Flu Lab

Casey Wright, Flu Lab's CEO, leads the organization's strategy and funding decisions. She built the philanthropic program after prior work at the CDC and HHS on pandemic influenza preparedness. Julie Schafer, as CTO, shapes the technical direction for technology-focused investments. Founder Lucy Southworth provides high-level mandate and funding structure oversight.

Flu Lab operates through collaborative consortiums and institutional partnerships. It co-funded the Grand Challenge for Universal Influenza Vaccine Development with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and serves as the launch funder of the Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group. Its affiliation with the Global Funders Consortium for Universal Influenza Vaccine Development provides direct line-of-sight into academic and early-stage projects globally.

Flu Lab does both. The firm's stated approach includes grantmaking for research organizations and direct investing in early-stage companies. This dual model is designed to accelerate solutions across the full development spectrum, from academic discovery to commercial vaccine and therapeutic platforms.

Larry Page is the primary funder of Flu Lab and is married to founder Lucy Southworth. Flu Lab sits within a broader constellation of Page-Southworth entities that includes the Carl Victor Page Memorial Foundation and the ocean-conservation organization Oceankind. There is no public evidence that Flu Lab co-invests directly with Google's corporate venture arms.

Flu Lab focuses on early-stage companies and exploratory research grants. It targets innovations that are not yet commercially mature, specifically in universal vaccine development, transmission-blocking tools, and novel influenza diagnostics. The firm's public statements emphasize pre-commercial and early-venture stages where traditional biotech funding is scarce.