Our Story

“Eleftheria” means “freedom.” The Foundation is named in memory of Eleftheria Ignatidou and honors a practical kind of generosity — helping people do important work when the system makes it difficult. We do this by backing small, decisive scientific bets and by supporting the communities that make frontier science possible.

Our Mission

Eleftheria Foundation supports high-risk scientific work that is early, under-funded, or moving too slowly through traditional channels. We focus on problems at the interface of physics, biology, and biotechnology, and we prioritize projects with a clear path to proof-of-concept.

Meet the Team

  • Stephen Quake

    Founder

    Stephen Quake is the Lee Otterson Professor of Bioengineering and Professor of Applied Physics at Stanford University and is Co-President of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. He received a B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Mathematics from Stanford University in 1991 and a doctorate in Theoretical Physics from the University of Oxford in 1994 as a Marshall scholar.

    Dr. Quake has invented many measurement tools for biology, including new DNA sequencing technologies that have enabled rapid analysis of the human genome and microfluidic automation that allows scientists to efficiently isolate individual cells and decipher their genetic code. Dr. Quake is also well known for inventing new diagnostic tests, including the first non-invasive prenatal test for Down Syndrome and other aneuploidies. His test is rapidly replacing risky invasive approaches such as amniocentesis and millions of women each year now benefit from this approach. His innovations have helped to radically accelerate the pace of biology and have made medicine safer by replacing invasive biopsies with simple blood tests.

  • Rob Phillips

    Board Member

    Rob Phillps is a Fred and Nancy Morris Professor of Biophysics, Biology, and Physics at Caltech’s Division of Engineering & Applied Science. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D from Washington University. Dr. Phillips focuses on physical biology of the cell, models of transcription and active matter, physical genomes, and biophysical approaches to evolution.

  • Gajus Worthington

    Corporate Advisor

    Gajus Worthington is the Chief Operating Officer of Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, where he works to set strategy and objectives for the organization. He earned a B.S. in Physics in 1992 and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1994 from Stanford University. Previously, Gajus served as CEO of Fluidigm, a leading company in the creation of microfluidic-based chips and instrumentation for biological research, which he co-founded in 1999 with Stephen Quake.