Member Bio - Todd C. Zion

Todd C. Zion, Ph.D., is the Co-founder, President and CEO of Akston Biosciences

Corporation, which is developing an injectable therapy for antigenspecific

prevention of Type 1 Diabetes. Prior to starting Akston Biosciences,

Zion founded SmartCells, Inc. to develop SmartInsulin, the first glucose-regulated,

injectable formulation for treating diabetes. As SmartCells’ President

and CEO, Zion was instrumental in raising $10 million in equity financing

and $10 million in grants to support research and clinical development.

Merck and Co. acquired SmartCells for over $500 million in cash and clinical

milestone payments. Prior to enrolling at MIT, he worked as a polymer

development engineer at Eastman Kodak. Zion graduated from Cornell

University summa cum laude with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. He is

currently an Associate Director at MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service and also

serves on a number of advisory boards including those of the Beth Israel

Deaconess Medical Center, Joslin Diabetes Center, and the Cornell Engineering

College Council. He is also active in his community serving as the head

of Devereux School and President of Dollars for Scholars.

72 Nanepashemet St.
Marblehead, MA 01945
857 389-2273
todd@toddzion.com