Bio Alum, Startup Cofounder Talks Innovation
McClain Kressman, a 2023 biological sciences graduate, cofounded the biotechnology software company BioGlyph. Here, he speaks with students as part of the Bailey College Innovation Initiative in August. Photos by Reese Catchings.
September 2025 / NEWS STORY
by Stella Goldstein
Cal Poly alumnus and biotechnology startup co-founder McClain Kressman returned to campus this summer after gaining invaluable experience launching a successful science-based technology company.
The reason for the visit to his alma mater was to offer advice and insight as an advisor at a Bailey College Innovation Initiative lunch and mentorship event held in August, where alumni, faculty and students gathered for conversation, consultation and career planning.
Kressman (Biological Sciences, `23), who’s now 24 years old, partnered in establishing a drug design software company, BioGlyph, as an undergraduate at Cal Poly. The business has grown steadily since. BioGlyph created a pioneering software platform for scientific research to streamline and advance the creation of new medications for a range of diseases, using computer tools to customize potential therapeutics.
Only two years removed from graduation, yet with so much industry accomplishment already in his early career, students were eager to learn from Kressman.
“Many students were so curious about what to do, especially about what happens next after graduating,” Kressman said. “The most helpful thing I can say is network, network, network. It’s so important to be connected to the industry and community.”
McClain Kressman (middle) at an Innovation Initiative
event discussion
What Kressman began as a two-person operation, along with a co-founding partner, has expanded into a comprehensive team of software engineers and computational scientists that now make up the company. BioGlyph CEO Fernando Garces previously held positions as a principal scientist at Amgen and a director of protein therapeutics at Gilead Sciences, both industry leaders in biotechnology. Before BioGlyph, Kressman worked alongside Garces at Gilead. BioGlyph’s lead computational scientist, Elliot Park, came from Genentech.
“It’s so validating to be talking with these people and companies and seeing that we’re actually solving a huge industry-wide problem.” Kressman said.
In August 2024, Dotmatics, a leading scientific software company invested in BioGlyph. Dotmatics creates software for research in life sciences, making data transfers, research, and decision making easier and more accessible. In April 2025, Siemens, a technology conglomerate, acquired Dotmatics for $5.1 billion. As of June 2025, Dotmatics and BioGlyph partnered to create the protein design and engineering solution BioGlyph Luma designed to address a gap in the research process cycle for protein therapeutics.
BioGlyph Luma helps to create more precision in the design phase of the cycle, and supports cloning proteins, purification, characterization, and more.
Upon his summer visit to Cal Poly, as the youngest represented entrepreneur among other Bailey College alumni welcomed back to campus, Kressman offered his wisdom. His goal is to help open the door to students interested in starting a business or joining a startup as an alternative to pursuing academia and research-focused jobs. “It’s about being willing to fail, to test, to keep exploring. That’s how innovation happens,” he said.
In addition to his entrepreneurial endeavors, Kressman is also pursuing his Ph.D. in chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
As part of his graduate school education, he recently visited Austria, where he spent three months researching cryo-electron microscopy at Institute of Science and Technology, Austria. The technique uses an electron beam to create high-resolution 3D models of biological samples such as proteins.
Back in Santa Cruz this fall, Kressman is working between two labs, the Partch Lab and the Lokey Lab (named after the biochemistry professors involved in the work, Carrie Partch and Scott Lokey).
At the Partch lab, Kressman is researching the circadian rhythm and treatments associated with the body’s natural internal clock, including exploring therapies to help people with jet lag. At the Lokey Lab, he is researching peptides with the aim of creating oral versions of peptide medications. “Ultimately, I’m interested in drug discovery,” Kressman said. “Whatever the disease is, I want to know what’s the best way to treat it.”
Looking back on his time at Cal Poly, Kressman highlighted the unique opportunity of mentorship in the Bailey College: “All the professors are here because they want to interact with the students and help them grow. That’s something I took for granted, but I realize now how valuable it is to have teachers truly believe in you. They want to help you learn, they want to help you grow. That level of mentorship is just incredibly valuable.”
To read more about the Innovation Initiative, visit https://cosam.calpoly.edu/innovation-initiative.
McClain Kressman (right) with Dean Wendt (middle), dean of the Bailey College of Science and Mathematics, and alumnus Eric Olsen (Ecology & Systematic Biology, `94).
