Park Square Places Sean O'Connor, Ph.D. as Principal and Aparaajita Balaji, Ph.D. as Associate at Longwood Fund

Park Square is pleased to announce two placements at Longwood Fund: Sean O'Connor, Ph.D. as Principal and Aparaajita Balaji, Ph.D. as Associate. Longwood Fund creates and invests in science-based companies that develop novel solutions for important medical problems. 

O'Connor most recently served as Principal at JDRF T1D Fund, a venture philanthropy fund focused on treating, preventing, and curing Type 1 diabetes, where he conducted due diligence on companies across all stages; he joined as an Associate in 2022 and was promoted in 2024. Previously, he spent 2020–2022 at Boston Consulting Group, rising from Consultant to Project Leader and leading small teams advising Biopharma and MedTech clients on operational and strategic engagements. From 2014–2020, he was a Graduate Fellow at The Rockefeller University, researching cell and molecular biology with a focus on the role of miRNAs in modulating metabolism. He began his career at The Solution Lab, a healthcare and life sciences consulting firm, joining as an Analyst in 2017 and becoming Project Leader in 2018. He received his B.A. in Biochemistry from Occidental College and his Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from The Rockefeller University. 

 Balaji most recently served as an Investment Associate at KB Investment, the venture arm of KB Financial Group, where the firm focuses on biotechnology and therapeutics. Previously, she was a Business Development and Operations Associate at IVIVA Medical, a kidney disease–focused biotech acquired by United Therapeutics shortly after she joined, and before that a Healthcare Venture Intern at Canaan. Her earlier venture and consulting experience includes a Venture Fellowship at DigitalDx Ventures, a Senior Associate role at Orange Grove Bio sourcing oncology and immunology drug development opportunities, and freelance scientific research consulting for Naveos Biopharma Consulting. She received her B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology from University of California Berkeley and both her M.S. and Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from Yale University.