Yusuf Erkul

Yusuf Erkul is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kernal Biologics, a venture-backed biotechnology startup based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Under his executive leadership, the company has successfully raised more than $30 million in venture funding to advance next-generation messenger RNA immunotherapies for the treatment of various cancers. Prior to launching his current venture, Erkul worked in oncology drug discovery and clinical development at Merck & Co., where he directly contributed to the advancement of the FDA-approved ovarian cancer therapeutic drug ZEJULA. His academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Doctor of Medicine from Hacettepe University, and an Executive MBA from MIT Sloan. Ultimately, his professional career bridges clinical medicine, pharmaceutical drug development, and startup leadership with a primary focus on pioneering novel mRNA-based oncology therapies.