Dr. Aparaajita Balaji joined Longwood Fund’s investment team in 2026. She brings expertise spanning venture investing, company formation, and scientific research across a broad range of therapeutic areas and modalities.

Prior to Longwood, Aparaajita was an investor at KB Investment, where she led diligence on investments from early discovery-stage companies through late-stage programs approaching NDA submission. Selected investments include Crystalys Therapeutics, Aculys Pharma (acquired by Viatris), Nuvig Therapeutics, Pathalys Pharma, Bright Peak Therapeutics, CHARM Therapeutics, and Cartography Biosciences.

Aparaajita earned her Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from Yale University, where she discovered and developed novel RNA regulatory technologies. During her doctoral studies, she worked closely with venture capital firms and served as a Healthcare Analyst Fellow at Canaan, supporting investment diligence, company creation, and portfolio management.

She received her B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology: Genetics from the University of California, Berkeley. Her undergraduate research, across various labs, focused on gene therapy, stem cell biology, muscular dystrophy, and oncology.