When Eric DeJesus received ARCS Foundation’s prestigious Petra Herz Global Impact Award in 2013, he had no idea it would one day help launch a biotechnology company. But today, as founder and CEO of Annate Biotherapeutics, DeJesus is leading cutting-edge research into a novel approach to treating multiple myeloma and pancreatic cancer—research that began as a side project during his PhD.

“I pitched the idea that ultimately became Annate in my ARCS application,” DeJesus said. “ARCS was the first organization to believe in the concept. That $10,000 award gave me the freedom to pursue experiments I wouldn’t have been able to fund otherwise.”

At the time, DeJesus was pursuing his PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Georgia, working in a parasitology lab. His advisor introduced him to a little-known protein in the human immune system—one that kills certain parasites but doesn’t harm human cells. That contradiction sparked a question that changed his life: If it’s toxic to parasites, why isn’t it toxic to us?

That question laid the foundation for what would become Annate. After earning his PhD in 2014 and spending several years working in microbiology and public health, DeJesus reconnected with his former advisor in 2020—and the two picked up where they left off. Now, armed with improved antibody technology, they began to test the protein’s potential as a cancer therapeutic.

By 2021, their early data showed promising results in treating multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. The work expanded to include pancreatic cancer, and with funding from the Georgia Research Alliance and Emory College’s Winship Cancer Institute, the team developed two patented therapies showing success in both lab and animal models.

But the journey has been anything but easy.

“I’ve been working nights and weekends for five years—100-hour weeks—with no salary from the company,” DeJesus shared. “Both my co-founder and I are in our 40s, with families, and we’re doing this because we believe this has the potential to create a whole new field of medicine.”

DeJesus credits ARCS for providing not just funding but encouragement at a crucial time.

“They took a leap of faith on something totally unproven,” he said. “That support helped me stay focused on a long-term vision, even when the path looked uncertain.”

He now speaks regularly at ARCS events, sharing the story of how an idea born in a graduate lab has grown into a company with real therapeutic potential. His message to current scholars? Persevere.

“Be patient and stay passionate. I waited five years for the opportunity to restart this work,” he said. “It’s not about having a perfect path. It’s about asking the right questions, doing hard things, and not quitting until the data tells you to.”

To watch Dr. DeJesus's ARCS Forward presentation, click here.