Yarra Biosystems is creating an integrated platform for tissue analysis in oncology to capture more of that information, supporting better targets, stronger biomarkers and more informed treatment decisions.

01 — Mission

Biology read in place, not in isolation.

Tissue behaviour depends on context: which cells are present, where they sit, and how they relate to one another. Yarra Biosystems is working to measure and interpret that context in oncology.

The company is based in Boulder, Colorado, and is developing the platform alongside academic and clinical collaborators.

02 — Applications Read the applications

01

Target Discovery

Move beyond isolated markers to identify tissue-level biological patterns that can reveal new therapeutic targets and mechanisms of disease.

02

Biomarker Development

Connect protein expression, spatial organization and biological state to help uncover biomarkers that may better reflect disease biology and therapeutic relevance.

03

Patient Stratification

Generate richer tissue insight to support translational teams as they define patient populations, refine trial hypotheses and identify those most likely to benefit from a therapy.

04

Translational Intelligence

Bring complex tissue measurements together into interpretable biological insight for translational scientists, physician-scientists and clinicians working across drug development and clinical research.

Savanh Chantha-Phavong, Ph.D.

Founder, CEO & CSO

Translational Histopathology, Spatial Biology, Digital Pathology, Multiplex Imaging, Tumor Microenvironment

Corey Neu, Ph.D.

Cofounder, Scientific Development

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Cellular Imaging and Mechanobiology

Donnelly Family Endowed Professor, Biomedical Engineering

University of Colorado Boulder

Yarra Biosystems takes its name from the Yarra River, or Birrarung, in Melbourne, Australia, where our cofounder Savanh Chantha-Phavong’s scientific journey began.

The Birrarung rises in the forested ranges of Victoria, gathering tributaries as it moves through different landscapes and communities before winding through Melbourne and opening into Port Phillip Bay. For the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people, the Traditional Owners of much of the land along the Birrarung, the river has long held cultural, ecological and community significance.

That idea of convergence reflects how Yarra Biosystems is being built.

Biology does not happen in isolation. A cell’s behavior is shaped by the proteins it expresses, the signals it receives, the cells around it, and the physical environment of the tissue itself. Tumor, immune and stromal cells continuously influence one another, while proteins translate those interactions into the biological states we observe.

Understanding disease therefore requires more than looking at any one cell, marker or technology alone.

Yarra Biosystems brings together pathology, oncology, spatial biology, engineering, biomaterials and molecular technologies. Just as importantly, we bring together people, ideas, expertise and different ways of thinking.

Like tributaries joining a river, each contributes something different. Together, they create the opportunity to see biology more completely.

Our ambition is to use that convergence to unlock far more information and insight from tissue than has previously been possible, helping uncover new therapeutic targets, clinically meaningful biomarkers, better ways to stratify patients for clinical trials, and ultimately more informed treatment decisions.

Our work now spans continents. Yarra Biosystems is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, with our cofounder based in the San Francisco Bay Area, while our name remains rooted in Melbourne and the place where it began.

The Birrarung begins in the ranges, gathers strength from what joins it along the way, crosses boundaries and opens toward a much wider horizon.

That is what Yarra Biosystems represents: bringing together the right people, ideas, expertise and technologies to build something capable of revealing far more from tissue than any one approach could alone.