Cristina Vaca, PhD

Research Associate

Dr. Vaca is an Entrepreneurial Fellow at the Chicago Biomedical Consortium (CBC), where she leads evaluation of preclinical biomedical assets from academic founders across nine Midwest universities. In this role, she has sharpened her expertise in scientific and commercial due diligence, competitive landscape analysis, and project management. These experiences have helped Dr. Vaca develop a sharp ability to translate complex scientific findings into strategic, evidence-backed insights, informing the work she now conducts at inThought. 
 
Dr. Vaca earned her PhD in Microbiology & Immunology from Northwestern University where her research focused on repurposing a small molecule cancer therapeutic to address HIV latency. During her PhD, she also served on the leadership team of the Chicago chapter of Nucleate, a biotech nonprofit connecting early-stage academic founders with resources and training in entrepreneurship and commercialization. Prior to graduate school, she earned her Bachelor’s in Biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania where she also minored in Architecture. 
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Chris Martin

President

As the president of inThought Labs, Chris is focused on constantly improving inVision, the leading competitive and market intelligence platform for the biopharmaceutical industry, to better meet the changing needs of clients.

 

With 20 years of experience in roles being a consumer of market and competitive information, Chris understands the needs and priorities of clients. Chris was a senior principal and co-founder of inThought, a life science consulting, market research, and analytics firm. Collaborating with Ben Weintraub, Chris also co-founded BiotechTracker, an online tool for investors and precursor to inVision. Previous to inThought, he was a healthcare analyst and co-portfolio manager at two investment firms. Chris served in health care policy roles at the White House Office of Management and Budget. These roles included Medicare Desk Officer at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, where he was responsible for providing recommendations to senior White House policy officials on healthcare policies and regulations.

 

Chris has a Master in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, a Master in Engineering from Villanova University, and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Cornell University. Prior to attending Harvard Business School, Chris served on two U.S. Navy nuclear submarines and at the Pentagon.