At Vella, women come first.
We’re scientists, business leaders and beauty industry experts, building a better, more empowered present. Where women’s sexual wellness is a must have and a must do.
It’s about time.
In the past century, men have received some powerful help in the sexual wellness department.
Led by our chief scientific officer, Dr. Harin Padma-Nathan, whose research in men’s smooth muscle led to the development of Viagra. Padma-Nathan saw the biggest hurdle for developing an effective and easy arousal therapy for women was their orgasm being labeled as ‘too complicated.’
He disagreed.
Sensual intelligence in a bottle.
Together with Dr. Michael Frid, he developed Vella Women’s Pleasure Serum. Finding a solution that encouraged a woman’s arousal by not focusing his science in the brain, but on the body–on the same smooth muscle both sexes share.
Vella leads on the intersection of science and sexual wellness, being first of its kind, sensual intelligence in a bottle.
Crafted FOR EVERY V™.
We defined our serum’s success by its ability to work on every vagina, at every (consenting) age or life stage. So, whether you’re learning what you like in bed, medication is making your orgasms infrequent, or hormones are making it hard to stay wet–Vella makes every body orgasm-ready.
More to come
After making sure that women come first, we will be launching a suite of new products are all designed to make pleasure a priority and eliminate pain for every body. Our ultimate vision is to revolutionise and elevate sexual wellness for all.
Vella team
Nial C. DeMena
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer
Nial C. DeMena
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer
Nial C. DeMena is co-founder and chief executive officer at Vella Bioscience.
He is a serial entrepreneur and founder, playing prominent executive roles in four companies in the cannabis space in the last six years. These businesses have raised a combined $40MM, hold a collective 14 state medical and recreational licenses, and earn in excess of $42MM in gross revenue annually.
Nial is co-founder and executive chairman at Manna Molecular Science, a Boston-based biotech company and the original developer of Vella. Under his leadership and vision, Nial oversaw the development of Vella alongside Dr. Harin Padma-Nathan and Dr. Michael Frid, and, in 2020, successfully spun-off Vella Bioscience from Manna, effectively multiplying the value of invested capital by close to 50x.
He holds a master’s degree from Virginia Tech and a bachelor’s degree from Colby College.
Nial was raised by a single mother, and is an enthusiastic supporter of women’s empowerment and a strong advocate for female-driven business leadership. He lives in Worcester, Massachusetts, with his wife Julia and their cat Ernest.
Carolyn Wheeler
Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer
Carolyn Wheeler
Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer
Carolyn Wheeler is co-founder and chief operating officer at Vella Bioscience.
Her interdisciplinary background encompasses design, media, and operational oversight at rapid growth stage companies, including serving as chief design officer at Manna Molecular Science. She has a record of success in collaborating with cross-disciplinary groups to execute, from concept to completion, a diverse range of projects, including consumer packaged goods, publications, exhibitions, and public built works.
Her work in critical studies has been published by Harvard University, Princeton University, & Routledge, with awards from Harvard and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.
Carolyn has a master’s degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a bachelor of arts degree from Colby College.
She is the mother to two daughters, and a proud supporter of Planned Parenthood.
Dr. Harin Padma-Nathan, MD
Co-Founder, Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Harin Padma-Nathan, MD
Co-Founder, Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Harin Padma-Nathan is co-founder and chief scientific officer at Vella Bioscience. He, along with Dr. Michael Frid, is the co-inventor of Vella.
He is a board-certified urologist and was the lead principal investigator for Viagra and Cialis.
Dr. Padma-Nathan has published extensively, including three articles in the New England Journal of Medicine. Additionally, his research has been cited on the front pages of The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Sunday London Times Magazine, as well as in Newsweek and People magazine.
Prior to this, he was a professor of urological surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and chief executive officer of NuRx Pharmaceuticals, a bio-pharmaceutical start-up focused on delivering retinoids and rexinoids for oncology.
Dr. Harin Padma-Nathan received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Dalhousie University, and interned at St. Michael’s Hospital at the University of Toronto. He returned to complete a surgical residency at Dalhousie University and was an AUA Scholar at Boston University, where his research was dedicated to smooth muscle physiology and pharmacology and the subsequent clinical development of pharmacologic therapies for erectile dysfunction.
Having led the development of almost a dozen products for male sexual dysfunction, Dr. Padma-Nathan felt it necessary to balance the legacy of his research and innovation, particularly after the birth of his daughter.
Bulbul Hooda
Brand Creator, Chief Marketing Officer
Bulbul Hooda
Brand Creator, Chief Marketing Officer
Bulbul is brand creator and chief marketing officer at Vella Bioscience.
She has nearly 15 years of experience building & growing award-winning brands by devising their strategic positioning and creative vision along with commercial strategies for long-term revenue growth with a strong commitment to product innovation. Over the course of her global career at powerhouses like L’Oreal, Unilever, and Shiseido, Bulbul has proven success in assessing and meeting consumer needs, engaging target demographics, and directing powerful multi-channel campaigns.
Bulbul holds an undergraduate degree from Delhi University, along with an MBA from MICA, a top business school in India, and a master’s degree in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing & Management from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
Bulbul is a fierce advocate of diversity and inclusion. As a woman of colour, raised in a military family that fostered in her a strong sense of self & individuality, she understands that the privilege of her upbringing requires her to support and uplift other women’s voices and experiences, particularly in the beauty and wellness industry.
Dr. Michael Frid
Co-Founder, Chief Product Officer
Dr. Michael Frid
Co-Founder, Chief Product Officer
Dr. Michael Frid is co-founder and chief product officer of Vella Bioscience, Inc. and co-inventor of Vella Women’s Pleasure Serum.
Dr. Frid is a formulation chemist with expertise in drug development, from late discovery to early clinical. He has more than 15 years of experience in pharmaceutical development, including discovery, lead optimisation, lead selection and proof of concept in humans.
Formerly, Dr. Frid served as vice president of Felicitex Therapeutics, a preclinical stage Boston-based pharmaceutical company developing treatments for highly resistant, recurrent cancers. He has also served as a lead scientist at Wolfe Laboratories and Minerva Biotechnologies.
Dr. Frid holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BS in chemistry cum laude from New York University.
Dr. Frid is an advocate for gender equality and meritocracy, and believes in advancing new, unorthodox approaches for the development of solutions for long-standing unmet personal wellness needs, such as female sexual wellness.
Vella advisory board
Karinna Karsten
Karinna Karsten
Karinna Karsten is an authority in the dating industry and helps people optimise their relationships. She brings more than a decade of experience, data and research to the eternal topics of love, wellness and intimacy by creating real-world solutions for the dating and relationship industries. Karinna discovered her passion for human connection and relationship intelligence. As a relationship advisor she has worked with leading global executives and A-list celebrities and appeared in major publications like Cosmopolitan, SELF, Women’s Health and networks like NBC or OK! as a celebrity relationship expert.
Dr. Nicole Prause
Dr. Nicole Prause
Nicole Prause, is a neuroscientist researching human sexual behaviour, addiction, and the physiology of sexual response. She is also the founder of Liberos LLC, an independent research institute. She received her PhD from Indiana University in Clinical Science, meaning she is both a scientist and a clinician. As a statistician and licensed psychologist she has focused on sexuality-related issues. Her laboratory is known for developing and testing novel hardware and protocols to advance our understanding of the potential health benefits of sexual stimulation.
Dr.Emily Sikking
Dr.Emily Sikking
Dr. Emily Sikking is a board-certified OBGYN serving Southern California. She earned her medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine and completed her residency at New England Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. She has also been certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. As an expert in women’s health, she offers her patients care for pregnancy, family planning, menopause, and PCOS. She also wants to help women look and feel their best, with advanced treatments, regimes and products. Sexual wellness and empowerment has long been a focus of hers. She teaches a three day rule to all her patients- your vagina should not be ignored.
Dr. Sikking is an active member of the academic and research community in her field. She previously served as a faculty member at George Washington University Medical Center and has several published works concerning women's health. Dr. Sikking travelled all over the country for speaking engagements on a range of topics related to women's health, predominantly focusing on vaginal health and function for sexual wellness during all stages of a woman’s life.
