Chief Technology Officer & Founder
Conifer Life Sciences Group
Dr. Jean Qiu is a serial entrepreneur in the life science tools industry. She is the Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Conifer Life Sciences Group, a Boston-based firm that fosters the development of new companies in the life science tools sector. She also serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Conigen Bioscience, one of Conifer’s portfolio companies.
Previously, Dr. Qiu founded Nexcelom Bioscience in 2003—initially as a basement startup—and served as its Chief Technology Officer, growing the company into a global provider of image cytometry and cell-analysis instrumentation. Nexcelom was acquired by a strategic partner in 2021. Her practice of market-driving innovation contributed significantly to the company’s growth. She was responsible for identifying customer needs and market gaps, and she led her team in formulating product and service solutions that could be effectively designed, manufactured, and launched. As CTO of Nexcelom, Dr. Qiu also contributed to the development, implementation, and education of ISO standards in cell counting and cell viability for the cell and gene therapy field.
Dr. Qiu holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University. She is an inventor on more than 35 U.S. patents and has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers. She has also held multiple leadership positions, including Board Member of ALDA (Analytical, Life Science & Diagnostics Association), Director of Manufacturing at SRU Biosystems, and Product Commercialization Team Leader at 3M.
