Board of Directors

Dr. Alexander has been involved in the formation and leadership of numerous biotechnology companies. Dr. Alexander was CEO of ZS Pharma where he led the initial public offering and sale of ZS Pharma to AstraZeneca. Prior to ZS Pharma, Dr. Alexander was a Director at Alta Partners, a venture capital firm, and was also Executive Chairman and interim CEO of SARcode Bioscience. During his time at Alta Partners, he led investments in SARcode Bioscience (acquired by Shire), Lumena Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Shire), ZS Pharma (acquired by AstraZeneca), and Allakos. Prior to Alta Partners, Robert was a Principal in MPM Capital’s BioEquities Fund. Dr. Alexander joined MPM from Genentech, where he worked in the Business Development group.

Dr. Alexander holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor Science in Zoology from Miami University of Ohio.

Robert Andreatta has served as a member of our Board of Directors since June 2018, and has more than three decades of corporate finance and accounting experience. Mr. Andreatta has served as Vice President, Controller at Google since March 2016. Prior to Google, Mr. Andreatta was the Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer at Genentech from 2008 to 2016. Andreatta joined Genentech in 2003 as Director, Collaborations Finance, and has held positions of increasing responsibility including Director, Corporate Accounting and Reporting, Senior Director, Corporate Finance and Assistant Controller, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer. Prior to joining Genentech, Mr. Andreatta held various officer positions at HopeLink Corporation, a healthcare information technology company, and was a member of the Board of Directors of HopeLink. Prior to joining HopeLink, Mr. Andreatta was an audit partner with KPMG. Mr. Andreatta earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Santa Clara University.

Dr. Graham was the Chief Medical Officer of Tiziana Life Sciences Limited and currently serves on the board of directors of Aslan Pharmaceuticals Limited, Pharmaxis Limited and Zura Bio Limited. Among other experiences, Dr. Graham was the Vice President of Strategic Program Direction, Immunology and Inflammation at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and he received his M.D. from the University of Adelaide.

Steven James has over 35 years of biopharmaceutical experience and has been involved in building and leading numerous successful companies and the discovery and development of important approved drug products. Currently, Mr. James was most recently president and Chief Executive Officer and director of Pionyr Immunotherapeutics until it was acquired by Ikena Oncology. Previously, he was president and Chief Executive Officer of Labrys Biologics until it was acquired by Teva Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Labrys, Mr. James was president and Chief Executive Officer of KAI Pharmaceuticals which was acquired by Amgen. He has held leadership positions at Exelixis, Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, and began his career at Eli Lilly. He holds a Masters in Management from the Kellogg School of Northwestern University and an undergraduate degree in neuroscience from Brown University. Mr. James is currently a director of Ventus Therapeutics and Lyterian Therapeutics. He was formerly a director of Ocera Inc. (acquired by Mallinkrodt), Cascadian Therapeutics (acquired by Seattle Genetics), Antiva Biosciences, and Soteria Therapeutics.

Dr. Ladd has served as a member of our Board of Directors since July 2022 and has spent three decades practicing orthopaedic surgery at Stanford University. She currently serves as the Elsbach-Richards Professor of Surgery, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery as well as Professor of Medicine (Immunology & Rheumatology), by courtesy, at the Stanford Universal Medical Center. Dr. Ladd is also a member of the board of directors for Intuitive Surgical, Inc. and the Perry Initiative. Previously, she served as the chair of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Board of Specialties Society and is a past member of the AAOS board of directors.

Dr. Ladd received her M.D. from SUNY Upstate Medical University, completed her Orthopaedic Residency at the University of Rochester and completed the Harvard Combined Hand Surgery Fellowship. Prior to joining the Stanford University faculty, Dr. Ladd was a fellow at L’Institut de la Main in Paris, France. She earned her A.B. in History from Dartmouth College.

Dr. Thomas is a Venture Partner with Samsara BioCapital and currently serves on the board of directors of Chinook Therapeutics, Inc. and Ventus Therapeutics, Inc. Among other experiences, Dr. Thomas was the Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer at Equillium, Inc. as well as the Chief Medical Officer at Principia Biopharma, Inc. and she received her M.D. from Cornell University.

Paul Walker has more than 20 years of life sciences investing experience. Mr. Walker has been a Partner at New Enterprise Associates, an investment firm focused on venture capital and growth equity investments, since 2008. He focuses on later-stage biotechnology and life sciences investments. In 2001, Mr. Walker joined MPM Capital and was a General Partner with the MPM BioEquities Fund, where he specialized in public, PIPE and mezzanine-stage life sciences investing. Previously, he was a portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Investments. Mr. Walker received a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of California at San Diego, and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.