positions at Spotfire,[3] Chemdex, Applied Biosystems,[3] PerSeptive Biosystems, Molecular Dynamics, and Waters Corporation.

23andMe and later career

In March 2006 Avey, Anne Wojcicki, and Paul Cusenza founded 23andMe,[8][9][10] "one of the first, and only, companies to offer genetic profiles directly to consumers, rather than through doctors or researchers".[11] Avey left the company in 2009 but remained as a board member until 2011.[12][13]

In 2009, Avey launched the Brainstorm Research Foundation, to "creat[e] an outsourced potential to do research" with "initial focus is on Alzheimer's disease" to "creat[e] novel cohorts and collec[t]... phenotypic information".[14] In 2011, Avey co-founded We are Curious, Inc. with Heather Anne Halpert and Mitsu Hadeishi, a company focused on online aggregation of data from sensors, wearables, trackers, apps, social media, biometrics, and other personal data.[15][16] In 2018, Avey and Aneil Mallavarapu began collaboration with Naryana Health to focus on collecting and analyzing genetic information from populations often economically excluded, via their further start-up, Precisely, Inc.[17][18][19]

Avey is an advisor to Verily Life Sciences and is on the Board of Fellows at Stanford Medical School.[19] In November of 2023, Avey joined the Board of Directors of the Human Immunome Project (HIP).[20] In 2026, Avery serves on the Board of Directors of Perlara, a biotech company seeking cures for rare diseases.[21]

23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2025 [22]

References

  1. ↑ Goetz, Thomas (November 17, 2007). "23AndMe Will Decode Your DNA for $1,000. Welcome to the Age of Genomics". Wired.com. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  2. ↑ Harmon, Amy (November 17, 2007). "My Genome, Myself: Seeking Clues in DNA". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Avey, Linda & BigThink.com Staff (February 5, 2024). "Co-Founder, 23andMe". BigThink.com. Retrieved February 5, 2024. Linda Avey has over 20 years of sales and business development experience in the biopharmaceutical industry in San Francisco, Boston, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. Prior to starting 23andMe, she developed translational research collaborations with academic and pharmaceutical partners for Affymetrix and Perlegen Sciences. Linda also spent time at Spotfire helping scientists understand the power of data visualization and at Applied Biosystems during the early days of the human genome project. The advent of high density genome-wide scanning technologies brought huge potential for significant discoveries. However, the lack of sufficient funding to enable adequate studies prompted Linda to think of a new research model. These ideas led to the formation of 23andMe. Her primary interest is the acceleration of personalized medicine, using genetic profiles to target the right drug to the right person at the correct dose. Linda graduated from Augustana College with a B.A. in biology.
  4. ↑ Augie.edu Staff (2010). "Viking Days: 2010 Alumni Achievement Award Winners Recognized" (PDF). Augie.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 25, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2024. For an Augie.edu page linking to the award page, and listing other alumni award recipients, see Augie.edu Staff (2021). "Past Alumni Award Recipients". Augie.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2024. Note, at this second citation, the subject's middle name is given as Bahnson.
  5. ↑ Bahnson, Linda S.; Buckpitt, Alan R. (1986). "Naphthalene metabolism by human lung microsomal enzymes". Toxicology. 41 (3): 333–341. doi:10.1016/0300-483X(86)90186-1. ISSN 0300-483X. PMID 3775781.
  6. ↑ "Linda Avey Biography | Booking Info for Speaking Engagements". www.allamericanspeakers.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 Wishart-Smith, Heather (June 25, 2024). "23andHim: The Untold Story Of 23andMe's Third Co-Founder". Forbes. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  8. ↑ CNBC.com Staff (May 22, 2018). "2018 Disruptor 50 Full Coverage: 7. 23andMe". CNBC.com. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  9. ↑ Bay Area News Group & Baron, Ethan (December 29, 2017). "Genomics Company 23andMe to Launch Weight-Loss Study Focused on Diet, Exercise and Genes". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Media Center: About Us". 23andMe.com. February 26, 2018. Archived from the original on February 26, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  11. ↑ Ferris, Robert (May 5, 2016). "You Don't Have to be a Genius to Contribute to Science, Entrepreneur Says". CNBC.com. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  12. ↑ Peterson, Becky (September 6, 2017). "23andMe Gets $200 Million in Funding to Bring its Genetic Testing to the Masses". BusinessInsider.com. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  13. ↑ Edmonds, Lauren. "A 23andMe cofounder says the company 'lost its way' under the last leaders". Business Insider. Retrieved July 16, 2026.
  14. ↑ Davies, Kevin (November 24, 2009). "Linda Avey on an Alzheimer's Brainstorm". Bio-ITWorld.com. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  15. ↑ Avey, Linda & SXSW Staff (2018). "SXSW Schedule: Linda Avey". SXSW.com. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Yelp, YouTube and 23andMe Co-Founders All Working on New Start-Ups". AllThingsD. Retrieved July 16, 2026.
  17. ↑ Shieber, Jonathan (January 15, 2020). "23andMe Co-Founder's New Startup, Precise.ly, Brings Genomics to India Through Narayana Partnership". TechCrunch.com. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  18. ↑ Herper, Matthew. "Helix Bets An 'App Store' Can Make Consumers Care About Their DNA". Forbes.com. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  19. 1 2 "Biomedical Informatics Entrepreneurs Salon: Linda Avey, CEO &…". Harvard Office of Technology Development. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  20. ↑ Kane-Hartnett, Liza (November 30, 2023). "23andMe Founder Linda Avey Joins the Human Immunome Project Board of Directors". Human Immunome Project. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Perlara PBC: accelerate the discovery of cures across diseases". Perlara. Retrieved July 16, 2026.
  22. ↑ https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/26/23andme-co-founder-lashes-out-at-ceo-wojcicki-after-bankruptcy-filing.html

Further reading

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