Ernest Mario, PhD  |  Chairman

In Memoriam (June 12, 1938 - October 20, 2024)

Dr. Mario joined our board of directors as Chairman in August 2015. He is Chairman of Capnia, Inc. and Chimerix Inc., and a Venture Partner with Pappas Ventures. Previously, Dr. Mario served as Chairman and CEO of Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was acquired by GSK in 2008. Before Reliant he was Chairman and CEO of ALZA Corporation, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2001. Previously he served as Deputy Chairman of Glaxo Holdings plc. He is Chairman of the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education, a Director of the Gladstone Foundation, and past Chairman of the Duke University Health System. Dr. Mario earned his MS and Ph.D. in physical sciences at the University of Rhode Island and a B.S. in pharmacy at Rutgers. He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Rhode Island and Rutgers University. In 2007 he was awarded the Remington Medal by the American Pharmacists’ Association, pharmacy’s highest honor.

Patrick Enright  |  Managing Director, Longitude Capital

Mr. Enright is a Managing Director and Founder of Longitude Capital. Prior to Longitude Capital, Mr. Enright was a Managing Director of Pequot Ventures where he co-led the life sciences investment practice. Prior to Pequot, he was a Managing Member of the Delta Opportunity Fund at Diaz & Altschul Capital Management. Mr. Enright began his investment career at PaineWebber Development Corporation. Mr. Enright also has significant life sciences operations experience including senior executive positions at Valentis (VLTS), Boehringer Mannheim (acquired by Roche) and Sandoz (now known as Novartis). Mr. Enright currently serves on the boards of Aimmune (AIMT), Aptinyx, CardioDx, Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ), Orbus Therapeutics and SutroVax. Selected prior board memberships include Codexis (CDXS), Corcept Therapeutics (CORT), Esperion Therapeutics (ESPR), Horizon Pharmaceuticals (HZNP), InfaCare Pharmaceuticals, MAP Pharmaceuticals (MAPP, acquired by Allergan), Prestwick Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Lundbeck), Sequenom (SQNM, acquired by LabCorp) and Threshold Pharmaceuticals (THLD). Mr. Enright holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University.

Alex Zisson  |  Managing Director, H.I.G. BioHealth Partners

Mr. Zisson has served as a member of our Board of Directors since May 2021. He is a Managing Director at H.I.G. BioHealth Partners. He also currently serves on the board of directors for Clarus Therapeutics, Leiters, Neurana Pharma, Taconic Biosciences, and BioVectra, and led the firm’s royalty investment in Nevakar. Prior to H.I.G., Alex spent 13 years making similar investments at Thomas, McNerney & Partners. Prior to Thomas, McNerney, Alex spent 11 years in the research department at Hambrecht & Quist (and its successor firms Chase H&Q and JPMorgan). Alex is the co-chair of the Business Advisory Council of the Children’s Tumor Foundation, on the advisory board for Brown University’s medical school, and is on the Life Sciences Council for Springboard Enterprises, a group that assists women in entrepreneurial roles. He is also a board member for the Greenwich Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He graduated magna cum laude from Brown University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Terry Gould  |  Partner & Head of Venture/Growth Equity Investments, Adams Street Partners

Mr. Gould has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2015. He is a Partner and Head of Venture/Growth Equity Investments. He invests in venture and growth-oriented companies with a focus on the healthcare space. Terry sits on the Boards of Directors of OncoMed (NADSAQ: OMED), Naurex Pharmaceuticals, Corvus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRBP) and LifeBond. He is a former board member at CombiChem, INC Research, Incline Therapeutics (bought by the Medicines Company) and Proteus Digital Health. Terry is also a member of the Adams Street Executive and Direct Investment Committees

Kurt von Emster | CFA Managing Partner Menlo Park, Abingworth

Mr. von Emster has served as a member of our Board of Directors since July 2020. Kurt joined Abingworth in January 2015 bringing over 25 years of experience in life science investment. He began his career as a biotechnology and healthcare analyst in 1990, and then was promoted to Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Franklin Templeton. Kurt then became a General Partner at MPM Capital in 2000. In 2009, he co-founded venBio, a US healthcare investment firm and most recently was a Partner in the San Francisco office. He holds board positions at CymaBay, Jasper Therapeutics, Orbus Therapeutics, SFJ Pharmaceuticals, Tizona Therapeutics, Trishula Therapeutics, Vaxcyte and Vera Therapeutics.  He was formerly on boards at Aurinia, CRISPR Therapeutics, Cytos, Kesios, Facet and Somaxon. Kurt holds a Bachelor of Science in Business and Economics and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Clinical Advisor

Victor A. Levin, MD

Dr. Levin received his M.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed his residency in neurology and NINDS fellowship programs at Massachusetts General Hospital. Prior to residency, he was Staff Associate in the Experimental Therapeutics Branch at the NCI. A world-renown expert in brain tumor research and treatment, he is currently Emeritus Professor of Neuro-Oncology at The UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and a past Chairman of the Department of Neuro-Oncology and Director of the Multidisciplinary Brain Tumor Center. He is also a Clinical Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, UCSF Medical School. Dr. Levin has authored more than 380 publications including the book, Cancer in the Nervous System, in his 50-year research career.

Prior to 1988, Dr. Levin was a professor at UCSF in the Departments of Neurosurgery and Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Chief of the Neuro-Oncology Service of the Brain Tumor Research Center. He is also the founder and first president (1995-97) of the Society for Neuro-Oncology.

Dr. Levin is widely respected for pharmacokinetics studies of anticancer drugs in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid, experimental and clinical studies of chemotherapy during radiation therapy, chemotherapy regimens for the treatment of gliomas, and studies of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for childhood medulloblastoma and ependymoma. He has had developed combination chemotherapy and chemoradiation treatments that reflected translation from laboratory to clinic that were successful in clinical trials and investigation. He also directed the first National Cooperative Drug Discovery Group program to develop inhibitors of the protein tyrosine kinase domain of c-Src between 1983 and 2000.