Yaysie Figueroa, MBA, joined Acelot in 2026 as Vice President, Clinical Operations. She brings more than 20 years of experience leading clinical operations across therapeutic areas, with a career defined by a drive to advance treatments for patients with serious unmet medical needs, rare disease in particular.

Yaysie is known for building high-performing teams and running complex programs, from single studies to full indication portfolios, with the rigor and focus that high-stakes drug development demands. She leads with a hands-on approach, a sharp eye for operational efficiency, and a genuine investment in the people and patients behind every program.

Before joining Acelot, Yaysie served as Vice President, Clinical Operations at Agios Pharmaceuticals, where she led the clinical operations department responsible for global Phase 3 programs in rare hematology, including sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and pyruvate kinase deficiency. Prior to Agios, she served as Vice President, Clinical Operations at Imara Inc., and held senior leadership roles at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Bioverativ (a Sanofi company), Biogen, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in her career she contributed to clinical operations at Celldex Therapeutics, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Enobia Pharma, Genzyme, and Sepracor.

Yaysie earned her MBA from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst and her BA in Neuroscience from Colgate University.