Chief Executive Officer
Neil Littman is the Chief Executive Officer at ReIGNITE Therapeutics. Neil plays a critical role in leading the strategic direction, growth trajectory, and overall success of the company’s development programs, corporate initiatives, and commercialization efforts to bring therapies to patients with unmet medical needs.
Neil has over 20 years of experience as an investor, entrepreneur, and business development professional. Neil is the Founder and General Partner of Bioverge Ventures, an early-stage venture firm investing in companies spanning the intersection of health + tech utilizing advances in technology to modernize healthcare, from bench to bedside. Neil led the firm in building a portfolio of 38 companies, with six exits through 2024.
Previously, Neil was Vice President of Business Development at Notable Labs, a precision-oncology startup, where he led the development of global corporate partnerships through the successful completion of the company’s $40 million Series B.
Before Notable, Neil was a member of the Executive Leadership Team and Director of Business Development at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), where he helped develop the five-year strategic plan for managing and deploying CIRM’s $3 billion of capital across the organization’s discovery, translational, and clinical stage stem cell and regenerative medicines programs. While at CIRM, Neil led the Therapeutics Group responsible for managing over $500 million of CIRM investment across 50 clinical trials spanning oncology, neurodegenerative diseases, rare diseases, and other areas. Neil previously led the Infrastructure Group and was responsible for managing over $125 million of supporting infrastructure programs, including the Alpha Stem Cell Clinical Network, Stem Cell Center, and the iPSC Bank.
Prior to CIRM, Neil was with Burrill & Company, a biotechnology venture capital firm with over $1.5 billion in assets under management. Neil also worked as a healthcare investment banker at Thomas Weisel Partners and Deutsche Bank and worked on transactions totaling over $1 billion.
Neil received a Master of Science in Biotechnology from The Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelorof Arts in Molecular, Cellular and Development Biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Neil worked in a virology lab during his time at CU Boulder.
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Maruri Avidal is Chief Scientific Officer at ReIGNITE Therapeutics.
Dr. Maruri Avidal leads research of both Vaccinia and Adenovirus programs using rational design and directed evolution to develop systemically engineered viral gene therapy for specific cell and tissue targeting. She oversees research strategy, identifying therapeutic targets and technologies, while developing and guiding research design. Additionally, she manages the company's intellectual property, identifying patentable inventions and overseeing patent applications.
Dr. Maruri Avidal brings over 20 years of expertise to her work in virology, oncolytic virotherapy, viral vector technologies, cell biology, and gene therapy. She is passionate about developing new viral and cellular delivery vehicles as therapies.
During her postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Maruri Avidal made significant contributions to the pox virology field, leading to breakthroughs in understanding the origin of vaccinia virus membranes and characterizing the relevant viral proteins in the viral membrane reorganization. Her discoveries included the manipulation of host cell folding machinery by viral proteins during rotavirus morphogenesis in the endoplasmic reticulum have been widely recognized with several scientific publications and conference presentations.
Dr. Maruri Avidal is an expert in designing and implementing in vitro cell-based assays to analyze preclinical and clinical samples for studies related to pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, biodistribution, and toxicology, as well as designing in vivo studies for efficacy, biodistribution and toxicology for preclinical and translational studies from experience as Director of Research andDevelopment at SillaJen. She designed and implemented the discovery of new capsids by directed evolution for AAV during her time at 4D Molecular Therapeutics.
With over 15 patents and publications in the virology field, she co-founded IGNITE Immunotherapy, where she spearheaded all research and development activities to develop a first-in-class oncolytic vaccinia virus for systemic delivery using rational design and directed evolution. This led to the acquisition by Pfizer, subsequent IND application and clinical trials. She is the inventor of four patents from this work, covering properties from new directed evolution with a large DNA virus, safety switch to control virus replication, and potent therapeutic transgenes.
In subsequent roles at Pfizer and Mantra Bio, Dr. Maruri Avidal provided expertise on viral vectors andextracellular vesicles used in gene therapy, vaccine development, and oncolytic virotherapy to designand manage translational studies for characterization of lead assets.
Dr. Maruri Avidal obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Biotechnology Institute and her BS inBiology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She pursued her postdoctoral research inVirology and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.
Director of Virology
Mike Dermyer is Director of Virology at ReIGNITE Therapeutics with over 22 years of pharmaceutical industry experience.
Mike oversees the lab in San Diego and manages two Senior Scientists providing vast molecular virology expertise to develop a top-tier oncolytic virus immunotherapy. He also leads the design, production, and purification of high-capacity adenoviruses for gene therapies.
Mike’s early accomplishments focused on the discovery of novel small molecule antibacterials at Pfizer that inhibited new enzymes or pathways to combat the rise of antibiotic resistance. He later transitioned to Pfizer's La Jolla labs, becoming one of the initial team members of the Vaccines Research and Development group and helped start their adenovirus lab.
He pioneered a direct cloning method into chimp adenovirus, which along with the DNA components, was part of Pfizer’s vaccine-based immunotherapy regimen (VBIR). This platform launched 3 different regimens targeting prostate and other cancers toward the clinic.
Mike also established Pfizer’s research-based vaccinia production lab from scratch, along with advanced techniques to generate, purify, and QC viruses. In a partnership with Ignite Immunotherapy, the team engineered >100 viruses that contained immunological transgenes and advanced a lead virus to phase 1 clinical trials.
Mike holds a BA from Albion College.
Senior Scientific Advisor
Dr. Binder is a Senior Scientific Advisor at ReIGNITE Therapeutics.
At ReIGNITE Therapeutics, Dr. Binder leverages more than 25 years of experience providing direction in molecular virology, coupled with expertise in adenovirus and vaccinia engineering, production, characterization, and development. His contributions aid in the development of best-in-class gene therapy and intravenous oncolytic immunotherapies.
As a virologist and molecular/cellular biologist in the biopharmaceutical industry for over 22 years, Dr. Binder has experienced all stages of the drug discovery and development process, from early exploratory discovery to the clinic. He began his career at Pfizer discovering and characterizing small molecule inhibitors of viral pathogens plaguing humankind, including HIV, HCV, and rhinovirus. He developed cell-based screens to identify inhibitors of viral replication, assays to confirm mechanism of action, and unprecedented translational spectrum of activity assays to predict how well compounds would work in the clinic.
After transitioning to Pfizer Vaccines, Dr. Binder’s focus changed from fighting viruses to harnessing the power of viruses as immunotherapeutic tools to treat human diseases such as cancer. Dr. Binder led Pfizer’s discovery team to identify novel viral vector and virus-like particle antigen delivery platforms. He led efforts to design, produce, and characterize numerous adenovirus vector and nucleic acid-based cancer vaccines targeting prostate, breast, lung, and other cancers. Utilizing state-of-the-art synthetic biology and viral engineering techniques, he and his team developed the novel chimpanzee adenovirus vector system used by Pfizer in multiple clinical trials. Dr. Binder is an inventor on four cancer vaccine patent families.
When the COVID-19 pandemic arose in 2020, Dr. Binder took on additional responsibilities as the only active virologist at Pfizer. He played a critical role establishing external partnerships and infrastructure, developing scientific research strategies, screening cascades, and reagents, and serving as the lead virologist on protease inhibitor projects. As Director of Virology, Dr. Binder supported the clinical evaluation and regulatory submission of Paxlovid, the FDA-approved SARS-CoV-2 treatment that has saved countless lives worldwide.
Dr. Binder received his BS in Biochemistry and his PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology (virology) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Dr. Binder has been recognized with over two dozen awards from Pfizer, including the most prestigious Pfizer Worldwide Research, Development and Medical Achievement Award. He is a co-author on over 30 publications and presentations, as well as 7 patents.
Director of Operations
Amy Donnelly is the Director of Operations at ReIGNITE Therapeutics. She oversees resource management and support systems, contributing to strategic planning to ensure alignment and coordination of the company’s operational activities
Amy brings extensive experience in operations, project management, and compliance. She has held roles as a business analyst and project manager for large non-profit healthcare systems, managing grants, compliance programs, and patient advocacy efforts. Additionally, she has worked with the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer and other large public research institutions, supporting both private industry and academic researchers. Amy has also consulted for various biotechnology companies, including 4D Molecular Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: FDMT) and Ignite Immunotherapy.
Amy earned her BA from UC Santa Barbara and is a certified project manager with Lean Six Sigma training from UC San Diego. She also pursued nursing education after working as a clinical research associate before transitioning to the business side of medical research and development.
Her early career was in clinical research at a large-scale medical device company. She remains an activemember of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP).
Senior Scientist
Alexandra Fetsko is a Senior Scientist at ReIGNITE Therapeutics with a passion for harnessing viruses for therapeutic applications. Her expertise lies in cell and molecular biology, with over a decade of experience in the virology field. She specializes in viral engineering and reverse genetics, utilizing cutting-edge molecular cloning techniques. In her current role, she is responsible for engineering and producing high quality viral vectors, as well as their characterization through molecular, immune, and cell-based assays.
Previously, Alexandra served as a molecular virologist in the Cancer Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics department at Pfizer, where she supported the development and optimization of oncolytic viral therapies using Vaccinia and Adenoviruses. Her contributions helped advance a lead product to a Phase I clinical trial. Additionally, she played a key role in streamlining project development in mRNA-based cancer research, showcasing her interdisciplinary skillset.
In an earlier role at Arisan Therapeutics, she contributed to the preclinical development of novel broad-spectrum small-molecule antivirals for emerging hemorrhagic fever viruses, including Arena viruses and Ebola viruses. Her research spans both academia and industry, with several published contributions in Antiviral Research and the Journal of Visualized Experiments, among others.
Alexandra holds an M.S. in Microbiology from San Diego State University and a B.S. in Animal Science from the University of Delaware. As a graduate student in Dr. Roland Wolkowicz’s molecular virology laboratory, she led projects focused on cell-based assay development and high-throughput antiviral drug discovery for virulent RNA viruses, including Flaviviruses and HIV.
Senior Scientist
Darin Abbadessa is a Senior Scientist at ReIGNITE Therapeutics with a strong background in molecular biology and virology. He has deep expertise in viral engineering and characterization through cellular assays as well as the directed evolution of viral vectors.
He previously worked as a molecular virologist in the Cancer Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics department at Pfizer. There he contributed to the development of their oncolytic virus platform from discovery stage through clinical trials and worked as part of the team engineering next generation viral vectors for improved immune response against cancer cells.
With experience in the private startup pharmaceutical sector, Darin was part of the successful team at IGNITE Immunotherapy that led breakthrough discoveries in modifying the Vaccinia virus genome through directed evolution. He is also an author on a patent related to these innovative modifications, further solidifying his contributions to the advancement of viral therapeutics. Additionally, he has publications in Journal of Visualized Experiments and Biochemistry insights.
Darin holds an MS in cellular and molecular biology from San Diego State University where he studied molecular virology under Dr. Roland Wolkowicz. His graduate research focused on the development of cell-based assays to identify novel antivirals targeting the HIV envelope protein.
Co-Founderand Executive Chairman
Dr. David Kirn is the Chairman of the Board and Scientific Advisory Board Co-Chair at ReIGNITE Therapeutics. He is also the co-founder and CEO of 4D Molecular Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: FDMT). Additionally, he serves as an Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering & Molecular Biology and co-founder and Director of the Life Science Entrepreneurship Center at UC Berkeley.
At ReIGNITE Therapeutics, Dr. Kirn provides strategic leadership ensuring that the company is effectively executing its strategic objectives and is well-positioned for long-term success.
Over his 30-year career, Dr. Kirn has built and scaled five successful companies through exits (two IPOs, three acquisitions). He has led the clinical development of Phase 1-3 clinical trials with over 15 therapeutics in over 750 patients.
As a world leader in viral vector design and development, Dr. Kirn has over 100 publications in the field including Nature, Science, Nature Medicine.
At ONYX Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Kirn led the development of the first oncolytic virus ever developed in a company in the field (adenovirus ONYX-015). He then founded Jennerex Biotherapeutics (acquired by SillaJen in 2013 when its lead oncolytic virus product entered Phase 3 trials). He spearheaded the design and development of products for pharmaceutical companies including at Novartis and Pfizer. He subsequently founded IGNITE Immunotherapy, acquired in 2019 by Pfizer, then ReIGNITE Therapeutics in 2019 to optimize and manufacture the application of conventional vector systems.
Throughout his career, Dr. Kirn has been involved in numerous clinical trials evaluating oncolytic viruses and other immunotherapies for various types of cancer. His work has contributed significantly to the advancement of oncolytic virotherapy asa promising approach for cancer treatment.
Dr. Kirn received a BA in Physiology from UC Berkeley in 1985, an MD from UC San Francisco Medical School and completed internal medicine residency training at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He completed hematology-oncology and clinical research fellowships at UC San Francisco and completed a certificate of business excellence from the Haas Business School at UC Berkeley.
In 2013, he was awarded the Johnson & Johnson Entrepreneur Innovator award fromthe J&J Innovation Center.
Board Member and Special Scientific Advisor
Dr. Jansen is a Board Member and Special Scientific Advisor at ReIGNITE Therapeutics, providing strategic subject-matter expertise and consultation on scientific data and clinical development plans for the company's programs.
Dr. Jansen is a distinguished leader in vaccine research and development, renowned for her substantial contributions to the biopharmaceutical industry. Over her three-decade career, Dr. Jansen has held key leadership roles at several major pharmaceutical companies and spearheaded the development of vaccines targeting various infectious diseases.
As Senior Vice President and Head of Vaccine Research and Development at Pfizer, she led her team to develop the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, one of the first to receive emergency use authorization during the global pandemic.
Prior to her tenure at Pfizer, Dr. Jansen held senior positions at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Merck & Co., where she played a pivotal role in the creation of the Gardasil HPV vaccine (Gardasil), approved in 2006. Additionally, she oversaw the development of newer versions of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevnar).
Dr. Jansen earned her Ph.D. in microbiology, biochemistry, and genetics from Philipps University in Marburg, Germany, and completed her postdoctoral work at the Institute for Genetics and Microbiology at the University of Munich. She also completed an internship in the laboratory of David Bishop at the University of Oxford, studying the expression of insect cells using baculoviridae. At the Glaxo Institute for Molecular Biology, Dr. Jansen encouraged immunologists to create a novel receptor for immunoglobulin E.
Dr. Jansen’s work has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, highlighting her impact onpublic health and vaccine innovation. In 2022, she was awarded the prestigious Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal, Sabin’s highest scientific honor, given annually to a distinguished member of the global health community for exceptional contributions to vaccinology or a complementary field.
Dr. Jansen is affiliated with various professional organizations, demonstrating her ongoing commitment to advancing lifesaving vaccines. Pfizer's vaccine for infants and individuals over 60 is currently in late-stage testing, continuing her legacy of impactful vaccine development.
Co-Founder and Board Member
Theresa Janke is co-founder and Board member at ReIGNITE Therapeutics. She has held various leadership positions including Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Operating Officer, and currently serves as Chief of Staff at 4D Molecular Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ, FDMT). She was also a co-founder and Board member at IGNITE Immunotherapy.
Theresa is responsible for providing business development and strategic direction on viral vector based therapeutic oncology and gene therapy products, clinical operations, product portfolio management, alliance management, and CRO management.
Prior to 4DMT, Theresa worked as Senior Director of Corporate Projects & Alliance Management at SillaJen, Inc. (formerly Jennerex Biotherapeutics Inc.), a biotech company focused on engineering and developing oncolytic immunotherapeutics, and Director of Clinical Research & Development—Strategy and Alliances at Celgene Corporation. Theresa also held positions at Jennerex Biotherapeutics Inc.,where she served as Director of Clinical Operations.
Theresa holds a BS in Biopsychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Co Chair, Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Hanahan is the Co-Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board at ReIGNITE Therapeutics, where he reviews current research initiatives and provides scientific research and technology expertise while also advising on strategic direction, research priorities, and scientific opportunities that align with the organization's goals and mission.
A renowned cancer biologist, Dr. Hanahan is known for his groundbreaking contributions to understanding cancer biology, particularly in tumor development and angiogenesis. He is widely recognized for coining the term the "Hallmarks of Cancer," which outlines the key biological capabilities acquired by cancer cells during tumorigenesis. This conceptual framework has significantly influenced cancer research and therapeutic development worldwide.
Dr. Hanahan's research has also delved into the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying cancer progression, metastasis, and resistance to therapy. As a distinguished scientist, he has made significant contributions to advancing our knowledge of cancer biology and paving the way for innovative approaches to cancer treatment and prevention.
He currently directs a research group at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, focusing on genetically engineered mouse models of human cancer to understand tumor development and progression. His work aims to design targeted therapies and overcome adaptive resistance, particularly in the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. He began his career at CSHL studying mouse models of tumorigenesis, and later held positions at UCSF and EPFL's Swiss Institute forExperimental Cancer Research.
Dr. Hanahan’s research has been recognized by his election to several prestigious academies, including the US Academies of Sciences and Medicine, the AACR Academy, and the EuropeanMolecular Biology Organization. His interest in oncolytic virus research stems from his research into tumorigenesis mechanisms. He co-founded IGNITE Immunotherapy, which developed an earlier version of the armed oncolytic vaccinia virus platform.
Prior to co-founding IGNITE Immunotherapy, Dr. Hanahan collaborated with Dr. David Kirn at ONYX Pharmaceuticals on oncolytic adenovirus research.
Dr. Hanahan received a bachelor’s degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1976, and a PhD in biophysics from Harvard University in 1983, where he was awarded a prestigious fellowship by the Harvard Society of Fellows. He worked for a decade at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York first as a Harvard graduate student and then as a faculty member. Subsequently he spent twenty-one years at the University of California San Francisco before moving to EPFL in 2009. As a graduate student, Dr. Hanahan developed methodology that markedly facilitated the molecular cloning of genes in E. coli, which continues to be a cornerstone methodology in life sciences.
Dr. Hanahan has served during the past four decades on a series of advisory boards in academia and biopharma. Notably, Dr. Hanahan has been a member of the Pfizer Oncology SAB since 2008. He is a co-founder and SAB member of Opna Bio, which is developing small molecule cancer drugs, including for the RNA binding protein FMRP, which his lab discovered to be a master regulator of immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments.
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Scientific Advisory Board Member
Dr. Chiocca is a Scientific Advisory Board member at ReIGNITE Therapeutics and Professor of Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School, Neurosurgeon-in-Chief and Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery, and Co-Director of the Institute for the Neurosciences at Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital. Additionally, he serves as the Surgical Director of the Center for Neuro-oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
At ReIGNITE Therapeutics, Dr. Chiocca provides expertise in engineering novel viruses that can kill tumor cells without harming normal brain cells, leveraging his research on identifying new pharmacological and immunotherapeutic approaches for brain cancer, specifically targeting gliomas to stimulate the anti-tumor immune response and reduce tumor growth and dispersion.
Dr. Chiocca has served as Principal Investigator for five multi-institutional clinical trials of gene-viral therapies for malignant gliomas and has been a permanent member of numerous NIH study sections. He has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 1996. Dr. Chiocca has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications, including articles in Nature Medicine, Nature Biotechnology, and Molecular Cell. He also holds several patents.
Currently, he is the President of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery and an Ad-hoc Member of the Executive Council for the Society of Neurological Surgery. He is a Director-at-Large on the Board of Directors for the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and serves on the scientific advisory boards of several foundations, including The Sontag Foundation and the American Brain Tumor Association.
Dr. Chiocca graduated from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, followed by residency and board certification in Neurological Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Chiocca was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2005, is an AAAS Fellow, and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2014. From 2015-2017, he was President of the Society for Neuro-Oncology.
He has received numerous awards including The Grass Award in 2007, the Farber Award in 2008, the Bittner Award in 2013, the Joel A. Gingras Award from the American Brain Tumor Society in 2016, and the Charles B. Wilson Award from the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors in 2018.
In 2018, Dr. Chiocca was honored with the Victor Levin Award from the Society of Neuro-Oncology. He has served on multiple editorial boards and is the current Tumor Section Editor for Neurosurgery.
Scientific Advisory Board Member
Dr. Hermiston is a co-founder at ReIGNITE Therapeutics and current CEO of GLAdiator Biosciences and Coagulant Therapeutics.
After retiring from 18 years at Bayer, Dr. Hermiston co-founded ReIGNITE Therapeutics in 2019 to develop targeted, evolved, large capacity viral vectors for the development of genetic medicines and cancer therapies. His work focuses on engineering adenoviruses to selectively replicate and destroy cancer cells while sparing normal cells. He also designs concept experiments to validate, or invalidate, base principles of the platform and its potential therapeutic utility, developing and supplying the molecules necessary for testing.
Trained at the St. Louis University Institute for Molecular Virology, he led a team at Onyx to develop anarming component to the oncolytic adenovirus that became a cornerstone piece in the 1999 $155M deal with then Warner Lambert (now Pfizer). At Berlex Biosciences, he and his team developed ColoAd1 (Enadenotucirev/ColoAd1), a new oncolytic virus that formed the basis of a $936M agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb.
He later became VP of Biologics Research and Site Head of Bayer Health Care’s US Innovation Center in San Francisco where he led early research portfolio management in both Oncology and Hematology. In this role, he was responsible for developing and managing groups and teams of up to 65 scientist and research associates and over 300 scientist, lab associates, and staff with group and project budgets totaling over $100M annually.
His efforts in Hematology led to a robust pipeline of research assets with the now marketed longer acting FVIII (Damoctocog alfa pegol/ JIVI®) and he was the co-inventor on CT-001 (a highly potent, short acting FVIIa for the treatment of trauma and the basis for Coagulant Therapeutics) and the Gla-based delivery platform (the basis for GLAdiator Biosciences). He has served on the boards of several successful biotech startups including Jennerex Bio, Avalanche Biosciences, and PsiOxus Biotherapeutics..
Dr. Hermiston’s research has explored the use of adenovirus vectors for gene delivery in various gene therapy applications through the discovery and development of Enandenotucirev/ColoAd1.
Dr. Hermiston's work has advanced our understanding of adenovirus biology and its potential for therapeutic applications in cancer in a variety of tissue types. He holds over 25 issued patents with a number underway and in the final stages of submission in the areas of therapeutics to diagnostics to targets ranging from cancer and cancer stem cells to virally infected cells to extracellular vesicles and acute bleeding and sepsis.
Dr. Hermiston holds a PhD in medical microbiology from the University of Iowa and conducted his post-doctoral work at St. Louis University, Institute for Molecular Virology.
Dr. Hermiston has served on several boards including Bay Bio Association, Biotech Partners, CaliforniaLife Sciences Association, and currently serves on the Board of Jax Hope, and is an active member of the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Jooss is a recognized expert in cancer immunotherapy, vaccine development and gene therapy. Over her > 25-year career she spearheaded many research programs and led them into clinical development, assessing immuno-therapeutic drugs and therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines in over 800 patients.
As a leader in cancer immunotherapy and gene therapy, Dr. Jooss has 70 publications in journals including Nature Biotechnology, Nature Medicine and Lancet Oncology.
Dr. Jooss most recently served as Head of Research & Development of Gritstone bio, a company focusing on the development of individualized and shared therapeutic neoantigen-specific cancer vaccines and second generation COVID vaccines as well as therapeutic HIV vaccines. Dr. Jooss built Gritstone bio as a member of the executive leadership team, taking it public in 2018. Dr. Jooss joined Gritstone from Pfizer, where she served as head of Cancer Immunotherapeutics within the Vaccine Immunotherapeutics department. While at Pfizer, she built and led immunooncology teams, was a member of the Vaccine Immunotherapeutics leadership team and served as the head of the Immunopharmacology team. Prior to joining Pfizer, Dr. Jooss served as VicePresident of Research at Cell Genesys, Inc. where she oversaw all research programs related to the company’s cancer vaccine and oncolytic virotherapy programs. Dr. Jooss joined Cell Genesys from Genethon/Paris, a foundation focusing on development of gene therapies for the treatment of muscular dystrophies, where her lab studied immune responses to viral vectors to achieve long-term gene transfer.
Dr. Jooss received her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Marburg in Germany and performed postgraduate work in gene therapy and immunology at the University ofPennsylvania. She is on the editorial board of Molecular Therapy and Journal of Gene Medicine, is a member of the immunology and educational committee for the American Society of GeneTherapy, the Industry Task Force of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) as well asa member of the Board of Directors at Fate Therapeutics.
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Roybal is the Director of the UCSF Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and a Professor in the Department of Immunology at the UCSF. The Roybal Lab harnesses synthetic biology and immunology to increase the therapeutic potential of engineered immune cells. He was awarded the Sartorius and Science Magazine Prize forRegenerative Medicine and Cell Therapy, the NIH New Innovator Award, and the CRI STAR Award. His work was foundational to the next-generation immune cell therapy company, Cell Design Labs, where he was a founding scientist (acquired by Gilead). He has also co-founded cell therapy companies Arsenal Bio (now clinical stage), Dispatch Biotherapeutics, and Moonlight Bio focused on the treatment of solid tumors.
Scientific Advisory Board Member
Dr. Mitchell serves on the Scientific Advisory Board at ReIGNITE Therapeutics and is the Senior Director of Translational Pharmacology at Shoreline Biosciences where she leads the Translational Research Team, focusing on preclinical modeling and innovative pharmacodynamic assessments that translate to immune-based biomarker strategies in the clinic.
As Scientific Advisory Board member at ReIGNITE Therapeutics, Dr. Mitchell designs preclinical studies and advises on data packages to transition discovery efforts towards clinical milestones.
Dr. Mitchell is an accomplished drug hunter and expert in immunology, pharmacology and immunooncology, boasting over a decade of experience in leading Translational Research Teams in the private sector. Her work spans various areas, including developing molecules to deplete immunosuppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment, enhancing properties of immune cell therapies for cancer, and optimizing virotherapies for delivery and treatment of solid tumors.
She specializes in leading drug discovery efforts for programs entering phase I clinical trials, namely identifying critical paths for each program and executing on those critical studies to define no/go decisions for stage gate transitions. During her tenure as Director of Immunopharmacology at Pfizer, Leah led a team of scientists in the development of preclinical cancer models and biomarker design and in that time, she transitioned several programs to Phase I oncology trials.
At Tocagen, Dr. Mitchell directed preclinical studies to assess immune mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics, and biocompatibility of viral based gene therapy products. This included the development of a replication-competent virus expressing a prodrug-activating transgene, which was utilized in treating patients with advanced glioblastoma (GBM) through phase 2/3 readout.
During her time at Novartis, Dr. Mitchell focused on high-throughput screens for identifying small molecules and biologics that induced inflammatory phenotypes in T cells, aiming to uncover novel targets for immune-oncology drugs. Her diverse experience encompasses work on cancer vaccines, immunomodulatory compounds and viruses, and cell therapies, resulting in the generation of multiple patents.
Dr. Mitchell obtained her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences, specializing in Immunotoxicology, from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. Before this, she earned her undergraduate degree, a BS in Biochemistry, from the same institution. Following her doctoral studies, she pursued a post-doctoral fellowship at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, focusing on Immuno-Oncology research.
Dr. Mitchell is a member of the Society of Immunotherapy for Cancer (SITC) and the Cancer Targetsand Therapeutics Society.
Scientific Board Advisor
Dr. Shivdasani serves as a Scientific Board Advisor at ReIGNITE Therapeutics and is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a Professor of Medical Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and also serves as the Deputy Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.
Dr. Shivdasani provides expert consultation and scientific expertise to the team at ReIGNITE Therapeutics and rigorously assesses research proposals, projects, and initiatives for their scientific validity, feasibility, and potential impact. Additionally, Dr. Shivdasani provides valuable insights into emerging trends, technologies, and research areas that align with organizational goals and objectives.
He is a distinguished scientist with over three decades of experience in gastrointestinal biology and cancer research with pioneering work focusing on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer.
Through extensive research, Dr. Shivdasani has discovered the genetic and epigenetic factors that propel various diseases, providing insights into normal development and disease progression. His prolific publication record includes over 150 papers in esteemed scientific journals, earning him widespread acclaim for his contributions to the field.
Dr. Shivdasani's collaborative efforts with physician-scientists and bench scientists enrich his scientific and medical insights, rendering him an invaluable contributor to ReIGNITE's R&D efforts.
Dr. Shivdasani attained his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Mumbai before pursuing advanced studies. He earned his Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States.
Dr. Shivdasani has been a member of Harvard’s Gastrointestinal Malignancies program for over 20years.
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Borad serves as a Scientific Board Advisor at ReIGNITE Therapeutics and is a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. As a medical oncologist at the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, he specializes in gastrointestinal cancers, including liver and bile duct cancers. Additionally, he holds the role of Director at Large for the Arizona Clinical Oncology Society (TACOS).
Dr. Borad provides expert consultation and scientific guidance to the ReIGNITE Therapeutics team, particularly on clinical applications. He also offers valuable insights into emerging trends, technologies, and research areas that support the organization’s goals and objectives.
Dr. Borad has extensive experience in clinical trials and translational research, particularly in developing novel drug therapies. Before joining Mayo Clinic in 2011, he was a Drug Development Scholar and Genomics Medicine Scholar at the Translational Genomic Research Institute (TGen) for three years, where he applied genomic analysis and bioinformatics to expedite the development of new diagnostics and treatments.
His areas of expertise include Phase I drug development, genomic and novel clinical trial designs, and areas of cancer treatment include pancreatic cancer, biliary cancer (cholangio-carcinoma), liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma), and rare cancers, including adrenocortical cancer, metastatic basal cellcarcinoma, pheochromocytoma, and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).
Dr. Borad earned a BS in Biomedical Engineering (summa cum laude) from Boston University and an MD from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He completed his medical oncology fellowship at Tulane University School of Medicine and his internal medicine residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
He received the New Innovator Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and was honored asa Paul Calabresi Scholar in Clinical-Translational Research at Mayo Clinic
Dr. Borad is active in various groups and workshop panels including the New Applications of SyntheticBiology to Cancer Workshop (NIH) and Somatic Genomic Panel Testing in Metastatic Disease Guideline Panel (American Society of Clinical Oncology). He served as co-leader in the Cholangio-carcinoma Eligibility Criteria Consistency Initiative in the Office of Clinical Excellence (OCE) at the FDA, and Chair of the International Cholangio-carcinoma Research Network (ICRN).
Dr. Borad is a member of the Hepatobiliary Cancer Panel at the National Cancer Center Network (NCCN), Research Operations Management Team (ROMT) and Somatic Genomic Panel Testing in Metastatic Disease Guideline Panel at the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
He is a standing member of Drug Discovery and Molecular Pharmacology Study Section at National Institutes of Health and Gene Therapy Task Force (Enterprise Research Committee). He is a grant reviewer for the Vidi Talent Program in the Netherlands, and research proposal reviewer for St. Baldrick's Osteosarcoma Research Program and the Cholangio-carcinoma Research Fellowship Program at the Cholangio-carcinoma Foundation.
Who we are
ReIGNITE was formed in 2019 to develop oncolytic immunotherapies and gene therapies based on the team's 30+ years of experience.
The ReIGNITE team previously worked together at Pfizer/IGNITE Immunotherapy (Pfizer acquired IGNITE in 2019) developing an armed vaccinia virus construct, PF-07263689.
In 2022, Pfizer initiated a Phase I dose-escalation study for the intravenous delivery of PF-07263689 in patients with selected locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors (NCT05061537), which demonstrated excellent safety at the midpoint of the study before being halted by Pfizer due to a strategic reprioritization of its portfolio.
ReIGNITE has engineered a next generation construct, RIG-1250, which is advancing toward the clinic.
Our team
ReIGNITE’s leadership team is comprised of experienced biotech entrepreneurs and a founding scientific team with extensive experience in the development and design of oncolytic immunotherapies and gene therapies.
Chief Executive Officer
Co-Founder, Chief Scientific Officer
Director of Virology
Senior Scientific Advisor
Director of Operations
Senior Scientist
Senior Scientist
Co-Founder, Executive Chairman,
Co-Chair of Scientific Advisory Board
Board Member and Special Scientific Advisor
Co-Founder, Board Member
Co-Chair of Scientific Advisory Board
Scientific Advisory Board
Co-founder,
Scientific Advisory Board
Scientific Advisory Board
Scientific Advisory Board
Scientific Advisory Board
Scientific Advisory Board
Scientific Advisory Board
We are committed to transforming patients’ lives through breakthrough science and innovation.
Let’s evolve genetic therapy together.
