Liisa Nogelo

As Lead Counsel, Liisa Nogelo, J.D., leads the legal team supporting the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute. In this role, she develops and executes legal and IP strategies, manages risk, advises the board and leadership team, leads complex transactions, and provides strategic and operational support to achieve the institute’s mission.

Liisa brings over 20 years of corporate, transactional, R&D, and commercial legal and leadership experience in the biotechnology industry. Prior to the Gates Medical Research Institute, Liisa served as the Chief Legal Officer, Head of Business Operations & Corporate Secretary at Surface Oncology, a clinical-stage, public immuno-oncology company. Prior to Surface, Liisa served as the General Counsel at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where she built and managed a team of attorneys, paralegals, and patent administrators. In this role, she was responsible for the Broad’s legal operations, including strategy, support for research, intellectual property, litigation, institutional strategic priorities and operational matters, and negotiation of major transactions with biopharma and technology companies. Before joining the Broad, Liisa held senior positions on the corporate and R&D legal teams at Biogen, where she most recently served as lead attorney for and core member of the late-stage program teams responsible for the successful development, approval and launch of two medicines to treat hemophilia and supported the successful development of the first medicine approved to treat spinal muscular atrophy. Liisa began her legal career at Bingham McCutchen, where she advised private and public clients on a variety of corporate law matters, including mergers and acquisitions, technology licensing, company formation, venture capital transactions, securities offerings, corporate governance, compliance, and employment issues.

Outside of work, Liisa serves on the community advisory board of the Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute and mentors diverse law students through Boston University’s In Real Law program. Liisa received a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College.