About

Katie Fanning

President & Chief Executive Officer

Kathleen Fanning is President and Chief Executive Officer at Mozart Therapeutics. She brings more than 35 years of leadership experience in both public and private biopharmaceutical companies. Prior to Mozart, she served as President and CEO at Nohla Therapeutics, a clinical-stage cell therapy company. During her tenure at Nohla, her strategic and operational leadership transitioned the company from an academic focus to a fully integrated business. Prior to Nohla, Ms. Fanning was Chief Operating Officer at VentiRx, and played an instrumental role in the strategic collaboration and company acquisition by Celgene. She has held senior leadership roles at Cell Therapeutics Inc., and CellPro Inc. that included Vice President of Business Development and Vice President of Sales and Marketing where she built and led global sales and marketing organizations. She also spent 13 years at Zeneca Pharmaceuticals (now AstraZeneca) holding positions of ascending responsibility across sales, marketing and early commercial development. Ms. Fanning received her B.A. in Zoology from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She serves as a Director of Egenesis Bio and Walden Biosciences.

Brian Blackman

Chief Financial Officer

Brian Blackman is Chief Financial Officer at Mozart Therapeutics. He brings over 25 years of experience in the life science industry in finance and business development. Prior to Mozart, he served as Chief Financial Officer at Faraday Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a private Seattle-based life sciences company. Before joining Faraday, he was Vice President, Finance and Administration for VLST Corporation and served as Director, Business Operations for BN ImmunoTherapeutics, Inc., a subsidiary of Bavarian Nordic, Inc. Prior to that, Mr. Blackman served as Senior Manager, Business Development for Dendreon Corporation from 2005 to 2008, joining the company in 2004 as Senior Area Finance Manager. His career in financial management has also included work at Penton Media, Inc. as senior financial analyst and at Amgen, Inc., serving as financial analyst for Amgen Colorado. Mr. Blackman received a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an M.B.A. from London Business School, UK.

Kristi Manjarrez

Chief Operating Officer

Kristi L. Manjarrez is Chief Operating Officer at Mozart Therapeutics and brings more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. She has deep expertise in clinical development, organizational effectiveness, portfolio strategy, and building high-performing cross-functional teams. Prior to joining Mozart, she held senior leadership positions at Alpine Immune Sciences (Sr Vice President of Clinical Affairs), Silverback Therapeutics (Vice President of Clinical Operations), and VentiRx Pharmaceuticals (Vice President of Clinical Affairs) where she was responsible for building and leading the early clinical development organizations including clinical operations, data sciences, pharmacovigilance, clinical project management. She has been responsible for the oversight and advancement of clinical programs for novel therapeutics from early-phase development through global pivotal studies. Ms. Manjarrez received a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Washington.

Kristine Swiderek, Ph.D.

Chief Development Officer

Kristine Swiderek is Chief Development Officer at Mozart Therapeutics. She has more than 25 years of research and leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and a proven track record of discovering and developing a wide variety of protein therapeutics. Prior to Mozart, Dr. Swiderek was Senior VP of Research at Alpine Immune Sciences, where she was instrumental in building a pipeline advancing protein-based immunotherapies for treatment of autoimmune disease and cancer. As Chief Scientific Officer at OncoResponse and Theraclone, she developed and executed research and development strategies. She formed multiple R&D partnerships, advanced several therapeutic candidates into the clinic and was instrumental in the spin-out of OncoResponse. She has also held several positions of increasing responsibility at ZymoGenetics, a publicly-listed company where she advanced over a dozen candidates into clinical development. Dr. Swiderek received her Ph.D. in Protein Biochemistry from the Ruhr-Universität in Bochum, Germany. She completed her postdoctoral studies at City of Hope, Duarte, CA and at Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN. She is the author of over 60 peer-reviewed articles and manuscripts.

Lou Vaickus, MD, FACP

Interim Chief Medical Officer

Lou Vaickus, M.D., F.A.C.P., is Interim Chief Medical Officer at Mozart Therapeutics. He is also Chief Executive Officer and Founder of akta Pharmaceutical Development LLC (aktaPD^®). Dr. Vaickus brings 12 years of experience in academic medicine and over 30 years of industry leadership experience with a predominant focus on immunotherapies for autoimmune and oncologic indications, including monoclonal antibodies and genetically modified T cells for T1DM. Prior to joining Mozart, he served as Interim Chief Medical Officer at several biotechnology companies, including Concerto Biosciences, PanTher Therapeutics, Faeth Therapeutics, Vigeo Therapeutics, Verastem, and Vedanta. Dr. Vaickus has held faculty appointments at the University of Iowa and Roswell Park Cancer Institute/SUNY Buffalo. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and earned his M.D. from Loyola University's Stritch School of Medicine.

Steven Gillis, Ph.D.

Chairman

Steven Gillis has been a managing director at ARCH Venture Partners since 2005. Dr. Gillis was a Founder and Director of Corixa Corporation and served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer since inception and as its Chairman, until its acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline. Prior to Corixa, Dr. Gillis was Founder and Director of Immunex Corporation, which was acquired by Amgen for $16B. During his tenure, Dr. Gillis served as Immunex’s Director of Research and Development, Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Immunex’s Research and Development subsidiary. He was interim Chief Executive Officer of Immunex following its majority purchase by American Cyanamid Company, and was also a Board Member. He is credited as a pioneer in the field of cytokines and cytokine receptors, directing the development of multiple marketed products including Leukine, Prokine and Enbrel, and the regulatory approval of Bexxar and the novel vaccine adjuvant, MPL. Dr. Gillis received his B.A. from Williams College and his Ph.D. from Dartmouth College. He is an immunologist by training with over 300 peer-reviewed publications, and serves as a Director or Chairman in multiple private and publicly-held biotechnology companies.

Katie Fanning

President & Chief Executive Officer

Kathleen Fanning is President and Chief Executive Officer at Mozart Therapeutics. She brings more than 35 years of leadership experience in both public and private biopharmaceutical companies. Prior to Mozart, she served as President and CEO at Nohla Therapeutics, a clinical-stage cell therapy company. During her tenure at Nohla, her strategic and operational leadership transitioned the company from an academic focus to a fully integrated business. Prior to Nohla, Ms. Fanning was Chief Operating Officer at VentiRx, and played an instrumental role in the strategic collaboration and company acquisition by Celgene. She has held senior leadership roles at Cell Therapeutics Inc., and CellPro Inc. that included Vice President of Business Development and Vice President of Sales and Marketing where she built and led global sales and marketing organizations. She also spent 13 years at Zeneca Pharmaceuticals (now AstraZeneca) holding positions of ascending responsibility across sales, marketing and early commercial development. Ms. Fanning received her B.A. in Zoology from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She serves as a Director of Egenesis Bio and Walden Biosciences.

Tom Daniel, M.D.

Director

Tom Daniel has more than 20 years of experience leading and building research and development organizations and leading investments in new companies at the forefront of innovative applications of science and healthcare. During the past five years, he served as a Venture Partner at ARCH Venture Partners, following a decade as President of Global Research and Early Development at Celgene Corporation. He previously served in senior leadership roles at AmbRx, Amgen and Immunex. Tom currently serves as Chair at LocanaBio, and is Director at a number of private and publicly-held companies. He is Chair of Life Science Cares-San Diego, a Trustee of Reed College, a Director at Scripps Research and Chair of the Board of Overseers, and is a senior advisor to several private biotechnology companies. A nephrologist and former academic investigator, he was previously C.M. Hakim Professor of Medicine and Cell Biology at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Daniel received his M.D. from the University of Texas, Southwestern, trained in molecular genetics at UTSW, and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Peter Dudek, Ph.D.

Director

Peter Dudek has over 13 years of experience in the life sciences industry spanning research, company building, and corporate and traditional venture, across a broad range of therapeutic areas and modalities. He currently serves as President and Managing Partner of Merck’s MRL Ventures (MRLV) Fund and is responsible for its investments in Ambagon Therapeutics, Caraway Therapeutics, Carisma Therapeutics, HotSpot Therapeutics, Imago Biosciences (NASDAQ: IMGO), Kymera Therapeutics (NASDAQ: KYMR), Xilio Therapeutics, and Mozart Therapeutics. Prior to MRLV, he was a Principal with Wellington Partners, a European venture fund with more than $1B under management. He has held roles at Entrepreneurs Fund and at the corporate venture arm of Novartis. Dr. Dudek received his B.Sc. with Honors from the University of British Columbia, and was a research associate at the BC Centre for Disease Control. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Geneva, and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford.

Julie Gilmore, Ph.D.

Director

Julie Gilmore is the Site Head and Chief Operating Officer for Lilly Gateway Labs, a shared innovation lab located in South San Francisco, designed to speed the discovery of innovative medicines through collaboration with local biotech companies. She joined Eli Lilly after receiving her Doctorate in Membrane Biophysics from Purdue University and her Postdoctoral Fellowship in Drug Transport from Indiana University School of Medicine. During her 20-year plus career at Lilly, Julie has held several leadership and scientific positions across research and drug development, including Head of Information Sciences and Clinical Operations for Lilly Europe, Global Head of Scientific Communications, and most recently, Senior Director of Portfolio Management for the Neurodegeneration and Pain Early Phase Portfolio. Julie is on the Board of Governors for BioCom and the Board of Directors for California Life Sciences. She also serves as a mentor and advisor to several university graduate school programs including locally at UCSF.

Marie-Claire Peakman M.R.Pharm.S., Ph.D.

Director

Marie-Claire is a Partner on the Pfizer Ventures Team and an Executive Director in Emerging Science & Innovation at Pfizer. She has 25 years of experience at Pfizer holding various leadership positions supporting small molecule discovery. 

Marie-Claire is on the Board of Directors for DEM Biopharma and Grey Wolf Therapeutics and holds observer positions on the boards of Mediar Therapeutics, Capstan Therapeutics, Crossbow Therapeutics and TRex Bio.

She was recognized as a PhRMA ‘We Work For Health’ Champion in 2018 and was a 2019 finalist for the CT Women of Innovation Award. She is a member of The Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Chair of the Board of Directors for United Way of Southeastern CT, on the Board of Trustees for Lawrence and Memorial Hospital and Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Thames River Innovation Place.

Marie-Claire holds a B.Pharm.Hons. degree in Pharmacy and a Ph.D. in Physiology & Pharmacology from the University of Nottingham U.K. She conducted postdoctoral work at Yale University in the department of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry and the department of Molecular Psychiatry.

Fabio Pucci, Ph.D.

Director

Fabio Pucci has been an investor at Leaps by Bayer, the investment arm of the global life sciences company Bayer, since 2021. He is responsible for search and evaluation, as well as healthcare focused investment across a wide spectrum of therapeutic modalities and indications. Fabio currently serves as board director or observer for Capstan, Immunitas, Indapta, Kojin, and, previously, for Hemab. Prior to Leaps by Bayer, Fabio worked at RA Capital, a biotech multistage investment fund, and worked at the Francis Crick Institute in London as a cancer researcher. Fabio obtained his PhD from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology and his MBA from the London Business School.

Henrijette Richter, Ph.D.

Director

Henrijette Richter is one of our managing partners and an active member of the Capital Funds team, our flagship fund dedicated to early-stage biotechs and MedTechs.

She joined Sofinnova in 2014, and her investments and board involvements include Mozart Therapeutics, Muna Therapeutics, Nitrase Therapeutics, Nodthera, Twentyeight-Seven Therapeutics, Asceneuron, Delinia (sold to Celgene), and iOmx Therapeutics.

Henrijette was attracted by Sofinnova Partners’ focus on a positive, consensus-oriented environment and its philosophy of investing in people. 

Prior to Sofinnova, Henrijette was part of the team that founded Novo Seeds in 2007, and as an Investment Director, she was instrumental in the creation, financing and building of companies such as Orphazyme (ORPHA.CO; ORPH), Avilex Pharma, EpiTherapeutics (sold to Gilead), and Lysogene (LYS, Euronext Paris).

Henrijette holds a combined Ph.D. and Industrial Scientist degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Copenhagen and Novo Nordisk A/S. She did her postdoctoral fellowship at the MIT Center for Cancer Research in Massachusetts.

Christian Schubert, Ph.D.

Director

Christian serves as Vice President and Head of AbbVie Ventures, where he directs AbbVie’s strategic venture capital investments into emerging science and technologies in core therapeutic areas of interest with a team of dedicated investment professionals located in Cambridge (MA), San Francisco (CA), and Oxford (UK).

He joined the organization in July 2022 from Atlas Venture, where he helped conceive, launch, and operate the next generation of biotech companies as Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR). Prior to Atlas, Christian served as Global Head of R&D External Innovation at the Servier Group and Managing Director of Servier BioInnovation. An established leader in external innovation and partnering in the biotechnology sector with deep experience in both academic research, early-stage venture, and commercial business development - having held prior roles at Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development and at Biogen Corporate Development and Strategy. Christian is passionate about the use of human genetics, translational ‘omics, and human biology for the identification and validation of novel targets, biomarkers and patient segmentation in early-stage R&D. 

Trained in human genetics, neurobiology, and biochemistry in the US, Germany, England and Switzerland, Christian holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) and M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees from the Technical University of Munich (Munich, Germany). He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital (Boston, MA).

Mark Davis, Ph.D.

Scientific Co-Founder

Mark M. Davis is the Director of the Stanford Institute for Immunology, Transplantation and Infection (ITI), the Avery Family Professor of Immunology, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. He is well known for identifying many of the T-cell receptor genes, which govern specificity for T cells, and his work characterizing their binding properties and behavior on cell surfaces, including the demonstration that T cells can detect and respond to even a single antigenic peptide-MHC complex. He also developed a novel way of labeling specific T lymphocytes (“peptide-MHC tetramers”), which is widely used in both clinical and basic immunology studies. His current research interests focus on human immunology, specifically a “systems level” understanding of an immune response to vaccination, infection and autoimmunity, as well as methods to better understand human T cell responses. He received a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology with Leroy Hood. He was also a postdoctoral and staff fellow William Paul at the Laboratory of Immunology at the NIH before joining the Stanford faculty. He has received many honors and awards, including the Gairdner Award, the Paul Ehrlich Award and the King Faisal Prize, among others. He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the Royal Society of London.

K. Christopher Garcia, Ph.D.

Scientific Co-Founder

K. Christopher Garcia is a Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and Structural Biology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Garcia’s research interests reside at the cell surface, and his laboratory is investigating structural and functional aspects of cell surface receptor recognition and activation, in receptor-ligand systems with relevance to human health and disease. After two years of post-doctoral work at Genentech. under Dr. David Goeddel in the Department of Molecular Biology, where he learned the emerging technologies of protein engineering and recombinant protein expression, Dr. Garcia moved to a second post-doctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute in the laboratory of Professor Ian Wilson, where he succeeded in determining the first crystal structures of the T cell receptor and then its complex with peptide-MHC. Dr. Garcia started his lab at Stanford University School of Medicine in 1999, where he also became an Investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He received his B.S. in Biochemistry from Tulane University, and his Ph.D in Biophysics from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Garcia was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2012, and the National Academy of Medicine in 2016.

Calvin Kuo, M.D., Ph.D.

Scientific Co-Founder

Calvin Kuo is the Maureen Lyles D’Ambrogio Professor of Medicine (Hematology) at Stanford University School of Medicine. His research focuses on cancer modeling in 3D organoid cultures, biology of intestinal and lung stem cell populations, and molecular regulation of angiogenesis and the blood-brain barrier. He received an A.B., Harvard College, Biochemical Sciences and his M.D./Ph.D., at Stanford University Medical School, with a focus on Cancer Biology. He conducted his residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Internal Medicine, and a Fellowship at Dana-Farber/Partners in Adult Oncology. He is an elected member of the Association of American Physicians, American Society for Clinical Investigation and AAAS.

Gerald T. Nepom, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Nepom is the Founder and emeritus Director of the Benaroya Research Institute, in Seattle WA, USA, and former Director of the Immune Tolerance Network (ITN). His primary research interests focus on characterization of the human CD4 T cell response in autoimmunity, with an emphasis on type 1 diabetes (T1D), as well as the translation of immunological intervention strategies into innovative clinical trials. His laboratory is credited with several advances in human autoimmunity, including initial descriptions of HLA class II disease associations, structure, and function, and the development of human class II tetramers for direct T cell detection and analysis. Dr. Nepom also serves as an advisor for many academic and nonprofit organizations involved in biomedical research and is past president of FOCIS, the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies. He has published over 350 scientific papers and received recognition through several awards, including the University of Washington School of Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award and the David Rumbough Award for Scientific Excellence from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Michael Rosenblum, M.D., Ph.D.

 

Michael Rosenblum is Professor of Dermatology and Vice Chair of Research at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and is formally trained as an immunologist and a board-certified dermatologist. He graduated from UCSF’s prestigious Physician-Scientist Training Program in Dermatology and is the recipient of several distinguished awards, including the NIH’s New Innovator Award and a Burroughs Wellcome Career Development Award for Medical Scientists. The central focus of Dr. Rosenblum’s research is to understand the fundamental mechanisms of how immune responses are regulated and how this knowledge can be exploited for therapeutic benefit. Recent research has examined the biology of Regulatory T cells and Effector T cells resident within skin, humanized mouse models for studying the immunology of skin, and the interaction of the skin microbiome with the immune system. He was the scientific co-founder of Delinia Bio, which was acquired by Celgene. He is also co-founder of TRex Bio and Sitryx Bio, and has authored more than 85 basic science research papers. He received his M.D./Ph.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is a member of the American Association of Immunologists, Society for Investigative Dermatology, American Academy of Dermatology and Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies.