Leading Innovators in Senescent Cell Targeting Therapies 2022
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Leading Innovators in Senescent Cell Targeting Therapies 2022
Francesca Grisoni is an Assistant Professor at the Eindhoven University of Technology (Dept. Biomedical Engineering and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems), where she leads the Molecular Machine Learning team. After receiving her PhD in 2016 at the University of Milano-Bicocca, with a dissertation on machine learning for (eco)toxicology, Francesca worked as a data scientist and as a biostatistical consultant for the pharmaceutical industry. Later, she joined the University of Milano-Bicocca (in 2017) and the ETH Zurich (in 2019) as a postdoctoral researcher, working on machine learning for drug discovery and molecular property prediction. Her current research focuses on chemistry-centered AI, aiming to augment human intelligence in drug discovery at the interface between theory and application.second laboratory at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, where she is Professor.
Dr. Mark Pegram is the Suzy Yuan-Huey Hung Professor of Medical Oncology at the Stanford Cancer Institute. He currently serves as the Associate Director of Clinical Research at the Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Institute (SCCI), and Director of the Breast Oncology Program at Stanford. He also serves as the Associate Dean for Clinical Research Quality at the Stanford University School of Medicine. In collaboration with Dr. Dennis Slamon at UCLA, and scientists at Genentech, Inc. in South San Francisco, CA, Dr. Pegram played a significant role in the pre-clinical and early clinical development of trastuzumab (Herceptin®) for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. In 2012, he was recruited to the SCCI from the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami School of Medicine, where he served as the Associate Director for Clinical Research, and acting Division Chief of Hematology/Oncology for a faculty of over 70 researchers. Pegram has chaired the U.S. Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program panel, and is the recipient of the NCI Director’s Service Award, the Sylvester Outstanding Cancer Research Award, the Hope Award from the HERS Breast Cancer Foundation, and is a Fellow of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. His research focuses on new therapeutic strategies targeting HER2-positive breast cancers. Dr. Pegram was the lead author on the papers describing pre-clinical synergy between multiple chemotherapeutics and trastuzumab, and the first phase II clinical trial of trastuzumab plus chemotherapy. In addition, he was the senior author of the pivotal trial of letrozole plus lapatinib – leading to an FDA approval, and co-author of the pivotal trials of trastuzumab plus chemotherapy, and T-DM1, both published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and leading to FDA approvals.
Dr. Lidia Schapira is Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and Director of Cancer Survivorship at the Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Institute. She graduated from Dartmouth Medical School and trained at the Beth Israel Hospital in internal medicine and completed a hematology and oncology fellowship at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston followed by a research fellowship in Aging at Harvard Medical School.Dr. Schapira’s clinical focus is in treatment of breast cancer. She is a co-Principal Investigator in a longitudinal study of young women with breast cancer based at Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Institute. Dr. Schapira has pioneered research and training in communication skills for cancer clinicians and initiatives designed to improve awareness of cancer research and clinical trials in underserved communities. She holds leadership roles in national and international societies (American Society of Clinical Oncology and Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer) and serves as Editor-in-Chief of ASCO’s website for the public, Cancer.Net and Consultant Editor for Art of Oncology for the Journal of Clinical Oncology.Dr. Schapira has contributed to volunteer efforts to improve cancer care globally through education and mentoring and served as past Chair of ASCO’s IDEA program. Throughout multiple clinical, editorial and educational activities, Dr. Schapira has devoted her career to improving the quality of life of patients and families with cancer through improvements in symptom management, improved communication and other strategies designed to support patients’ ability to manage the challenges associated with cancer.
Jeff has over 25 years’ experience in the bio-pharmaceutical industry including
positions at Merck, Roche, Theravance and Cytokinetics. He has expertise in
molecular pharmacology, in vivo pharmacology and translational research with
industrial experience that includes leadership of discovery, preclinical and clinical
development projects. Jeff is a co-founder of Altos Therapeutics developing
gastrointestinal therapeutics (acquired by Takeda Pharmaceuticals in March 2017).
His academic activities include over 18 years as member of the Editorial Board for
the “American Journal of Physiology: Cell Physiology” and 12 years instructing the
“Molecular Pharmacology” course for the University of California, Berkeley
Extension. Jeff has published over 50 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals. He
completed his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, his Ph.D.
in Pharmacology at UCSD and his postdoctoral training at Stanford University.
Paul A. Insel received an M.D. from the University of Michigan and post-M.D. training at Boston City Hospital/Harvard Medical Service, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of California. San Francisco (UCSF). He served on the faculty at UCSF and subsequently joined UC San Diego (UCSD), where he is currently Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine and Co-Director of the MD/PhD Training Program. Dr. Insel’s research efforts have focused on G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), including studies of G-proteins and their effectors, signaling compartmentation in caveolae, GPCR expression and identification of novel GPCR therapeutic targets in a variety of disease settings. Dr, Insel is the author of over 470 scientific articles, including original studies, reviews and book chapters. Dr. Insel has been Editor-in-Chief of numerous scientific journals (including Journal of Clinical Investigation, American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology, and Molecular Pharmacology). He is currently Associate Editor of Pharmacological Reviews and Physiological Reviews and Editor-in-Chief of Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology; U.S. Senior Editor, British Journal of Pharmacology and co-Head of Faculty, Faculty of 1000Prime in Pharmacology and Drug Discovery. Dr. Insel holds a Doc. Hon Causa from the University of Paris, is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians, a Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science and has received major awards from the American Association of MD/PhD Training Programs, American Physiological Society, Dutch Pharmacology Society, and American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
Dr. Cory M. Hogaboam, PhD is a Professor of Medicine in the Women’s Guild Lung Institute at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Hogaboam is also an Adjunct Professor of Pathology at the University of Michigan Medical School. His research group currently employs genomic, proteomic and bioinformatic approaches to analyze mechanisms contributing to fibrotic and immune system-directed responses in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), lung cancer, sarcoid, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and asthma utilizing human tissue- and blood-derived cells including fibroblasts, mesenchymal progenitors and various immune cell types that are typically present in abundance in these pulmonary diseases. His group also uses translational approaches through the development of humanized SCID mouse models of IPF, cancer, and asthma. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of Calgary, AB, Canada in 1989. He also holds a Doctorate in Pharmacology (1993) from the same institution. Dr. Hogaboam then engaged in Postdoctoral training in Immunology at McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada from 1993 to 1996. In 1996, Dr. Hogaboam joined the faculty of the Department of Pathology at the University of Michigan Medical School as a Visiting Scholar. He became a faculty member of the Department at the rank of Research Investigator in 1998, Assistant Professor in 2002, Associate Professor in 2004, and full Professor in 2008. Dr. Hogaboam joined the faculty at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in September of 2013. Hogaboam is a member of several professional organizations including the American Association of Immunologists, the American Thoracic Society, and the American Association of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. He is presently serving on the editorial board of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight. Dr. Hogaboam has authored or co-authored approximately 281 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 31 book chapters. He has authored or co-authored 11 patents on therapeutic interventions for lung and liver. Dr. Hogaboam has received financial research support from the National Institutes of Health, American Lung Association, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and several Industry sponsors.
Dr. Lacouture is a Professor and the Director of the Oncodermatology Program in the Dermatology Service, Department of Medicine, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He conducted his postdoctoral work at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA, an internship in General Surgery at Cleveland Clinic and residency in dermatology at The University of Chicago, IL. He received his M.D. degree from Javeriana University in Bogota, Colombia, where he grew up. Dr Lacouture began his career in Oncodermatology at The University of Chicago. During his first faculty appointment at Northwestern University, Dr Lacouture received a Zell Scholarship and a Career Development Award from the Dermatology Foundation, and established the first clinical program focused on dermatologic care in cancer patients and survivors. During this time, he initiated the first clinical trials in Oncodermatology, and described mechanisms and treatments on adverse events to novel cancer therapies, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and Nature Reviews Cancer.
Dr Lacouture founded the Skin Toxicity and the Oncodermatology Study Groups of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, is on the Guidelines Advisory Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the Editorial Board of Cancer.Net. In 2012, CancerCare named Dr Lacouture as Physician of the Year for his contributions to the education of people living with cancer, and he has been selected as a Top Doctor in America and New York by Castle Connolly and New York Magazine since 2014. Dr Lacouture has published over 280 articles in peer-reviewed journals and is the author of Dr Lacouture’s Skin Care Guide for People Living With Cancer and Editor of the textbook Dermatologic Principles and Practice in Oncology. Dr Lacouture is the PI for numerous clinical trials aimed towards the treatment and understanding of adverse events related to cancer therapies and has received funding from the NIH to better understand these untoward events, with the goal of advancing cancer care through skin health.
Joanna joined Ahren Innovation Capital from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where she worked on strategic projects within healthcare, insurance and the public sector.
Joanna holds a PhD in fetal immunology, focusing on childhood leukemia, and a First-Class Master’s and undergraduate degree from the University of Oxford.
Robert is an Operating Partner at Khosla Ventures with focus on health care. He has over 30 years of industry and management experience. Robert serves on the boards of Faeth Therapeutics, Fulcrum Therapeutics, Turnstone Biologics, HemoShear Therapeutics and Spring Arbor University.
Prior to joining Khosla Ventures, Robert was President and Chief Executive Officer of Fulcrum Therapeutics from 2016 the year the company was founded until his retirement in March 2021. From 2010 to 2015, Robert served as president and CEO of Epizyme, an oncology drug discovery and development company. Prior to joining Epizyme, Robert served as the director of novel therapeutics at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard from 2006 to 2010. Robert began his career at Merck where he held a variety of leadership positions over 23 years, culminating in his role as vice president, licensing and external research.
During his career, Robert has been instrumental in advancing more than 20 compounds from discovery into clinical development in multiple therapeutic areas.
Robert holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Spring Arbor University and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Iowa. He completed postdoctoral studies at Johns Hopkins University.
Mark Gallop is a veteran drug hunter, chemist and serial entrepreneur. He consults with emerging biotechnology companies in oncology, neuroscience, gastrointestinal disorders and drug design on drug discovery technologies and strategies. He served as Chief Scientific Officer and Director at BlueLight Therapeutics, company that uses a novel structure-function-based approach to develop new therapeutic molecules against challenging drug targets. He is also President at Light Horse Therapeutics, a small molecule drug discovery company employing tools from chemical and computational biology. From 2012 to 2017 he served as the founding Chief Scientific Officer at Nurix, Inc., a venture-backed discovery company formed to explore drug development targeting ubiquitin ligase enzymes, with therapeutic applications spanning across oncology, immunology, inflammation and immuno-oncology. Prior to joining Nurix, he was Senior Vice President of Research and XenoPort, Inc., a company he co-founded in 1999 with the mission of improving the clinical utility of medicines by exploiting active transport mechanisms to optimize their pharmacokinetic properties. While at XenoPort, his team discovered Horizant™, a prodrug of gabapentin that was approved by the FDA in 2011 and the MHW in Japan in 2012 for the treatment of restless legs syndrome. Previously, Dr. Gallop was Senior Director of Combinatorial Chemistry at Affymax. He also served as executive in resident for 5AM Ventures. He is recognized as an early pioneer and international expert in solid-phase combinatorial chemistry. He was a recipient of the ACROS award of the Belgian Organic Synthesis Symposium in 1996 for his outstanding contributions to this field. He is an inventor on more than 100 issued or pending U.S., and PCT patents and an author of over 60 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. In 1994, he co-authored a landmark review of the then-emerging field of combinatorial chemistry that has subsequently become one of the most highly cited papers in chemistry. After undergraduate studies in New Zealand, he obtained his Ph.D. degrees in inorganic chemistry from the University of Cambridge and was a Lindemann postdoctoral fellow in the laboratories of Profs. Peter G. Schultz and Robert G. Bergman at the University of California, Berkeley.
Julian Klein holds a B.Sc. degree in Biotechnology (Germany) and a M.Sc. in Molecular Medicine (Erasmus University, Netherlands). He completed his graduate program at Stanford University where he focused on aging biology and received certification for completion of Harvard Business School pre-MBA program. The Glenn Foundation for Medical Research has funded his studies on age-related diseases, specifically his work on antisense oligonucleotides targeting muscle stem cells for the treatment of sarcopenia. Previously, he had been involved in the development of a cell permeable peptide for the treatment of cellular senescence in the context of chronic kidney disease and chemotherapy. His results were published in the prestigious Journal Cell (Baar et at, 2017). The study has drawn worldwide public attention, and ignited a venture-backed company, Cleara Biotech, aiming to bring this peptide to the clinic. Moreover, Mr. Klein identified genomic variants that, today, help clinicians to prognosticate the course of sepsis.
Alex Laslavic is an experienced software engineer and team lead. His focus has been in building and leading software and systems engineering teams, designing and building infrastructure software and distributed systems, and building pipelines for large-scale data analysis. Before joining Rubedo Alex was a Team Lead at Facebook, and before that a Lead Engineer at CNN and Turner Broadcasting. Alex is passionate about leveraging his computational skills to help drive advances in aging therapeutics and regenerative medicine.
Alberto Vitari, PhD has extensive and diverse experience driving and delivering target identification and validation programs. He is proficient in cancer genomics, functional genetics and leveraging bioinformatics tools to identify novel targets that serve as a basis for drug development. Prior to Rubedo Life Sciences, he was Group Leader, Molecular and Cellular Biology at Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) and Group Leader at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. At Novartis, Alberto was responsible for the identification of novel oncology molecular targets. He has expertise in cell signaling, cancer genetics, mechanism of action elucidation, and data integration to guide patient selection. He served as a postdoctoral scientist at Genentech and at Pharmacy Corporation in Italy. His scientific record includes top tier publications in Cell, Science, and Nature, including a seminal work on proto-oncogenic factors (Vitari et al., Nature, 2011).
A veteran biotech executive, with a passion for integrating advanced techniques and technologies towards the discovery and development of new drugs. Demonstrated success discovering novel small molecule drugs and targeted drug conjugates utilizing a variety of technological platforms and the application of model informed drugs. He held leading roles at MEI Pharma, Znomics, Dendreon, Amgen and Merck.
Mark Gallop is Executive-in-Residence at 5AM Venture Partners, LLC. He consults with emerging biotechnology companies in oncology, neuroscience, gastrointestinal disorders and drug design on drug discovery technologies and strategies. From 2012 to 2017 he served as the founding Chief Scientific Officer at Nurix, Inc., a venture-backed discovery company formed to explore drug development targeting ubiquitin ligase enzymes, with therapeutic applications spanning across oncology, immunology, inflammation and immuno-oncology. Prior to joining Nurix, he was Senior Vice President of Research and XenoPort, Inc., a company he co-founded in 1999 with the mission of improving the clinical utility of medicines by exploiting active transport mechanisms to optimize their pharmacokinetic properties. While at XenoPort, his team discovered Horizant™, a prodrug of gabapentin that was approved by the FDA in 2011 and the MHW in Japan in 2012 for the treatment of restless legs syndrome. Previously, Dr. Gallop was Senior Director of Combinatorial Chemistry at Affymax. He is recognized as an early pioneer and international expert in solid-phase combinatorial chemistry. He was a recipient of the ACROS award of the Belgian Organic Synthesis Symposium in 1996 for his outstanding contributions to this field. He is an inventor on more than 100 issued or pending U.S., and PCT patents and an author of over 60 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. In 1994, he co-authored a landmark review of the then-emerging field of combinatorial chemistry that has subsequently become one of the most highly cited papers in chemistry. After undergraduate studies in New Zealand, he obtained his Ph.D. degrees in inorganic chemistry from the University of Cambridge and was a Lindemann postdoctoral fellow in the laboratories of Profs. Peter G. Schultz and Robert G. Bergman at the University of California, Berkeley.
Marco Quarta, PhD, CEO received his doctorate degree in Biotechnology from the University of Bologna and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Padua. He completed a post-doc in Aging and Stem cell Biology in the lab of Prof. Thomas Rando at Stanford University. He continued his work at Stanford directing a research team at the Center for Tissue Regeneration, Repair, and Restoration at the VA Hospital in Palo Alto, CA. While there, he established a translational program in regenerative medicine. He has over 35 publications and patents in the field of aging, stem cells, regenerative medicine, and rejuvenation.
Marco also co-founded Wetware Concepts, YEBN, and Turn Biotechnology and served as an executive board member of the European Federation of Biotechnologies. He currently sits on the advisory board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Calpoly Bridge program, and the advisory board at the Center for Healthcare Innovation. Marco is a member of the Paul F Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging Studies at Stanford University, one of the most prestigious institutions supporting the science of aging.
Marco Quarta, PhD, CEO received his doctorate degree in Biotechnology from the University of Bologna and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Padua. He completed a post-doc in Aging and Stem cell Biology in the lab of Prof. Thomas Rando at Stanford University. He continued his work at Stanford directing a research team at the Center for Tissue Regeneration, Repair, and Restoration at the VA Hospital in Palo Alto, CA. While there, he established a translational program in regenerative medicine. He has over 35 publications and patents in the field of aging, stem cells, regenerative medicine, and rejuvenation.
Marco also co-founded Wetware Concepts, YEBN, and Turn Biotechnology and served as an executive board member of the European Federation of Biotechnologies. He currently sits on the advisory board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Calpoly Bridge program, and the advisory board at the Center for Healthcare Innovation. Marco is a member of the Paul F Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging Studies at Stanford University, one of the most prestigious institutions supporting the science of aging.
