Alexis Ji, Ph.D.

Dr. Alexis Ji is the Founding Partner of Primer Ventures, leveraging her two decades of expertise in research and investment in the biopharmaceutical and genomics industries.Primer Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage companies in the fields of life science tools and diagnostics, innovative therapeutics, and digital health. It provides early capital to empower visionary entrepreneurs in translating cutting-edge science and technologies into transformative products. Prior to establishing Primer Ventures, Alexis was a partner at Illumina Ventures for six years since its inception, assuming pivotal roles in fundraising, investment strategies, and portfolio company management. She served or observed on the boards of Walking Fish Therapeutics, Actym Therapeutics, Twist Bioscience (TWST), SQZ Biotechnologies (SQZ), NanoCellect Biomedical, and Kodikaz Therapeutic Solutions.Previously, Alexis was a principal at WuXi Healthcare Ventures, where she was instrumental in the investments in Twist Bioscience (TWST), 23andMe (ME), Juno Therapeutics (JUNO, acquired by Celgene), Unity Biotechnology (UBX), Syros Therapeutics (SYRS), Ideaya Therapeutics (IDYA), Impact Therapeutics, and Vivace Therapeutics, among others. Before WuXi, she was an investment consultant at ARCH Venture Partners, evaluating early-stage investment opportunities and supporting portfolio company operations. She was involved in the founding investment in Twist Bioscience (TWST) and Nextcode Health (acquired by WuXi Apptec).Alexis began her career in biotechnology R&D, working in early drug discovery at Merck, translational research and clinical development at Roche, and molecular diagnostics and next-generation sequencing at Life Technologies.Alexis holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from Washington University School of Medicine and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.