Chris Ford

As a Global Program Leader, Chris advances novel TB therapeutic programs through clinical development, with a focus on leveraging his expertise in drug development and tuberculosis.

Chris has extensive experience in drug discovery and translational science across infectious disease, oncology, and inflammatory indications. Prior to joining Gates MRI, he served as Senior Vice President of Discovery & Translational Biology at Seres Therapeutics, where he led multidisciplinary teams responsible for advancing microbiome-based therapeutics from target identification through early clinical studies. During his tenure, he built and led computational and translational biology functions, developed biomarker strategies to support clinical programs, and contributed to the advancement, approval, and commercialization of SER-109 (VOWST™) for recurrent C. difficile infection. He served as program lead for multiple programs and played a substantial role in portfolio and alliance management, establishing internal PM frameworks, external partnerships and securing non-dilutive funding to support pipeline development.

Chris completed a Helen Hay Whitney Fellowship at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where he studied host: pathogen interactions using systems immunology approaches. He earned his Ph.D. in Immunology and Infectious Disease from Harvard, with a focus on the evolution of MDR and XDR M. tuberculosis and holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from the College of William & Mary. He is based in Swampscott, MA with his wife, Jackie, and their two boys Liam (10) and Tommy (9) and a Golden Retriever, Salem. Outside of work, Chris enjoys coaching his boys’ teams, running, and reading.