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About
Sonia Kartha, PhD, is a Senior Associate at RA Capital Management, L.P. in Boston, specializing in venture investing within the life sciences, biotechnology, and drug development sectors. In her current role, she assesses emerging healthcare technologies and supports early-stage portfolio companies, with a particular emphasis on scientific due diligence, deal sourcing, and company building in therapeutics and related biotech innovations.
Prior to joining RA Capital, Dr. Kartha gained venture experience as an Associate at Petri and developed deep research expertise as a PhD Candidate and Research Fellow in Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Her background enables a nuanced approach to evaluating cutting-edge biotechnologies and supporting investment decisions grounded in rigorous scientific evaluation.
Dr. Kartha holds a PhD in Bioengineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, both from the University of Pennsylvania. Her notable achievements include contributing to investment strategies at leading healthcare and biotech venture firms and helping advance transformative technologies from academia to commercialization.
Career History
| Organization | Role | Date Range | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| RA Capital Management, L.P. | Associate | Apr 2021 to Present | — |
| Petri | Venture Associate | Oct 2020 to Apr 2021 | — |
| University of Pennsylvania | PhD Candidate and Research Fellow | Jun 2015 to Apr 2021 | Developed and obtained preclinical data for the use of novel nanoparticle formulations for the treatment of painful neuropathies and chronic pain resulting in the filing of provisional patents and NIH... |
| University of Pennsylvania | Research Technician | Aug 2012 to Aug 2015 | Developed a novel preclinical rodent model of temporomandibular joint disease currently being used to investigate diagnostic, therapeutic markers at Penn School of Dental Medicine (resulted in >5 publ... |
| InSITE | Doctoral Fellow | Sep 2018 to Aug 2020 | Worked with two separate early-stage startups to develop roll-out strategy in multidisciplinary teams of MBA and Law students. Performed customer trend analyses, to improve user adoption for two early... |
| Venture Lab | Venture Initiation Program Fellow | Aug 2019 to Jan 2020 | Refined product-market fit analyses for a blockchain-based digital health platform leading to strategic partnerships |
| PBG Healthcare Consulting | Project Director | Jun 2019 to Dec 2019 | Oversaw completion of two separate projects in the semester; one project focused on deep customer analyses for a laboratory supplies vendor resulting in the implementation of several project recommen... |
| PBG Healthcare Consulting | Project Manager | Jan 2019 to May 2019 | Lead a 6-person team to assess market attractiveness including identifying and executing expert interviews for a lead molecular marker resulting in acceleration of pipeline development to proof-of con... |
| PBG Healthcare Consulting | Team Member | Sep 2016 to Dec 2018 | Created the pre-IND regulatory strategy for an academic spinoff including detailing execution of FDA filing as well as built cost models for GMP manufacturing considerations Identified new verticals a... |
| Verix Health | Research Intern | Mar 2018 to Mar 2019 | Assisted in drafting an awarded SBIR Phase II grant and worked directly with the CEO to develop commercialization strategy and assisted fundraising efforts to raise $8M Series A |
| University City Science Center | QED Program Fellow | Sep 2017 to Dec 2017 | Completed a 3-month fellowship to develop commercialization strategy with 1 out of 9 finalist technologies in the QED proof-of-concept program competing for seed funding with academic inventor and two... |
Education
University of Pennsylvania
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bioengineering
2015 — 2021
University of Pennsylvania
Bachelor’s Degree, Chemistry
2008 — 2012
Masterman Julia R Secondary School
High School Diploma
2004 — 2008
Others at Ra Capital Management, L.P. (41)
| Name | Role | Location |
|---|---|---|
 | Associate | Boston, MA , United States |
A Alexander Becker | Senior Associate | Boston, MA , United States |
 | Associate | Cambridge, MA , United States |
 | Associate | Boston, MA , United States |
 | Principal | New York, NY , United States |
| Associate | Boston, MA , United States | |
B Brian L | Analyst | Boston, MA , United States |
 | Principal | San Francisco, CA , United States |
D David Migl | Analyst | United States |
F Fuad Naser | Analyst | Boston, MA , United States |
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