Dr Maria New

Maria earned a DPhil in Oncology from the University of Oxford, where she investigated biomarker mechanisms and therapeutic responses to HDAC inhibitors in hematological malignancies. She then completed postdoctoral training at the Francis Crick Institute, identifying and validating novel drug targets in pancreatic cancer in collaboration with Astellas Pharma and Cancer Research UK.

She went on to hold senior roles at GlaxoSmithKline, where she was selected as an Associate Fellow (awarded to the top 5% of researchers) and received a personal award for innovation and impact. At GSK, she led functional genomics projects using CRISPR-based screening and contributed to multiple target discovery and validation programmes. Maria later moved into biotech, working as Principal Scientist at Relation Therapeutics and Pear Bio, where she provided scientific leadership across oncology pipelines, antibody–drug conjugate design, and small molecule development, driving projects towards first-in-human studies.

Alongside her scientific training, Maria holds an MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology and is a certified Prince2 Agile Practitioner.

At Sequoia Genetics, Maria applies her broad translational expertise in immunology, oncology, and drug discovery to advance target validation and guide projects through the critical path from genetic evidence to clinical development.