After sneaking into a Liberal Arts Honors event and discovering her passion for research during freshman year, alumna Céline Halioua, class of 2017, switched her major from art to neuroscience. Now the founder and CEO of Loyal, established in 2020, Halioua was recently named a 2024 Outstanding Young Texas Ex — a recognition reserved for alumni under 40 who have made significant contributions in their fields. The Daily Texan spoke with Halioua about her company’s focus in developing a drug product capable of expanding canine lifespans.
The Daily Texan: Where did the inspiration for Loyal come from?
Céline Halioua: One of the things I started becoming very interested in when I was at UT was the biology of aging and how we develop age-related diseases over time … It was a combo of wanting to work on this idea of a drug to keep us healthier longer and my love for our four-legged friends that came together and helped me realize that this is what I want to do with my life.
DT: How did your time studying and working in labs at UT lead to your current pursuits, and how has your approach to your work changed since then?
CH: The reason I switched to neuroscience instead of any other biological discipline is that in the first classes they’re like “Yeah, we don’t really know how this works.” It felt like such a fresh, open field. (The most important thing I learned at UT) was my passion for research.
I spent four years in the lab at UT … I learned that I loved the scientific process.
DT: What was it like going from working at a company to starting your own?
CH: It was inevitable. It was less about, “I’m going to be an entrepreneur and start a company.” It was more like, ‘I really want to work on this problem of getting a drug approved to extend dog lifespan.’ The only way to do it was to incorporate a company and hire people … The realities of starting a company (are) really hard. It’s like chewing glass every day, but it’s also the best thing ever, and I love the freedom I have to create the futures and the realities I want to.
DT: Why is the success of veterinary aging drugs important to you?
CH: I tend to adopt old dogs and have my heart broken every few years and have a scar for each of them. I look at Della who’s 11 years old, which is quite old for a Rottweiler, and think about the fact that I don’t know how many more weekends she has … I want to give that freedom to dog owners all over and help them with a problem that everybody can empathize with. I want to show that a drug can be approved for lifespan extension … Preventative medicine for age-related diseases is a category of pharma that should exist.
DT: How did it feel being recognized as a 2024 Outstanding Young Texas Ex?
CH: I always talk about the role UT played in me figuring out my path … Hell yeah, I’m excited. And I heard I’m getting cowboy boots, so I’m even more excited.
