Colleen Cutcliffe, PhD

Colleen Cutcliffe, PhD ’03, is the co-founder and CEO of Pendulum Therapeutics, a biotech company pioneering the next frontier of microbiome science. Leading a team of scientists with deep microbiology, biochemistry, computational and clinical expertise, Cutcliffe is developing revolutionary, safe, and effective products that address imbalances in the microbiome, transforming people’s health. Armed with 18 patents and 66 pending, Pendulum has raised $150 million to date from Mayo Clinic, Sequoia Capital, Meritech Capital, True Ventures, Khosla Ventures. In 2023, Cutcliffe brought on Halle Berry, Academy Award® winning actress and director, as an investor and Chief Communications Officer of the company. Founded in 2012, Pendulum Therapeutics is headquartered in San Francisco.

Prior to starting Pendulum, Cutcliffe held senior positions at bioscience and pharmaceutical firms. Cutcliffe completed her postdoctoral studies at Northwestern’s Children’s Memorial Hospital. Cutcliffe received her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Bloomberg School and her BA from Wellesley College.