Contact

Microbes, like humans, are stronger together than they ever could be alone.

Direct discovery of microbial ensembles with advanced microbial interaction screening technology.

Platform

Revealing the world as it truly is—a vast underlying network of microbes.

Microbes living in, on, and around us occupy vast but invisible interaction networks that shape the health of our bodies and our planet.
These networks, if made visible, will serve as instruction manuals for rebuilding damaged microbial communities...
...for hidden in these networks are ensembles—specific combinations of microbes that work in concert to shepherd microbial communities to health.
Concerto’s co-founders invented an ultra-high-throughput platform to experimentally measure millions of microbial interactions, map interaction networks, and reveal these ensembles for the first time.
Concerto will become the premier inventor of ensembles spanning a wealth of applications—a therapeutic ensemble for eczema, a biocontrol ensemble for agricultural pests, an odor-controlling ensemble for personal hygiene, and beyond—reinventing humanity’s relationship with microbes.
Partnerships

Partner with us.

Harnessing the complexity of microbial ecology to develop new, high impact products is hard. Concerto's discovery engine dramatically lowers barriers to success by directly and rapidly measuring the function of millions of microbial communities.

The possibilities are endless, but Concerto's bandwidth is not. We are seeking collaborations with companies that have complementary expertise and a shared interest in developing breakthrough microbe-based products. We're also building an internal product pipeline and seeking partnerships to accelerate the path to market for these assets.

How Concerto Partners
How Concerto Partners
Interested to learn more about collaborating with Concerto?

Get in Touch
Use Cases

Eczema

ENS-002 rehabilitates the skin microbiome to treat eczema.

Unchecked virulence of a skin-dwelling microbe, Staphylococcus aureus, elicits and exacerbates eczema flares. On healthy skin, S. aureus is placated by interactions with virulence-inhibiting microbes making up the skin microbiome.

Concerto’s first product, ENS-002 (“Ensemble No.2”), is a group of microbes that restores protective microbial interactions, rehabilitating the skin microbiome and reducing S. aureus virulence >98%.

Biocontrol

A microbial ensemble for biological pest control.

Phytophthora infestans, which resides in plant debris and soil, can invade potato and tomato tissue, causing a devastating disease called late blight that ends the crop season prematurely. Chemical fungicides, the existing solution, often do not work. What’s more: they cause environmental pollution and even human disease.

Like naturally occurring "suppressive soils", an ensemble for biocontrol would produce compounds that inhibit P. infestans from infecting plant tissue—a natural, sustainable, environmentally friendly way to protect crops.

Body Odor

A microbial ensemble to eliminate underarm odor.

In the axillary (armpit) microbiome, Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium decompose odorless sweat into the compounds responsible for body odor. Masking body odor with typical deodorants can exacerbate odor-producing conditions and cause allergic reactions.

An ensemble for body odor would resist the colonization and metabolic activity of odor-causing bacteria in order to eliminate body odor naturally and safely.

People

Building a new world begins with synergy of interdisciplinary experts.

We call this team Ensemble No.1.

Ensemble No.1

Cheri Ackerman, PhD
Cheri Ackerman, PhD
Cofounder & Chief Executive Officer
Jared Kehe, PhD
Jared Kehe, PhD
Cofounder & Chief Scientific Officer
Bernardo Cervantes, PhD
Bernardo Cervantes, PhD
Cofounder & VP of Product Development
Keaton Armentrout
Keaton Armentrout
Director of Engineering
Charles Dove
Charles Dove
Associate Machine Learning Engineer
Emily Bean, PhD
Emily Bean, PhD
Scientist – Microbiologist
Melanie Doezema
Melanie Doezema
Executive Assistant
Erik Hesse
Erik Hesse
Senior Software Engineer
Heidi Arjes, PhD
Heidi Arjes, PhD
Senior Scientist – Microbiologist
Matthew Volpe, PhD
Matthew Volpe, PhD
Scientist – Microbiologist
Diane Marcou
Diane Marcou
Chief Financial Officer
Michele Mara
Michele Mara
Financial Controller
Alasdair Morton
Alasdair Morton
Automation Engineer
Rhys Duquette
Rhys Duquette
Laboratory Manager
Roger Frechette, PhD
Roger Frechette, PhD
Chief Business Officer
Omobukola Solebo
Omobukola Solebo
Research Associate II
Annah Sclafani, PhD
Annah Sclafani, PhD
Senior Data Scientist


James Sigler
James Sigler
Director of CMC
Eliza Zalis, PhD
Eliza Zalis, PhD
Senior Scientist - Analytical Development
Vanessa Sanchez
Vanessa Sanchez
Research Associate – Analytical Development
Didier Vingadassalom, PhD, MBA
Didier Vingadassalom, PhD, MBA
Senior Director – Business Development
Lou Vaickus, MD
Lou Vaickus, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Alexander Lyons
Alexander Lyons
Scientist – Fermentation

Board of Directors

Vera Schroeder
Vera Schroeder
Board Member

Partner, Safar Partners

Sarah Luppino
Sarah Luppino
Board Member

Investor, M Ventures

Laura Davis
Laura Davis
Board Member – Observer

Managing Director, Golden Seeds

Vinit Nijhawan
Vinit Nijhawan
Board Member – Observer

Managing Director, MassVentures

Advisors

Paul Blainey, PhD
Paul Blainey, PhD
Scientific Advisory Board Member – Technology Advisor

Associate Professor of Biological Engineering, MIT

Peter Lio, MD
Peter Lio, MD
Scientific Advisory Board Member – Dermatologic Disease KOL

Founder and leader of the Chicago Integrative Eczema Center

Affiliate Faculty at Northwestern University

Tiffany Scharschmidt, MD
Tiffany Scharschmidt, MD
Scientific Advisory Board Member – Skin Microbiome & Immunology Expert

Associate Professor of Dermatology at UCSF

Practicing dermatologist

Henry Rath
Henry Rath
Business Advisor

Former SVP Business Development at Seres Therapeutics

Chief Business Officer at Surface Oncology

Jasmina Jankicevic, MD, MSc, CCRP
Jasmina Jankicevic, MD, MSc, CCRP
Dermatology Drug and Device Development KOL

CMO at Innovaderm Inc.

Peter Barton Hutt
Peter Barton Hutt
Food and Drug Law Expert

Senior Counsel at Covington and Burling

Investors

Safar Partners
Horizons Ventures
M.Ventures
8VC
Golden Seeds
Humboldt
Mass Ventures
The Yard Ventures
Excelestar Ventures
Impact Science Ventures
Corundum Systems Biology
News & Press
From Concerto •May, 8, 2023
Concerto Biosciences Co-Founder and CEO Cheri Ackerman Selected as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 New England Finalist
From Concerto •Feb, 6, 2023
Concerto Biosciences Announces Strategic Business Development Hire
EndpointsNov, 4, 2022
'Rulebook of microbial ecology': Pianists launch Concerto to treat eczema, protect crops and get rid of BO
From Concerto •Nov, 2, 2022
Concerto Biosciences Raises $23 Million in Series A to Advance Product Development, Expand Pipeline
MathworksDec, 13, 2021
Startup of the Month: Concerto Biosciences – Discovering the microbial orchestra around us
Chemical and Engineering NewsNov, 11, 2021
Many bacteria lend other species a helping hand
BIOS CommunitySep, 30, 2021
Founder Spotlight: Cheri Ackerman
PetriJun, 3, 2021
Concerto CEO receives Emerging Women Founder Award
MIT NewsJan, 5, 2021
Turning microbiome research into a force for health
AAAS EurekAlert!Nov, 19, 2020
Hertz Foundation Entrepreneurship Award to support microbial innovation
Activate GlobalJun, 1, 2020
Concerto CEO and CSO awarded Activate Fellowships

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