Tyler Merkeley

The first “Fast Track MBA” student at Iona, Tyler Merkeley ’05, ’06MBA, a biochemistry major, completed a fifth year of college to obtain an MBA in finance. Now acting as inter-im director of Division of Research, Innovation, and Ventures (DRIVe) responsible for transforming health security at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Tyler is working to develop novel pub-lic private partnerships to enhance National Security and bring together government and industry to solve our nation’s greatest security challenges.

Among his recent accomplishments, Tyler is most proud of co-founding the U.S. Department of HHS’ Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (CARB) Accelerator [CARB-X] initiative to revitalize the antibiotic development pipeline so that “critically needed novel antibiotics were developed to address antibiotic resistant infections,” shares Tyler. He added that CARB-X has received over $500M in non-dilutive funding from USG, UK Government, Welcome Trust and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support over 30 early Research and Development product candidates and attracted over $800M in follow-on private capital.

“The [Iona] campus is always buzzing with vibrant energy which really energizes the students and fosters an environment for education and personal growth.”

Originally from Seattle, Wash., Tyler came to Iona for an opportunity to continue his Christian Brothers education and to immerse himself in a biochemistry program known for its small class sizes and individual inter-action with professors. Participation in events such as Iona Scholars Day, with Chemistry Professor Dr. Sunghee Lee, allowed him to develop valuable skills in research and presentation.

“What made Iona special was the tight sense of community! The small campus is always buzzing with vibrant energy which really energizes the students and fosters an environment for education and personal growth,” said Tyler.