Shreya Ramesh

University of California-Berkeley, Haas School of Business (M.E.T. program, College of Engineering + Haas School of Business)

“Lover of chai, hater of coffee, fan of science and the Atlanta Hawks.”

Fun fact about yourself: I love collecting coins and have collected all the U.S. state quarters!

Hometown: Alpharetta, GA

High School: Milton High School

Major: Bioengineering and Business

Minor: N/A

Favorite Business Course: UGBA 196.3: Managing Technological Innovation and Strategic Growth

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

• iGEM@Berkeley: Computational Biology Co-Director
• Berkeley Scientific Journal: Publicity and Finance Co-Director
• Healy Lab (College of Engineering, Department of Bioengineering): Student Researcher (Berkeley, CA)
• BioEngineering High School Competition Team Mentor
• Fung Fellow: Health + Tech Track
• Tau Beta Pi Inductee
• Cal Leadership Award
• Wilbur Ellis Innovation Award Finalist and Honorable Mention Award
• Cultivate Tomorrow Hackathon 1st Place Winner

Where have you interned during your college career?

• Synkrino Biotherapeutics: Machine Learning Intern (Oakland, CA)
• Wildtype Foods: Tissue Engineering Intern (San Francisco, CA)

Where will you be working after graduation? I will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Bioengineering.

Who is your favorite business professor? Saikat Chaudhuri. Prof Chaudhuri is really great at explaining complex topics in simple, straightforward ways and does an amazing job at tying in real-world examples during class. He’s also a great mentor to get advice from and has been a great resource to have on campus, especially in regards to helping me navigate my career.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? Approach every problem with an open mind. Having a variety of perspectives when trying to solve a complex problem may give you an unexpected, but great, answer.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? Business is an incredibly versatile and interdisciplinary field of study. Definitely continue sticking with it, and you’re guaranteed to find something that you’re deeply passionate about. Also, talk to as many people as you can! I found that getting unique perspectives on questions I had allowed me to think about new ideas and careers that I never previously thought about.

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? I wish I had pursued more opportunities in the start-up and venture capital (VC) space, especially related to more capital-intensive fields such as biotech and clean energy. These fields are solving incredibly pressing issues facing our society, and I would love to learn more about how startup founders and VCs approach solving and funding such complex problems.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? One achievement I am most proud of is winning the Cultivate Tomorrow Hackathon, a competition to solve some unmet needs in the cellular agriculture industry.  Participating in the Cultivate Tomorrow Hackathon forced me to think about new ideas to solve long-standing problems and pushed me out of my comfort zone to meet new people and get more involved with research in this area. Ultimately, participating in this hackathon gave me more confidence to pursue new opportunities and has influenced my career trajectory.

Which classmate do you most admire? Kirthi Kumar. She is genuinely one of the nicest people I have ever met at Berkeley and has been a massive source of inspiration for me in college. She’s incredibly dedicated, hard-working, and willing to do the hardest tasks without ever complaining or hesitating. I’m incredibly lucky to have gotten to know her over the course of college, and I know I’ll continue to be inspired by whatever she does next.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? I want to thank my manager at Wildtype Foods, Dr. Benny Larson. He took a major chance on me by giving me a unique internship experience, and his support in encouraging me to pursue more opportunities in the biotech startup and research space has been instrumental. Without his advice and encouragement, I would not be where I am today.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

• Starting my own biotech-focused startup
• Being invited back to Haas for a guest lecture (perhaps even for the Dean’s Speaker Series!)

What made Shreya such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2024?

“I strongly support Shreya Ramesh’s nomination; she sets an example both in and out of the classroom. In my discussion-based course bridging technology and entrepreneurship, she stood out with her active participation, thoughtful observations, and eye-catching presentations. Moreover, she has pursued internships at startups in the biotech space to advance innovations in the field, ranging from healthcare to the burgeoning cultivated meat/cellular agriculture industry, where she led new projects and initiatives to improve existing products. And beyond her own career, she has spearheaded mentorship efforts for students interested in the intersection of bioengineering and business through on-campus club efforts, such as iGEM@Berkeley and the Berkeley Scientific Journal.”

Saikat Chaudhuri
Faculty Director, M.E.T. Program and Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Hub
Grimes M.E.T. Chancellor’s Chair

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