Stella Paffenholz
Stella Paffenholz is a Senior Associate at Atlas Venture, where she builds and invests in early-stage companies translating innovative biology into new therapies.
Prior to joining Atlas, Stella was a Principal on the investment team at Nextech Invest, where she invested across the lifecycle from early-stage Series A companies through the public markets and served as a board observer for multiple portfolio companies, including Mariana Oncology (acquired by Novartis) and Tubulis (acquired by Gilead). Earlier in her career, she gained experience across strategy, venture building, and pharmaceutical operations through roles at McKinsey & Company, Apollo Health Ventures, and Merck KGaA.
Stella earned her Ph.D. at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the lab of Scott Lowe, where her research focused on genetic determinants of cancer treatment response. Her doctoral work was supported by the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. During her PhD, she served as President of the Tri-Institutional Biotech Club and now advises the MSKCC start-up incubator. She received her Master of Science from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg and her Bachelor of Science from the University of Bonn.