Team
CEO, CO-FOUNDER, & BOARD MEMBER
Mr. Alleruzzo, a co-founder of Immunophotonics, is a BioEngineer with an MBA. His background includes basic research experience before transitioning into business roles in the healthcare industry. Additional board service roles include the NIH Midwest Biomedical Accelerator Consortium, Missouri Biotechnology Association and American Cancer Society. 10+ years life sciences industry experience.
CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER, PRESIDENT, CO-FOUNDER, & BOARD MEMBER
Dr. Hode is a co-founder of Immunophotonics and has 30 years’ experience in life science, both in industry and academia. He received his PhD from Stockholm University, Sweden, focusing on analytical development, did a post-doc in the USA, and subsequently returned to industry with Immunophotonics.
CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER
Dr. Baskin-Bey is an international oncology biopharmaceutical veteran with more than 20-years’ experience in academia and industry. Dr. Baskin-Bey received a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Hunter College, NY, NY, and a medical degree from Mount Sinai/NYU School of Medicine, NY, NY.
CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER
Dr. Anderson, Ph.D. (Immunology and Medical Microbiology) has deep expertise in target-based drug discovery and development and personalized molecular diagnostics in inflammation and oncology. He built and managed innovative drug discovery and development companies acquired by Celgene Corporation, Cypress Bioscience, Roche, and Nalo Therapeutics (Samsara BioCapital).
GENERAL COUNSEL & SVP OF OPERATIONSMr. Hurst joined Immunophotonics in 2019 after working in private practice, where he provided outside general counsel services to numerous startups and small businesses. At Immunophotonics, he uses his dual background as a J.D./M.B.A. to oversee the company’s legal matters, operations management, and IP portfolio.
VP OF REGULATORY & CLINICAL AFFAIRS
Dr. Beatty holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry/ Biochemistry from the University of Missouri - Kansas City. She has nearly 25 years of experience in the formulation and execution of scientific and regulatory strategies for drug, biologic, and device development programs. Dr. Beatty has extensive experience in leading development teams from discovery to post-approval.
SVP OF SCIENCE AND RESEARCH
Dr. Lam received his Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from John Hopkins University and his Ph.D. in Immunology from Washington University. He also acquired a master’s degree in Biotechnology Enterprise and Entrepreneurship from Johns Hopkins University. His primary role at Immunophotonics is to oversee the research and development of the company’s assets..
EXECUTIVE VP OF CMC
Dr. Raker has over 30 publications and patents and holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Utica College of Syracuse University and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Raker joined Immunophotonics in 2014 and oversees all CMC operations for the company.
SVP Corporate DevelopmentDr. Robert Arch, Ph.D. (Cancer immunology) has over 30 years of academic and industry experience with deep expertise of drug development in oncology, immunologic disorders, and chronic liver diseases in large pharma and small biotech companies. His expertise includes directing R&D, managing global operations, and serving as CEO of a Nasdaq-listed company.
VP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
MANAGING DIRECTOR - IPS BIOPHARMA AG (Swiss Subsidiary)
Dr. Visarius is the Vice President of Business Development at Immunophotonics and Managing Director of the Swiss subsidiary IPS Biopharma AG. She joined the company in 2015 after 8 years as an entrepreneur where she worked with global leaders in health care as well as start-ups to facilitate market access of innovative medical technologies.
DIRECTOR OF CLINICAL OPERATIONS
Ms. Porterfield is a highly accomplished professional with a strong background in the biotech field. With a biochemistry degree from Missouri University of Science and Technology and an MBA and over 20 years’ experience managing clinical trials, she brings a unique blend of scientific expertise and business acumen to her role.
Board of Directors
CHAIRMAN
Dr. Sandage has over 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry in drug development and senior management and currently Managing Director of the Riney Family Foundation and General Partner in Cultivation Capital Life Sciences Fund II.
DIRECTOR
Dr. Knowles has a distinguished career in the pharmaceutical industry as well as academia. He was the founding Chairman of the Board and central to the establishment of the Innovative Medicines Initiative.
Director
Ms. Hess has over 25 years of Big 4 experience supporting U.S. biotech companies expanding their global footprint, particularly within the transatlantic business corridor. Ms. Hess is Vice Chair of the Board of Vontobel Swiss Financial Advisers, a board member of Companion Spine LLC, Chair of the Boardroom in Switzerland and was formerly on the Executive Committee and Board of Deloitte Switzerland.
DIRECTOR
Mr. Zubizarreta served as Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Hyland Software Inc. He has a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Case Western Reserve University. Mr. Zubizarreta is a recognized authority in ECM and has been a speaker or panel member at many different annual conferences for the last decade.
INVENTOR
Dr. Chen is a co-inventor of inCVAX (IP-001) and a co-founder of Immunophotonics, Inc. His research focuses on laser medicine, with a special emphasis on ablation-based immunotherapy for metastatic cancers.
Advisory Board
CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Von Hoff has conducted clinical trials on more than 200 antineoplastic and biologic agents. He currently serves as Distinguished Professor and Executive Vice President of the Translational Genomics Research Institute.
CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Levenson is currently a Professor at the Pathology Department at UC Davis. He received his undergraduate degree at Harvard College, his medical degree at the University of Michigan and his pathology training at Washington University, St. Louis.
CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Naylor received his medical degree from Texas Tech University School of Medicine and his specialty certificate in internal medicine from the University of Alabama. He completed his scientific fellowship in tumor biology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
BUSINESS ADVISOR
Mr. Stark has over 25 years’ experience in high-level positions within the medical device sector, with a focus on ablation devices. He currently serves as a board member and company president of Sanarus Technologies, Inc.
CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT - INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY
Dr. Hultsch is an interventional radiologist in practice for 16 years at Scottsdale Medical Imaging, Ltd., in Scottsdale, Arizona. His particular area of interest is interventional oncology with procedures including percutaneous ablation, chemoembolization, and radioembolization.
CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Martin has completed over 15 prospective clinical trials and was principal investigator of 1 Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE), 2 Investigation New Drugs (IND), and 3 Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) trials.
CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Knüsel serves as a consultant to Immunophotonics in the field of Interventional Radiology. He is a Managing Doctor of Interventional Radiology at Kantonsspital Graubündenin Chur. Dr. Knüsel has 20+ years’ experience in Interventional Radiology and expertise in clinical research in Oncology.
CMC DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Barnes completed his B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemistry at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Barnes has expertise in biopolymers and polymer-based cancer therapies, and more broadly, polymer synthesis and characterization.
BUSINESS ADVISOR
Dr. Smoller earned a doctorate degree in Molecular Biology and a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Emory University in Atlanta. He is a General Partner at Cultivation Capital and previously served as the Chief Scientific Officer of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation.
Dr. Nordquist received his bachelor’s degree in Biology and Psychology from Oklahoma City University. After graduation, he began working in the Dermatology Department at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC), where he received a Ph.D. in Pathology. While in graduate school at OUHSC, he studied the skin using the Electron Microscope, which at the time was revolutionary in science and medicine. He created the Society for E.M. In addition, he became a Member of the Cancer Section at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation where he studied the biology of breast cancer and leukemia in children. He then continued his research as a Professor of Anatomy at OUHSC and became Director of Research at the Dean A McGee Eye Institute where he continued his Electron Microscopy studies.
Dr. Nordquist was one of the co-founders of Immunophotonics and co-inventor of its lead asset, IP-001. Once of his greatest achievements was discovering that tumor cells produce proteins that mimic blood group antigens which are utilized as a tumor escape mechanism. This was a significant contribution to today’s understanding of the immune-editing mechanism of cancer cells. He expanded his research into laser applications in medicine, eventually focusing, his group of collaborators on optimizing thermal ablation techniques. This research had a tremendous impact in discovering that thermal ablation combined with a novel pharmaceutical agent could achieve systemic antitumor immunity in animals. His many years of work culminated in myriad patents and publications in scientific journals, including the prestigious journal Science. All who knew him felt his warm and caring personality. Dr. Nordquist worked closely with the Immunophotonics team, and his memory will live on as we continue the development of IP-001.
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