Leadership
Executive leadership
Founded in 2013, we’re led by a seasoned team of inventors, scientists, and big thinkers. We combine our deep expertise in immunology, neurology, and genetics in our quest to deliver life-transforming medicines that can profoundly impact patients’ lives.
Arnon Rosenthal, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Director
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Arnon Rosenthal, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Director
Dr. Rosenthal co-founded Alector in 2013 and has served as a member of our Board of Directors and as Chief Executive Officer since 2013. Dr. Rosenthal co-founded Annexon Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANNX) and served as its acting Chief Executive Officer from August 2011 to December 2014 and served as a member of the Board of Directors, including as Chairman from August 2011 to February 2017. Dr. Rosenthal co-founded Rinat Neuroscience Corporation, which discovered and developed the migraine drug, Ajovy (acquired by Pfizer Inc. in August 2006), and served as President, Chief Scientific Officer, and as a member of the Board of Directors from August 2001 to August 2006. From January 1985 to August 2001, Dr. Rosenthal served in various roles at Genentech, Inc., where he ultimately served as Staff Scientist and was appointed as a permanent member of Genentech’s Research Review Committee, where his team discovered the target for the cancer drug Erivedge. Dr. Rosenthal conducted his post-doctoral fellowship at Genentech, Inc. He holds a Ph.D. in biology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Sara Kenkare-Mitra, Ph.D.
President and Head of Research and Development
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Sara Kenkare-Mitra, Ph.D.
President and Head of Research and Development
Sara Kenkare-Mitra, Ph.D., joined Alector as President and Head of Research and Development in December 2021 to lead all aspects of the company’s immuno-neurology and oncology R&D efforts, including oversight of the research, development, clinical, manufacturing, regulatory, and related functions.
Prior to joining Alector, Sara held roles of increasing responsibility at Genentech over the course of 23 years. She most recently served as Senior Vice President, Development Sciences in Genentech’s research and early development unit. During her tenure at Genentech, Sara led a large, integrated global organization of approximately 650 employees, and played a key role in the filing of more than 100 Investigational New Drug/clinical trial applications around the world, and the approval of 15 medicines for diverse diseases, including cancers and neurological diseases. Her team also enabled the successful development and approval of over 15 companion diagnostics.
Sara received her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where she also stayed on as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the school of medicine and completed a Fellowship in Clinical Pharmacology before joining Genentech. Sara also holds adjunct faculty positions in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at the UCSF and at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. Sara is an elected member of the National academy of Medicine (NAM) and elected fellow of Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She has been widely recognized for her work and leadership in the industry with awards such as the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists’ Alice E. Till Advancement of Women in Pharmaceutical Sciences Recognition, Endpoints’ 20 Most Extraordinary Women in Biopharma, Fierce Pharma’s Fiercest Women in the Life Sciences, and the University of California, San Francisco’s Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. She has served as a board member of the Genentech foundation and the Association of Women in Science (AWIS).
Marc Grasso, M.D.
Chief Financial Officer
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Marc Grasso, M.D.
Chief Financial Officer
Dr. Grasso joins Alector from Kura Oncology, Inc., where he served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer. Prior to Kura Oncology, he served as Managing Director of Stifel, where he was responsible for building and managing the west coast life sciences and biotechnology investment banking business. Previously, Dr. Grasso was Managing Director of Investment Banking in the Global Healthcare Group at UBS, focused on the biotechnology sector, and prior to that, he was Managing Director of Investment Banking at Leerink Swann, where he was instrumental in the west coast expansion of their franchise. Dr. Grasso joined Leerink from Morgan Stanley and earlier held positions in the Global Healthcare Group of Credit Suisse First Boston and at Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown. Dr. Grasso received his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he also performed research in molecular oncology. He obtained an A.B. in molecular biology with honors from Princeton University.
Gary Romano, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Medical Officer
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Gary Romano, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Gary Romano, M.D., Ph.D., joined Alector as Chief Medical Officer in May 2022 to lead the company’s global clinical development strategy, including oversight of the clinical development, clinical operations, biometrics and digital science, and medical affairs functions.
Gary brings more than 25 years of experience in neurodegenerative disease to Alector, including 18 years in industry roles at Merck, the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, and Passage Bio. Gary served as the Chief Medical Officer of Passage Bio until May 2021, where he was responsible for the clinical development of gene therapies targeting rare monogenic central nervous system disorders and achieved Investigational New Drug and Clinical Trial Application clearances for three gene therapies. Prior to Passage Bio, Gary oversaw clinical development of the neurodegenerative disease portfolio for more than five years at Janssen as the Deputy Leader, Neurodegenerative Disease Area and Head of Development, Neurodegenerative Disease. He previously held other leadership positions at Janssen, including Head of Neuroscience Biomarkers and Head of Early Clinical Development. Earlier in his career, Gary served as the Alzheimer’s Disease Therapeutic Area Group Co-Leader and Leader, Neuroscience Experimental Medicine at Merck.
Gary earned a B.S. in Biology from Trinity College, a Ph.D. in Molecular Neurobiology from Rockefeller University, and an M.D. from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed his medical internship, neurology residency and neuromuscular fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. He has served on the executive committee of the Innovative Medicines Initiative – European Prevention of Alzheimer’s Dementia (EPAD), and as the industry co-chair of the Critical Path Institute Coalition Against Alzheimer’s Disease. Gary currently serves on the board of directors of the ALS Hope Foundation and is an adjunct member of the neurology department at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.
Peter Heutink, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
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Peter Heutink, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Peter Heutink, Ph.D., is the Chief Scientific Officer at Alector and leads the company’s research teams with the goal of rapidly advancing our pipeline of novel therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Most recently, Peter was a group leader and the site speaker of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) – Tübingen. In addition, he was a full professor of Genome Biology for Neurodegenerative Diseases at the Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Germany and an honorary professor of Functional Genomics of Ageing and Neurodegeneration at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), the Netherlands.
Peter has led teams that identified mutation in genes for Parkinson’s disease (PD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), chorea, ataxia, hemochromatosis, porencephaly and various development disorders. He has also made important contributions to genome wide association studies (GWAS) for major depression, Tourette Syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorders, FTD, and PD. Additionally, Peter has made contributions to a series of GWA, exome and whole genome sequencing studies as a member of the International Parkinson’s Disease Genomics Consortium (IPDGC), the International Frontotemporal Dementia Genomics Consortium (IFGC) and the International FTLD-TDP WGS consortium and is a member of the steering committee of the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program. Peter has been involved in many industry collaborations to bring genetic findings toward the clinic and is an author or co-author of more than 400 peer-reviewed publications.
Peter Heutink studied Biology at the University of Amsterdam and earned a Ph.D. in Human Genetics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Danielle Pasqualone, Ph.D., J.D.
General Counsel
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Danielle Pasqualone, Ph.D., J.D.
General Counsel
Danielle Pasqualone, Ph.D., J.D., serves as the General Counsel at Alector. She joined Alector in 2019 as the Vice President of Intellectual Property. In her role, Danielle oversees the company’s legal function, driving business objectives and decision-making. Partnering with teams throughout Alector, she also directs global intellectual property strategy and provides legal counsel on various matters, including transactions, such as the recent GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Adimab collaborations. Danielle’s diverse experience at and prior to Alector has included intellectual property strategy from research through commercialization, litigation and adversarial proceedings, licensing and transactions, IP-related FDA and regulatory matters, trade secret protection, trademark registration, privacy and data protection, and general corporate matters. Danielle earned a B.S. in Molecular Biology from Penn State University, a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Cornell University, and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.
Clare Hunt, M.B.A.
Chief People Officer
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Clare Hunt, M.B.A.
Chief People Officer
Clare is the Chief People Officer at Alector and has led our People team since January 2017. In this role, Clare is responsible for the development and growth of Alector employees, recruiting top talent, advancing Alector’s position as an employer of choice, and leading the People team to continue to enhance every part of the employee experience.
Prior to joining Alector, Clare spent seven years as a strategy consultant at Bain & Company, where she was most recently a case team leader and worked in the Boston, London, Manhattan, and San Francisco offices. Clare is a leadership coach who managed a coaching sole proprietorship and completed the Coaches Training Institute’s coach certification and leadership programs, as well as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). She has international operating experience, having lived and worked in Eswatini for a private sector development consultancy, and rural Kenya for a social enterprise startup. Clare holds a B.A. in international relations and economics from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Kristina Cutter, M.P.H.
Chief Regulatory, Pharmacovigilance, and Quality Assurance Officer
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Kristina Cutter, M.P.H.
Chief Regulatory, Pharmacovigilance, and Quality Assurance Officer
Kristina entered the pharmaceutical industry after graduating from the University of Michigan School of Public Health with a Masters in Public Health. Her first job was auditing neurology clinical trials for Parke-Davis, giving her a glimpse of the Clinical Research world and providing her an opportunity to transition into the project management of large epidemiological studies for the company, combining her interest in both science and public health.
Early in her career she shifted her focus on late-stage drug development, specifically the commercialization of products that she had helped to develop. She started her career in Commercial Regulatory Affairs, helping the Pfizer Marketing team promote women’s health, cardiovascular and oncology products throughout the years. Understanding the business was exciting, and a passion for finding regulatory pathways to develop & commercialize products was the perfect blend for her interests. Since then, she has worked across numerous therapeutic areas, from IND to commercialization at small, mid-sized and larger companies including Amgen, Genentech/Roche, Intermune, Halozyme and now Alector, Inc. Each role increased her leadership and enterprise expertise.
In her current role at Alector, Kristina Cutter leads the regulatory strategy & operations team and the safety & pharmacovigilance teams. She is responsible for the global regulatory development & safety strategy across the corporate portfolios for this exciting neuro-immunology and onco-immunology company.
Virginia DeJesus-Rueff, M.B.A.
Chief of Staff and Head of Strategy
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Virginia DeJesus-Rueff, M.B.A.
Chief of Staff and Head of Strategy
As the Chief of Staff and Head of Strategy, Virginia drives and coordinates the overall company strategy in partnership with the CEO and leads business planning and operations efforts to ensure clear decision-making aligns with the company’s strategic objectives. Virginia joined Alector in 2018, leading the Portfolio and Program Management function. Prior to Alector, Virginia held various roles of increasing responsibility at Genentech from 2007 through 2018, including in the global organization as a Disease Area Director and LifeCycle Leader. Prior to her work in the global organization at Genentech, Virginia held roles of increasing responsibility in the U.S. commercial organization, which spanned both the Marketing and Market Planning groups. Previously, she worked as an Associate at McKinsey & Co. and as a Research Associate at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Virginia holds an A.B. in Economics from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business where she was an Arjay Miller Scholar and a Siebel Scholar.
Norah Conway
Senior Vice President, Portfolio and Program Management
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Norah Conway
Senior Vice President, Portfolio and Program Management
Norah Conway joins Alector as Senior Vice President, Portfolio and Program Management. Norah brings over 20 years of program leadership and management experience, having built and established project management organizations and having led over 15 development programs in a range of indications and phases of development, including launch and life cycle, while working at Tranquis Therapeutics, Catalyst Biosciences, Ultragenyx and Bayer.
Prior to her Program Leadership & Project Management experience, she worked in leadership positions in Regulatory Affairs in four countries for Bayer, with successful drug submissions, approvals and interactions with regulatory authorities globally. Her broad experience enables a strategic, results-driven approach to development and operational activities.
Norah is a pharmacist with a Master in Pharmacy degree from the University of Pretoria, Faculty of Medicine. She also holds a Certificate in Project Management (PMP) from the Project Management Institute.
Neil Berkley, M.S., M.B.A.
Chief Business Officer
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Neil Berkley, M.S., M.B.A.
Chief Business Officer
Neil Berkley joined Alector as Chief Business Officer in March of 2024. Neil is responsible for driving strategic growth and maximizing partnership opportunities.
Neil brings over twenty years of experience in corporate development, business development, and strategic planning from large pharma, midsize biotech/pharma, and small biotech companies. Prior to joining Alector, Neil was Chief Corporate Development Officer at Juvena Therapeutics, a Series A start-up biotech focused on metabolic and muscle diseases, Chief Business Officer at AbCellera, a public biotech company focused on discovering novel antibody therapeutics, and Vice President and Head of Business Development at Halozyme Therapeutics, a public biotech focused on enabling drug delivery platforms. Neil has also held various business development and corporate development roles at Axerovision, COI (Avalon Incubator), Acadia, and GSK. Earlier in his career, Neil was Head of Business Development at Cadence Pharmaceuticals, where he assisted with the sale of the company for $1.3B. Neil also co-founded and helped build two San Diego-based biotech companies, Mpex Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Aptalis) and Vaxiion.
Neil holds a B.S. in Molecular Biology from UC San Diego, as well as an M.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology and an M.B.A. from San Diego State University.
Board of Directors
Louis J. Lavigne Jr., M.B.A.
Chairperson of the Board
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Louis J. Lavigne Jr., M.B.A.
Chairperson of the Board
Mr. Lavigne has served as a member of our Board of Directors since 2018, and as Chairperson of our Board of Directors since June 2023. He previously served as our Lead Independent Director from October 2018 to June 2023. Mr. Lavigne has been Managing Partner of Laman Partners, LLC, a consulting firm focusing on finance, strategy, and management, since 2019 and Managing Director of Lavrite, LLC since 2005. Mr. Lavigne served in various executive capacities with Genentech, Inc. for over 20 years, including Chief Financial Officer from 1988 to 2005, Executive Vice President from 1997 to 2005, Senior Vice President from 1994 to 1997, Vice President from 1986 to 1994, and Controller from 1983 to 1986. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of Zynga Inc., a social game company, from 2015 to May 2022, including as an audit committee member (and formerly audit committee chairperson) and as a member of the nominating and governance committee. Mr. Lavigne was a member of the Board of Directors of Accuray, Inc., a radiation oncology company, between 2009 and June 2021, where he served as Chairman of the Board and the compensation committee as well as a member of the nominating and governance committee. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Rodan + Fields, LLC, a private skincare company, from June 2015 to July 2021 where he was Lead Director between August 2020 and July 2021 and chaired the audit committee from December 2019 to July 2021. Within the last five years, Mr. Lavigne also served as a Director and Chair of the audit committee of NovoCure Limited, an oncology company, from 2013 until October 2018; as a Director, Chair of the compensation committee, and member of the audit committee of Assertio Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, from July 2013 until his resignation in May 2019; and as a Director, Chair of the audit committee, and member of the compensation committee of DocuSign Inc., an eSignature transaction management company, from July 2013 to May 2020. Mr. Lavigne is the former Chairman and Board member of the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals and the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals Foundation. Mr. Lavigne holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Babson College and an M.B.A. from Temple University.
Arnon Rosenthal, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder
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Arnon Rosenthal, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder
Dr. Rosenthal co-founded Alector in 2013 and has served as a member of our Board of Directors and as Chief Executive Officer since 2013. Dr. Rosenthal co-founded Annexon Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANNX) and served as its acting Chief Executive Officer from August 2011 to December 2014 and served as a member of the Board of Directors, including as Chairman from August 2011 to February 2017. Dr. Rosenthal co-founded Rinat Neuroscience Corporation, which discovered and developed the migraine drug, Ajovy (acquired by Pfizer Inc. in August 2006), and served as President, Chief Scientific Officer, and as a member of the Board of Directors from August 2001 to August 2006. From January 1985 to August 2001, Dr. Rosenthal served in various roles at Genentech, Inc., where he ultimately served as Staff Scientist and was appointed as a permanent member of Genentech’s Research Review Committee, where his team discovered the target for the cancer drug Erivedge. Dr. Rosenthal conducted his post- doctoral fellowship at Genentech, Inc. He holds a Ph.D. in biology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Elizabeth Garofalo, M.D.
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Elizabeth Garofalo, M.D.
Dr. Garofalo has served as a member of our Board of Directors since September 2021. Since 2016, Dr. Garofalo has served as the Principal for EAG Pharma Consulting LLC. Prior to that, Dr. Garofalo served in numerous leadership roles including as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Clinical Development and member of the Novartis Global Development Leadership Team, Chair of the Novartis Portfolio Stewardship Board, and Co-Head of the Novartis Neuroscience Franchise. Prior to that, she was Vice President and Head of the Neuroscience Therapy Area at Astellas. She started her career at Parke-Davis/Pfizer where she had jobs of increasing responsibility, including Ann Arbor Site Head of Neuroscience and Ann Arbor Site Head of Worldwide Regulatory Affairs. Since September 2020, Dr. Garofalo has served as a member of the board of Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. From March 2021 to February 2023, she served as a member of the board and member of the audit committee of Exicure, Inc. and from March 2022 to February 2023, as Chair of the Board of Exicure, Inc. She has served since June 2021 as a member of the board of Xenon Pharmaceuticals. She also serves as the Chair of the Board of the non-profit Institute for Advanced Clinical Trials in Children. Dr. Garofalo earned an M.D. from the Indiana University School of Medicine where she completed her pediatric residency. She completed fellowships in pediatric neurology and epilepsy at the University of Michigan Medical School.
Paula Hammond, Ph.D.
MIT
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Paula Hammond, Ph.D.
MIT
Dr. Hammond has served as a member of our Board of Directors since March 2020. Dr. Hammond is Institute Professor and the Vice Provost for Faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (“MIT”), where she has been a faculty member since 1995. She served as the Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT from 2015 through 2023. She is a member of MIT’s David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and a founding member of the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology. She also served as the Associate Head of the Chemical Engineering Department at MIT from 2008 to 2011. Dr. Hammond was the recipient of the 2013 AIChE Charles M. A. Stine Award, which is bestowed annually to a leading researcher in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of materials science and engineering, the 2014 Alpha Chi Sigma Award for Chemical Engineering Research, and the Margaret Rousseau Award for Lifetime Achievement by a Woman Chemical Engineer in 2019. She received the Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Teal Innovator Award in 2013, which supports a single visionary individual from any field principally outside of ovarian cancer. She received the 2024 Benjamin Franklin Medal of Chemistry. She was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering, and the American Chemical Society, Division of Polymer Chemistry. Dr. Hammond was elected into the National Academy of Sciences in 2019, the National Academy of Engineering in 2017, the National Academy of Medicine in 2016, and the 2013 Class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Hammond holds an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. and S.B. in Chemical Engineering from MIT. Dr. Hammond has published over 330 papers and over 20 patent applications. She is the co-founder and member of the Scientific Advisory Board of LayerBio, Inc., a member of the Board of Directors of Sail Biomedicines, Inc. (formerly Senda Biosciences, Inc.), a member of the Board of Directors of the MIT Engine, a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Moderna, Inc., and an advisor for Catalio Capital Management.
Richard H. Scheller, Ph.D.
BridgeBio
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Richard H. Scheller, Ph.D.
BridgeBio
Dr. Scheller has served as a member of our Board of Directors and our Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) since October 2018 and has served as Co-Chair of our Strategic Portfolio Advice and Review Committee (SPARC) since December 2019. Dr. Scheller has served as the Chairman of Research and Development at BridgeBio Pharma LLC, a publicly traded biotechnology company, since January 2019 and as a member of its Board of Directors from 2018 to 2023. In addition, Dr. Scheller serves on the board of directors at 23andMe, Maze Therapeutics, and Aarvik Therapeutics, and on the board of trustees at Caltech and the board of the Corporation of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. He served on the board of directors at Xenon Pharmaceuticals (2015 to 2020), ORIC (2015-2021), and as Chairman of the Board of Directors at DICE Therapeutics (2015-2023). From 2015 to 2019, Dr. Scheller was Head of Therapeutics and Chief Scientific Officer at 23andMe. At Genentech from 2001 to 2014, he was Executive Vice President of Research and Early Development and served on the executive committees of Roche and Genentech focusing on research strategy, drug discovery, business development and early drug development activities. From 1982 to 2001, Dr. Scheller was a professor at Stanford in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and was an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute of Stanford University Medical Center. Since 2004, Dr. Scheller has served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Scheller’s research elucidating the molecular machinery and regulatory mechanism that underlies neurotransmitter the release earned him the 2013 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, the 2010 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, and the 1997 U.S. National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Scheller holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and B.Sc. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
David Wehner
Meta
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David Wehner
Meta
Mr. Wehner has served as a member of our Board of Directors since October 2018. He has served as Chief Strategy Officer of Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly Facebook, Inc.), a publicly- traded company, since November 2022. Mr. Wehner joined Meta Platforms, Inc. in November 2012 as Vice President, Corporate Finance and Business Planning and served as Chief Financial Officer from June 2014 to November 2022. From August 2010 until November 2012, Mr. Wehner served as Chief Financial Officer at Zynga Inc., a provider of social game services. From February 2001 to July 2010, Mr. Wehner served in various positions at Allen & Company, an investment bank, including as a Managing Director from November 2006 to July 2010 and as a director from December 2005 to November 2006. Mr. Wehner holds an M.S. in applied physics from Stanford University and a B.S. in chemistry from Georgetown University.
Kristine Yaffe, M.D.
UCSF
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Kristine Yaffe, M.D.
UCSF
Dr. Yaffe has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2019. She is the Scola Endowed Chair and the Leon Epstein Chair and Vice Chair, Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Epidemiology, and Director of the Center for Population Brain Health at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Yaffe is an internationally recognized expert in the epidemiology of dementia and is a foremost leader in identifying modifiable risk factors for dementia that serve as a foundation for prevention. She also currently serves on the Beeson Scientific Advisory Board and the Global Council on Brain Health. Dr. Yaffe previously was the Co-Chair of the United States’ Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Cognitive Aging. Dr. Yaffe has received numerous awards for her groundbreaking contributions to the field, including the American Academy of Neurology’s Potamkin Prize for Alzheimer’s Research in 2017, the NIH Robert S. Gordon, Jr. Award in Epidemiology in 2021, and the Department of Veterans Affairs John B. Barnwell Award for Achievement in Clinical Research in 2022. Dr. Yaffe holds a B.S. in biology-psychology from Yale University and an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and has completed residencies in neurology and psychiatry at UCSF. Dr. Yaffe was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019.
Errol De Souza, Ph.D.
Cyclerion Therapeutics
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Errol De Souza, Ph.D.
Cyclerion Therapeutics
Dr. De Souza has served as a member of our Board of Directors since April 2024. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc. since April 2021 and is currently the Chair of the Board. Dr. De Souza was the Executive Chairman of Bionomics Limited from November 2018 to December 2022, the Non-Executive Chairman from January 2023 to June 2023 and the Non-Executive Director until November 2023. Previously, Dr. De Souza served as president, chief executive officer, and director of several companies, including Neuropore Therapies, Inc from January 2017 to December 2019, Biodel, Inc. from March 2010 to January 2016, Archemix Corp from April 2003 to March 2009 and Synaptic Pharmaceutical Corporation from September 2002 to March 2003. From September 1998 to September 2002 Dr. De Souza held senior vice president roles at Hoechst Marion Roussel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.and Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now Sanofi). He was also Founder, Executive Vice President of R&D and Director at Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. from October 1992 to August 1998 and Head of CNS Diseases Research at DuPont Merck from May 1990 to October 1992. Dr. De Souza is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Bionaut Labs. Inc. and Royalty Pharma. He has previously served on the Board of Directors of Catalyst Biosciences, Inc., Targacept, Inc., IDEXX Laboratories, Palatin Technologies, Inc. and a number of private company boards. Dr. De Souza received a B.A. in physiology and a Ph.D. in endocrinology from the University of Toronto and completed his post-doctoral fellowship in neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Mark Altmeyer, M.B.A.
AM-Pharma B.V.
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Mark Altmeyer, M.B.A.
AM-Pharma B.V.
Mr. Altmeyer has served as a member of our Board of Directors since April 2024. He has been a member of the Board of Directors at AM-Pharma since June 2021 and currently serves as the Chairman of the Board. Mr. Altmeyer has also served on the board of directors of Novaremed A.G. since October 2021 and Merz Holdings Therapeutics since October of 2023. Previously, he served on the board of directors of Clarion Healthcare, Inc. from March 2021 to October 2022, Myovant Sciences, Inc. from September 2016 to December 2018, and Arvelle Therapeutics, B.V. from February 2019 to February 2021. Additionally, Mr. Altmeyer founded Arvelle Therapeutics, serving as its President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Under his leadership, he guided the organization through the EMA approval of its lead product and spearheaded preparations for the European launch. Arvell Therapeutics was later acquired by Angelini Pharma for approximately $1 billion USD. Prior to that, Mark served as President and Chief Commercial Officer at Axovant Sciences (NASDAQ: AXGT), where he led the establishment of global commercial capabilities and pre-launch preparations for various pipeline products. Previously, Mr. Altmeyer served as President and CEO at Otsuka America Pharmaceutical Inc., transforming the company into a successful commercial organization and doubling total revenues to nearly $5 billion USD over five years. Earlier in his career, Mr. Altmeyer held senior commercial and general management positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Cetus Corporation. He holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Graduate School of Business and a B.A. in economics from Middlebury College.
Scientific Advisory Board
Adam Boxer, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Neurology at University of California, San Francisco
Stephen L. Hauser, M.D.
Department of Neurology at University of California, San Francisco
Michael Heneka, M.D.
Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine at University of Luxembourg
Martin Kampmann, Ph.D.
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco Weill Institute for Neurosciences
Richard Scheller, Ph.D.
National Academy of Sciences and National Institute of Medicine
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Richard Scheller, Ph.D.
National Academy of Sciences and National Institute of Medicine
Dr. Scheller has served as a member of our Board of Directors and our Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) since October 2018 and has served as Co-Chair of our Strategic Portfolio Advice and Review Committee (SPARC) since December 2019. Dr. Scheller has served as the Chairman of Research and Development at BridgeBio Pharma LLC, a publicly traded biotechnology company, since January 2019 and as a member of its Board of Directors from 2018 to 2023. In addition, Dr. Scheller serves on the board of directors at 23andMe, Maze Therapeutics, and Aarvik Therapeutics, and on the board of trustees at Caltech and the board of the Corporation of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. He served on the board of directors at Xenon Pharmaceuticals (2015 to 2020), ORIC (2015-2021), and as Chairman of the Board of Directors at DICE Therapeutics (2015-2023). From 2015 to 2019, Dr. Scheller was Head of Therapeutics and Chief Scientific Officer at 23andMe. At Genentech from 2001 to 2014, he was Executive Vice President of Research and Early Development and served on the executive committees of Roche and Genentech focusing on research strategy, drug discovery, business development and early drug development activities. From 1982 to 2001, Dr. Scheller was a professor at Stanford in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and was an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute of Stanford University Medical Center. Since 2004, Dr. Scheller has served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Scheller’s research elucidating the molecular machinery and regulatory mechanism that underlies neurotransmitter the release earned him the 2013 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, the 2010 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, and the 1997 U.S. National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Scheller holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and B.Sc. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Thomas C. Südhof, M.D., Ph.D.
Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and Neurosurgery at Stanford University