Alumni Spotlight: Kate Onk '12

Before establishing her small biotech focused on cancer treatments, the devastation of brain cancer hit hard for co-founder and CEO Kate Onk. When working at LinkedIn in San Francisco in 2019, Kate learned that her father was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer that typically gives patients 4-14 months to live. This pushed Kate to join a community advisory board at one of the hospitals he was in; then, a board of a non-profit, OurBrainBank, which is focused on turning Glioblastoma from terminal to treatable. Soon after, Kate crossed paths with Dr. David Needham PhD DSc, who she eventually partnered with to form DNKO (their initials together), pronounced ‘dinko’. They bootstrapped DNK the first year and later received their first grant from Musella Foundation to pursue preclinical studies.

Kate’s journey at Florida Southern College helped pave her path to becoming both a business leader and an advocate for cancer research. Initially, she planned to study pre-med with a psychology major, but her first classes in Bio 110 and Chem 110 made her question her direction.

 “I quickly realized I was out of my element as science was not my strong suit at the time” she recalls. She pivoted to a degree in Business Administration with a minor in Economics, where she discovered her passion for data analytics and strategy, eventually becoming a vital resource for executive teams. This background equipped her with the skills and resilience she needed to transition into cancer research. “It feels full circle now that I get to work alongside surgeons and scientists on translational research,” she reflects.

Onk’s time at FSC laid the foundation for her career, which was focused first on data analytics and strategy. She was the face of information for organizations, and was the right hand to leaders within the executive team. Being comfortable with details at scale and a background in data analytics ultimately gave Onk a useful foundation throughout her pivot toward cancer treatment. 

“My advice to new graduates would be to stay open-minded throughout your career,” Onk shares, “ Look for signals and opportunities that allow you to step closer to what you are passionate about,”  

The goal of DNKO is to bring clinically effective treatments to cancer patients as soon as possible. Dr. David Needham PhD, DSc, the Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer has over a dozen patents - many of which focus on drug delivery for cancer and respiratory diseases. DNKO explores the combination of Dr. Needham’s invention, ThermoDox, a thermal sensitive liposome of doxorubicin (a chemotherapy drug) with Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT) to offer a minimally invasive way to deliver a targeted dose of chemotherapy to the tumor site. This differs from traditional chemotherapy, which is largely delivered systematically and over a multi-week regiment to the entire body. A quick dive into the scientific literature yielded an exciting find- Onk’s dad’s surgeon was the lead author on the first in man trial which led to LITT”s FDA approval. 

“We often say that our work at DNKO comes full circle, and being able to collaborate with my dad's surgeon is one of those full circle aspects,” Onk says, “ I knew right then we had something special to bring to the operating table.”

However, given the poor outcomes in brain cancer and its smaller population, big pharmaceutical companies avoid investment into treatments. Instead of seeking venture capital, DNKO’s focus is on philanthropy. They have a relationship with the Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research and Information, in which they can raise the funding required to get a clinical trial in motion through donations. 
“Our vision is to bring clinically effective treatments to clinicians and patients, and we’re in a position to do so,” Onk shares, “That’s an incredible statement for me to be able to make.”

If any of this story resonates with you, Kate encourages those interested in supporting DNKO’s mission to reach out, and you can email her at kate@dnko.net. If you feel inclined, please consider a tax deductible donation and sharing with your network and family members https://virtualtrials.org/dnko.cfm. She welcomes any opportunity to speak with you and your network about this who may be interested. They are a grassroots initiative coordinating vital scientific efforts, and there's space for you to join them.