Ben Fram

About

I’m currently on the founding team at 4J Therapeutics, where I help lead a BARDA-funded pan-influenza antiviral program. We’re building medical countermeasures for infectious disease threats that can move faster than traditional response systems.My background spans wet lab, computation, antiviral R&D, space biology, company-building, and technical program management. I love mission-driven, technically ambitious work where the science is uncertain, the systems are still being built, and the outcome matters.Before 4J, I was the first employee / Head of Platform at Episteme, a new type of R&D organization supporting ambitious scientists and engineers.During my PhD at Harvard, I worked on protein engineering and design, including an evolution-informed protein design platform and work on plastic-degrading enzymes. I also worked on autonomous space-biology biomanufacturing and targeted protein degradation (PROTACs). Earlier, I worked in antiviral research and diagnostics at Stanford.Always happy to compare notes with people working on biosecurity/pandemic preparedness, AI-enabled biology, scientific systems, or building a more resilient world.

Experience

Education