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MICHAEL P. ROSS, PhD, CFA
Board Member
Dr Ross is Chief Investment Officer of Joseph Ventures LLC, a life science venture fund. He has been Vice President at Bank of America and Lehman Brothers and senior advisory analyst to a top-ranked hedge fund. Dr Ross is first to invent the reverse convertible bond and co-inventor of the soft barrier option and obtained a PhD in financial economics from UC Berkeley.
Bia Goncalves, Ph.D. is Director of Scientific Communications at TauC3 Biologics. Dr. Goncalves joined TauC3 Biologics in 2023, bringing a strong track record of research publications and communications and nearly two decades of experience leading R&D programs for CNS disorders. Dr. Goncalves has spent over a decade at the Neuroscience Drug Discovery Unit at King’s College London, where she oversaw the development of small molecules for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, bringing a drug and biomarker development program to Phase 2a clinical stage and another through to IND enabling studies from which a spin-out company was formed. Dr. Goncalves most recently served as R&D leader at Pangea Botanica, developing drugs for neurological disorders. Preceding her career in drug development, Dr. Goncalves completed her PhD. in neuroscience at King’s College London where she also undertook an internship in Business Enterprises, and her MSc in Clinical Biochemistry from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
SCOTT POLLACK, PhD
Dr. Pollack is a leader in integrated drug discovery and platform development with extensive industry experience in neuroscience and neurodegeneration. Previously, Dr. Pollack held leadership roles of increasing seniority at the Merck Sharp & Dohme Neuroscience Research Centre, Charles River, Sygnature Discovery and WaveBreak (formerly Wren) Therapeutics. Dr. Pollack received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in chemistry from Harvard University and a PhD in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Pollack is currently based in the UK.
Peter McGowan brings 30 years of international experience in both public and private companies including as CFO of several emerging biotechnology companies, helping them grow and optimize their performance. Peter specializes in ensuring effective finance and administrative functions, raising venture capital and business development. He previously held senior global finance leadership positions at Mundipharma and PPD, a global clinical contract research organization. Peter is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
SHAFIQUE VIRANI, MD
Director
Dr. Virani was instrumental in building an industry leading portfolio in neuroscience, ophthalmology and rare diseases at Roche where he held various positions of increasing seniority globally culminating as Global Head of Business Development, Licensing and M&A for neuroscience, ophthalmology and rare diseases. Dr. Virani subsequently served as CEO-in-Residence at BridgeBio Pharma and is currently Chief Business Officer at Recursion. He trained as a neurosurgeon in Cambridge UK and Boston.
PARAG SAXENA
Director
Mr. Saxena Managing Partner and CEO of Vedanta Capital and New Silk Route Partners. Previously, he was CEO of INVESCO Private Capital where he personally led more than 90 investments including in Alkermes, Celgene and Genomic Health. Mr. Saxena has provided recommendations on the landscape and regulatory environment for small businesses and venture capital to representatives of the US Congress.
JOHN S. GOGOL
Director
For more than 20 years, Mr. Gogol has assisted individual and institutional clients with identifying business opportunities for investment, merger and acquisition, especially within the pharmaceutical and financial sectors. He is a current Board member of Landmark Fiduciaire (Suisse) SA, and previously served as a director of Antares Pharma Inc.
Richard A. Margolin, MD
Dr. Margolin is a physician-scientist trained in psychiatry and nuclear medicine with extensive academic and pharmaceutical industry experience. He has held positions at Pfizer, CereSpir, Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy, Schering-Plough/Merck, and i3 Research. Prior to working in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Margolin built and directed the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University and later led the University of Southern California’s Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Division. He received an AB degree from Harvard College magna cum laude and an MD degree from the University of California, Irvine. He has authored or co-authored 60 scientific publications.
DANIEL G. CHAIN, PhD
Dr. Chain is a seasoned biotechnology executive, innovator and scientist entrepreneur who has established and led several biotechnology companies focused on neurodegeneration. He is an inventor of numerous patents and was a pioneer in AD immunotherapy research, initially focused on beta-amyloid lowering strategies. His technology was licensed to Elan/Wyeth and Pfizer. He obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from the Weizmann Institute of Sciences in Israel and was a Howard Hughes post-doctoral research fellow at the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at Columbia University in New York.
