Barbara K. Zehentner

About Barbara K. Zehentner

Executive leader and catalyst for precision medicine advancements, with 25+ years building and scaling regulated laboratory operations—including CLIA/CAP labs, NGS and multi‑omic platforms—across startup, privately owned, public and PE‑backed environments. I love taking complex science and turning it into clear strategy, robust lab systems and high‑trust teams that can deliver under scrutiny.Today I serve as Chief Operating Officer at FYR Bio, a precision medicine company leveraging extracellular vesicles to reveal RNA and protein biomarkers from blood through its AI‑enabled EV‑Omics platform and proprietary SPARCs technology. FYR’s focus on advancing precision medicine is a natural extension of my career spent bringing next‑generation diagnostics into reliable clinical practice.My path has taken me from early roles at Boehringer Mannheim, Roche, Corixa and GSK, to 17 years as laboratory director and managing partner at HematoLogics, where we built and scaled molecular, FISH and cytogenetic testing alongside advanced flow cytometry for patients with hematologic malignancies. I then joined Adaptive Biotechnologies as VP of Molecular Laboratory Operations, leading high‑throughput NGS processing and partnering closely with commercial and executive teams on market growth. Most recently, I served as COO at CareNexa LLC dba Molecular Testing Labs, guiding multi‑state operations and product development focused on expanding access and health equity through scalable, sustainable diagnostic solutions.Alongside operating roles, I mentor founders as a CDL‑Seattle Computational Health mentor and support several companies in fractional and advisory capacities. I’m passionate about building organizations where rigorous clinical science, scalable systems, and thoughtful leadership come together—and I’m energized by opportunities to shape the future of diagnostics and life sciences as an executive, advisor, and board partner.

Experience

1. Business Mentor

   Creative Destruction Lab

   Jan 2023 — Present · Seattle, WA, US

   Assess business plans and set strategic goals for early-stage, science-based technology companiestogether with a panel of accomplished entrepreneurs, experienced operators, and active investors. Guided entrepreneurs in developing commercialization and go-to-market strategies.

Education

• Western Governors University

  Master of Business Administration - MBA

  2018 — 2020

• University of Applied Sciences Weihenstephan-Triesdorf

  Master of Engineering - Dipl.-Ing. (FH), Biotechnology

  1996

• RWTH Aachen University

  Ph.D. , Molecular Biology

  1999