About
A lasting home for women’s health research
Eve’s Ark is a nonprofit safeguarding valuable women’s health data, biospecimens, and scientific knowledge—and preparing them for new investigations that advance human health.
We work with researchers and institutions to give this evidence a future beyond the studies that first generated it.
Women’s biology belongs in the full scientific picture
Women’s biology matters throughout life—from reproductive health to immune function, metabolism, and aging. Understanding these connections requires research that captures how health changes over time.
Longitudinal studies, well-characterized datasets, and biospecimens hold valuable evidence. Preserving and preparing these resources for new investigations can advance our understanding of women’s health and human biology.
The work does not end with the study
Storage alone does not make research resources usable. Data need documentation. Biospecimens need sustained care. Future researchers need to understand how evidence was gathered and what its limitations are.
Eve’s Ark preserves these resources alongside the original research teams’ knowledge. Participant consent and contributor agreements guide how we prepare them for future use.
Founding story // Video
How the Ark began
Eve’s Ark began by bringing together resources from three studies: valuable data, biospecimens, study documentation, and the original researchers’ expertise. When the originating company’s therapeutic programs were acquired, these resources needed a lasting home. Its board donated them to Eve’s Ark, and our team began recovering the evidence and knowledge needed for future discovery.
Building a digital matriarch
We describe our vision as a digital matriarch: a foundation of knowledge that future generations can keep learning from. It brings modern science and technology together with women’s lived experience and knowledge carried across generations.
We begin by safeguarding valuable datasets and biospecimens and preparing them for new research. Our broader ambition is to help women’s biology and knowledge shape a more complete understanding of human health.
What is Eve’s Ark // Video
Meet our founders
Our founders bring experience spanning molecular biology, biotechnology, public health, and building women’s health organizations.
Piraye Yurttas Beim, PhD, is a molecular biologist and entrepreneur who has spent more than two decades advancing women’s health science. She founded Celmatix in 2009 and led its work to deepen understanding of ovarian biology and develop new therapeutic approaches. She served as Chief Scientist through 2021 and CEO through the 2026 acquisition of Celmatix’s therapeutic pipeline by Gedeon Richter. Her scientific training includes doctoral work at Cornell and Memorial Sloan Kettering and postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge. At Eve’s Ark, she brings that experience to safeguarding scientific resources and advancing their potential for future discovery.
Melissa Antal Iftimie, MPH, MBA, is an entrepreneur and public health leader whose work spans maternal health, technology and community-led design. She founded Fooblie, a nutrition platform for expecting and new mothers, and led the integration of its assets after their acquisition by Willow Innovations. She also co-founded Villie, backed by a16z TxO. Earlier in her career, she worked with the UN World Food Programme and on USAID-funded programs in Africa and Southeast Asia. Her experience in maternal health research and building health businesses informs her leadership at Eve’s Ark, where she works to give valuable data, biospecimens, and scientific knowledge a lasting future.
Help carry this work forward
Have data or biospecimens to preserve, a scientific question to explore, or expertise to contribute? We’d like to hear from you. Your support can help give women’s health research a lasting future.
