Our Leadership Team

Our team brings expertise in ophthalmologic drug development and commercialization, with more than 100 years of collective experience in the field.

Executive Team

Ben McGraw, III, PharmD

Executive Chairman of the Board

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Dr. McGraw is Chairman and CEO of TheraVida, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, as well as Executive Chairman of Auration Biotech, Inc., a private biotechnology company focused on using growth factors for tissue regeneration. He is the lead independent director for the board of Aerie Pharmaceuticals, a public ophthalmology company, and active in the SPARK program at Stanford University. Previously, Dr. McGraw was on the board of Ista Pharmaceuticals, a public ophthalmology company; Chairman and CEO of Valentis, Inc.; Corporate Vice President, Corporate Development at Allergan, Inc.; and Vice President, Development at Marion Laboratories, Inc. and Marion Merrell Dow, Inc. (now Sanofi US). Dr. McGraw received his B.S. and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where he also completed a clinical practice residency.

David Eveleth, PhD

Chief Executive Officer

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Dr. Eveleth has had a nearly 30-year career in leadership positions at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, with a focus on ophthalmology and neuroscience. His experience includes roles in senior management, R&D, business development, and portfolio and decision analysis. David led the Ophthalmology Medicines Development Group at Pfizer as vice president, a franchise that achieved peak revenue of $1.8 billion. He has been involved in or led seven pharmaceutical INDs, the approval of several new drugs, and the approval of two medical devices. Prior to joining Trefoil, David served as a consultant to numerous biotechnology companies as well as an advisor to venture capital groups. David received his PhD in Biology from the University of California, Irvine and was a Bank of America/Giannini Foundation fellow prior to joining industry.

Schalon Newton, DBA

Chief Business Officer

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Dr. Newton has more than 30 years of experience in business development, marketing, and strategy in the ophthalmic pharmaceutical and medical device sector. He has served as Vice President, Strategic Marketing & Business Development at Santen Inc., the market-leading Japanese ophthalmic company, where he was responsible for developing a re-entry strategy for the U.S. market. Dr. Newton has also held senior management roles in finance, strategy, sales and marketing and business development at Allergan Pharmaceuticals in the U.S., Europe and Japan, where he was the president of the Japanese subsidiary. Prior to joining Trefoil, he served as an independent advisor on strategic initiatives to a number of early stage ophthalmic biopharma and medical device companies. Schalon holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge, an M.B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, and a doctorate in management from Case Western Reserve University.  

Thomas M. Tremblay, RN BSN

Vice President, Clinical Development

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Thomas brings to Trefoil more than 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical development across a variety of therapeutic areas. He has served at a wide range of primarily small and mid-size companies in senior clinical operations roles during his career, including, Apexigen, KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, and most recently at Hallux Inc. Earlier in his career, he served at Genentech and Titan Pharmaceuticals. Thomas is also currently an adjunct faculty member at San Francisco State University’s College of Extended Learning, Clinical Trials Design and Management Certificate Program, where he teaches classes in Clinical Trials Monitoring, GCP Compliance Audits and FDA Inspections. Thomas holds a B.S. degree in nursing from Chamberlain College of Nursing.

Mark Packer MD FACS CPI

Chief Medical Officer

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Dr. Packer is recognized as a global leader in ophthalmology. He is the author of research establishing innovative techniques and groundbreaking technologies, and is widely respected for his medical, clinical, and regulatory expertise in ophthalmic devices and pharmaceuticals. He has served as Principal Investigator or Medical Monitor in over eighty-five clinical trials. Dr. Packer received his medical degree from the University of California, Davis and trained in ophthalmology at Boston University. After more than twenty years in private practice he is now a consultant to industry dedicated to improving care and enhancing outcomes through innovation. His goal remains increased safety and optimal results for all patients. Dr. Packer was elected to membership in the prestigious International Intraocular Implant Club in 2005 and has served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Refractive Surgery. He has delivered hundreds of presentations at scientific meetings around the world.

Jessica Weant

Director, R&D

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Jessica has more than 15 years of experience across a wide range of pharmaceutical and biotech research functions. Her experience spans multiple academic and industry assignments. As the first employee at Trefoil, Jessica leads the research team in their work to explore the regenerative, protective and vision-restoring properties of TTHX1114. She has significantly contributed to Trefoil Therapeutics’ research and has authored and presented numerous publications on a wide range of topics related to FGF1. Jessica holds a B.S. degree in genetics from the University of California, Davis.

Board of Directors

Ben McGraw, III, PharmD

Executive Chairman of the Board,
Chairman and CEO, TheraVida, Inc.

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Dr. McGraw is Chairman and CEO of TheraVida, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, as well as Executive Chairman of Auration Biotech, Inc., a private biotechnology company focused on using growth factors for tissue regeneration. He is the lead independent director for the board of Aerie Pharmaceuticals, a public ophthalmology company, and active in the SPARK program at Stanford University. Previously, Dr. McGraw was on the board of Ista Pharmaceuticals, a public ophthalmology company; Chairman and CEO of Valentis, Inc.; Corporate Vice President, Corporate Development at Allergan, Inc.; and Vice President, Development at Marion Laboratories, Inc. and Marion Merrell Dow, Inc. (now Sanofi US). Dr. McGraw received his B.S. and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where he also completed a clinical practice residency.

David Eveleth, PhD

Chief Executive Officer,
Trefoil Therapeutics

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Mr. Eveleth has had a nearly 30-year career in leadership positions at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, with a focus on ophthalmology and neuroscience. His experience includes roles in senior management, R&D, business development, and portfolio and decision analysis. David led the Ophthalmology Medicines Development Group at Pfizer as vice president, a franchise that achieved peak revenue of $1.8 billion. He has been involved in or led seven pharmaceutical INDs, the approval of several new drugs, and the approval of two medical devices. Prior to joining Trefoil, David served as a consultant to numerous biotechnology companies as well as an advisor to venture capital groups. David received his PhD in Biology from the University of California, Irvine and was a Bank of America/Giannini Foundation fellow prior to joining industry.

Stella M. Robertson, PhD

Co-Founder, Partner – Bios Partners

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Dr. Robertson has over 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical research and global product development, including R&D strategies, project management, clinical trials, regulatory filings, market support, and medical communication. Stella is a co-founder of Bios Partners, LP, a member of the Cowtown Angels, and the founder of Arrochar Consulting LLC, specializing in due diligence, translational research, product development and the life sciences. She volunteers with the incubator TECH Fort Worth, the UNTHSC entrepreneurial program, and as an adjunct for the Ophthalmology Department at UT Southwestern. She formerly was a Vice President of Research and Development at Alcon Laboratories, Inc., a Division of Novartis, where she grew and led organizations responsible for the ophthalmic pipeline. During her tenure at Alcon, she and her colleagues successfully developed, registered, and globally launched 16 ophthalmic medications, as well as treatments for otitis media and nasal allergy. In addition to Trefoil, she serves on the board of three Bios Partners portfolio companies, Azitra, Inc. (member), Lantern Pharma, Inc. (observer), Lung Therapeutics, Inc. (observer), and also as a member on the ARVO Foundation Board, the Cowtown Angels steering committee, and the AyuVis Research, Inc. board. Stella is an immunologist-cell biologist by training. She received a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.  She was an Arthritis Foundation post-doctoral research fellow at the UTHSC in Dallas, TX and completed the executive Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School.

Christy Shaffer, PhD

General Partner, Hatteras Venture Partners

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A seasoned entrepreneur and biotech executive, Christy Shaffer, Ph.D. has over 25 years of experience in the life science industry. She is currently a General Partner at Hatteras Venture Partners. Following a career as a clinical scientist, international project leader and Associate Director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Burroughs Wellcome Co., she joined Inspire Pharmaceuticals in 1995 as the first, full-time employee. She was responsible for raising over $300 million for the company, including taking the company public in 2000. As President and CEO, Christy grew the company from 20 scientists to nearly 250 employees, with revenues of over $100 million. Under her leadership, Inspire was named as “Best Place to Work for Scientists” by the Scientist magazine, and “Best Place to Work in North Carolina.” Christy retired from Inspire in 2010 and the company was acquired by Merck in 2011. She joined Hatteras in 2011 as the Managing Director of Hatteras Discovery and became a general partner in 2016. Christy serves as a board member of seven Hatteras portfolio companies and chairs four of them: Artizan Biosciences (Chair), Clearside Biomedical (Chair), GrayBug Vision (Chair), Kinodyn (Chair), G1 Therapeutics and Spyryx. Christy is a receptor pharmacologist by training, earning her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis TN in 1985. She received her post-doctoral training at The Chicago Medical School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  

Derek Yoon

President and CEO, Solasta Ventures

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Mr. Yoon is Partner at Aju IB Investment, one of the leading venture capital firms in Korea. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Mr. Yoon oversees Aju IB’s international investments with focus on U.S. based life science companies and early stage start-ups with novel science. Mr. Yoon also leads multiple cross-border strategic partnerships by leveraging his strong relationship with top-tier pharmaceutical companies in Korea.  Currently, he is also involved in multiple overseas venture capital fundraising projects by interacting with Korean governmental institutional funds as well as various private investors in Asia. Prior to joining Aju IB Investment, he spent more than 15 years in alternative (VC/PE) investments and healthcare corporate banking where he had numerous responsibilities in portfolio management, deal structuring, and fundraising. His previous experience includes seven years of venture investment management at Kibo Capital, the oldest venture fund in Korea; three years of portfolio management with RBS Citizens Healthcare Banking Group; and two years with venture accelerator program at Berwind Private Equity, a multi-generational family office located in Harvard, Massachusetts. Mr. Yoon earned his M.B.A. from Babson College, M.S.F from Boston College and B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea.

Clinical Advisory Board

Natalie Afshari, MD, FACS

Professor of Ophthalmology at the Shiley Eye Institute, University of California, San Diego

Stuart I. Brown MD Chair in Ophthalmology
Professor of Ophthalmology at the Shiley Eye Institute, University of California, San Diego
Vice Chair of Education

Prior to her appointment to UC San Diego, she was Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of Centers of Excellence at the Duke University Eye Center. She received her medical degree from Stanford University and her residency training at Harvard University, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. She then completed a two-year fellowship in cornea and refractive surgery at Harvard University.

Dr. Afshari is the recipient of the Senior Achievement Award and the Secretariat Award by the American Academy of Ophthalmology and has been named a Gold Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. She has received the inaugural Top Ten Women in Medicine award by Triangle News, Women Who Mean Business award by San Diego Business Journal, and the Teacher of the Year award at the Duke University Eye Center. She has also been recognized in the Best Doctors in America in each listing for the past decade, and was named in the U.S. News & World Report’s Top Doctors List.

Dr. Afshari is the co-editor of the two-volume cornea book titled “Principles and Practice of Cornea”. She is also on the editorial boards of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science and American Journal of Ophthalmology. She has previously served on the EyeNet editorial board, BCSC Cornea text book committee, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology council representing the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. She was co-chair of the cornea program committee for the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and co-director of Cornea Subspecialty Day for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. She is currently the chair of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery FDA Committee. Her NIH research grant is on the study of Fuchs dystrophy, and she investigates the intricacies of endothelial keratoplasty and regeneration of cornea.

When not researching or practicing, Dr. Afshari donates her time and surgical expertise as an international volunteer. She has traveled to West Africa, Central America, and Mexico to help patients who might otherwise go untreated.

Deepinder Dhaliwal, MD

Chief of Refractive Surgery Associate Professor, Cornea and External Diseases, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

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Dr. Dhaliwal is a recognized expert in corneal and refractive surgery. She has authored several book chapters, numerous journal articles, and serves on the editorial board of several ophthalmology journals. In recognition of her clinical and surgical skills, she has been selected as a “Top Doctor” by her peers every year since 2006. Dr. Dhaliwal earned her medical degree from Northwestern University in the Honors Program in Medical Education where she was selected as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society.

Jodi Luchs, MD

Associate Clinical Professor Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine

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Dr. Luchs is a leading clinician, clinical researcher and expert on the cornea. He has numerous publications on cornea, external diseases, and refractive surgery to his credit, including two books, and has lectured nationally, and internationally. Dr. Luchs is Board Certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American College of Surgeons, and the Nassau Academy of Medicine. He is also a member of the Castroviejo Corneal Society, and a founding member of the American-European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery (AECOS) and the Society of Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgeons (CEDARS). He serves as an Assistant Editor for Advanced Ocular Care, Therapeutics/Cornea & External Disease section, an Assistant Editor for Ocular Surgery News, Technology Section, and an Editor, of the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Ophthalmic News and Education (O.N.E.) network, Cataract Section. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1987 and received his M.D. in 1991 from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

Marian Macsai, MD

Chief of the Division of Ophthalmology, NorthShore University Health System Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

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Dr. Macsai is an expert in corneal transplants, refractive surgery, and cataracts as well as medical and surgical treatment of diseases of the external eye. She is an author on more than 60 papers and has written numerous book chapters. Dr. Macsai is a member of the American Ophthalmologic Society with Thesis, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Cornea Society. She is also a past president of the Society. She is Chair of the Eye Bank Association of America and has been active in eye banking at the national level for over 20 years. He received her MD degree from Rush Medical College.

Jodhbir Mehta, MBBS, FRCOphth, FRCS(Ed)

Associate Professor
Singapore National Eye Centre

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Dr. Mehta is a leading clinician and researcher on external corneal diseases. His research interests cover all aspects of corneal external disease and refractive surgery, from basic science to translational and clinical research. These include investigating new stem cell-based therapies and studies on patients with corneal genetic disorders. His translational research involves the development of an artificial cornea device, new instruments for corneal transplantation to improve patient outcomes, and effects of femtosecond lasers in corneal/refractive surgery as well as development of novel drug delivery devices. He is a member of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists UK, the Royal College of Surgeon of Edinburgh, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the Singapore-Malaysian Ophthalmology Society and the Asian Corneal Society. Dr. Mehta graduated from Guys and St Thomas’s Medical School, University of London, UK in 1995.

Victor Perez, MD

Stephen and Frances Foster Professor of Ophthalmology Director, Foster Center for Ocular Immunology, Duke University

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Dr. Perez is an established clinician-scientist investigator in the field of ocular immunology and ocular surface diseases. His research focuses on ocular immunology and transplantation. As Director of the Ocular Surface Program, he evaluates and treats patients with ocular inflammatory diseases and conditions of the anterior segment. Prior to joining Duke, he led the Ocular Surface Center at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and held an appointment as professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Perez received his medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine in San Juan Puerto Rico. After completing residency at the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, he went on to complete fellowships at Harvard Medical School hospitals, including in Immunology Research at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Ocular Immunology Research at Schepens Eye Research Institute, Corneal and External Diseases at the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, and in Ocular Immunology and Uveitis at Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary.

William Trattler, MD

Director of Cornea at the Center for Excellence in Eye Care Voluntary Assistant Professor, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Faculty, Florida International University Wertheim College of Medicine

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Dr. Trattler is a refractive, corneal and cataract eye surgeon at the Center For Excellence in Eye Care, who lectures extensively across the US on improving visual outcomes with various eye surgeries and procedures. He is on the Volunteer Faculty at the Florida International University Wertheim College of Medicine, as well as the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. In 2006, Dr. Trattler was recognized by his peers as one of the top 50 Cataract and Refractive Surgery Opinion Leaders in a survey conducted by the publication Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today. In 2016, Dr. Trattler was named by the publication, “The Ophthalmologist,” as one of the “Top 100 most influential people in the world of ophthalmology.” Dr. Trattler received his bachelor's degree with honors from Dartmouth College and his M.D. degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine, where he graduated in 1992 with Distinction in Research.

Scientific Advisory Board

Michael Blaber, PhD

CO-FOUNDER, PROFESSOR OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES, COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY [retired]

Dr. Michael Blaber is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Trefoil Therapeutics. In his lab at Florida State University, his research focused on understanding protein structure and biophysical properties, and the application of that knowledge to the development of biopharmaceutical proteins for human benefit. Trefoil’s lead candidate, Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF1), was originally invented in his lab. Since then, five patents were issued for the work on FGF1 mutants, which have been licensed to Trefoil. Michael served as a faculty member at Florida State University for more than 20 years and taught as a full time professor for over a decade. Early in his career, prior to beginning graduate studies, Michael worked in research at Genentech, where he was the 120th employee. He holds a B.A. in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine (in the laboratory of Dr. Ralph A. Bradshaw). After graduating, Blaber was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Brian Matthews, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Oregon.

Ralph Bradshaw, PhD

Co-Founder,
Chairman of Scientific Advisory Board, Professor Dept. of Pharmacology, UC San Diego

Dr. Bradshaw’s research has focused on the structure and function of proteins, with particular attention to polypeptide growth factors and their receptors. These latter studies included the relationship of structure to mechanism of action of several of these entities, such as nerve growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, and epidermal growth factor. He has authored/co-authored nearly 400 scientific articles and edited over a dozen and half books. He has served as president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) (1995-96), treasurer of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (1991-97) and was the founding president of the Protein Society (1986-87).  He has also been Editor-in-Chief/Associate Editor of several journals (TIBS, Protein Science and the Journal of Biological Chemistry) and in 2000, he founded Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, serving as the Editor until 2013. He has founded three biotechnology companies (Cortex, EB Technologies, and Cavtherx) in addition to Trefoil Therapeutics. He has served on the faculties of Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis (1969-82) and the University of California, Irvine (1982-2006) and San Francisco (2006-2015) campuses of the University of California. From 1982 to 1993, he was chair of the Dept. of Biological Chemistry at UCI. He holds degrees from Colby College (1962) and Duke University (1966).

Ken Thomas, PhD

Co-Founder,
Consultant

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Dr. Thomas has made numerous significant contributions to FGF-1 research. He partially purified FGF-1 while a researcher at Washington University and while serving at Merck, completed the purification of bovine and human FGF-1, determined their amino acid sequences, and established their activities both on cultured cells and in animals. He collaborated with Dr. Blaber to elucidate the crystal structure of human FGF-1 and initiated a development program, culminating in successful proof-of-principle Phase I and II clinical trials for dermal tissue regeneration to promote cutaneous healing.  During his 25 years at Merck, he initiated, built and directed the Growth Factor Research Department and program, leading to six regenerative medicine protein and anti-angiogenic small molecule development candidates. Following Merck he has consulted for several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.  Ken has published extensively in the field of growth factors and their receptors, served on The Journal of Biological Chemistry editorial board, co-organized national and international meetings on growth factors, angiogenesis, protein kinases and signal transduction, and has over 40 issued patents in the U.S. and other major jurisdictions. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Delaware and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Duke University.

Jeffrey M. Davidson, PhD

Professor Dept. of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

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Dr. Davidson’s areas of expertise include animal models of tissue repair, gene therapy and functional genomics, molecular and cellular biology of connective tissue, and wound healing. He has published more than 175 original articles and more than 40 book chapters and reviews on connective tissue biochemistry and the interplay of growth factors in wound healing. In addition to substantial support from industry, his federally funded research, which has been continuous since 1981, includes investigation of the role of growth factors in age- and diabetes-related healing defects, gene therapy of wounds, biomaterial-tissue interactions, and wound proteomics. He is a past president of the Wound Healing Society (WHS) and immediate past president of the American Society for Matrix Biology (ASMB). He is currently on the editorial boards of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology (Associate Editor), Wounds, Matrix Biology, Wound Repair and Regeneration (Section Editor), the Wound Healing Yearbook (Section Editor), and the International Wound Journal. His professional positions prior to Vanderbilt were at the NHLBI with Ronald G Crystal (1978-81) and the University of Utah (1981-85). Jeff received his BS from Tufts (1963), an MS (1969) and a PhD (1975) from Stanford.

David Ornitz, MD, PhD

Alumni Endowed Professor Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine

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Dr. Orntiz’s research uses molecular, genetic and biochemical approaches to study the regulation of cell growth, development and response to injury in the mouse. Current studies are examining FGFs, FGF receptors and a variety of other interacting signaling pathways (hedgehog, Wnt, BMP, TGFβ, VEGF) in the mouse embryo and in adult mice, with a focus on inner ear, skeletal, cardiovascular and pulmonary development and physiology. Using knockout and conditional knockout technology the Ornitz laboratory has constructed FGF and FGF receptor mutants with defects in these and other organ systems. Mutant mice are being studied as genetic and developmental model systems for mesodermal and epithelial patterning, organogenesis, tissue repair, and cancer.  Dr. Ornitz holds a BA in Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis, and PhD (Biochemistry) and MD degrees from the University of Washington (Seattle).

Russ Middaugh, PhD

Distinguished Professor School of Pharmacy, Kansas University

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Dr. Middaugh’s research is focused on understanding the changes in physicochemical properties that accompany the loss of biological activity of biopharmaceuticals and vaccines, and on developing new analytical techniques to monitor these changes at the molecular level.  A detailed understanding of the causes and molecular mechanisms of instability will guide the design of more potent and stable biopharmaceutical and vaccine dosage forms. He holds a B.S. degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a PhD from Cornell. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Minnesota.

Sabine Werner, PhD

Professor of Cell Biology ETH Zurich

Dr. Werner’s research focuses on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying impaired healing. She has been Professor of Cell Biology at the ETH Zurich since February 1999.  She studied Biochemistry at the Universities of Tubingen and Munich. In 1989 she earned her Ph.D. at the University of Munich, after having completed her dissertation at the Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried in the department of Prof. Peter Hans Hofschneider. After a short postdoctoral period at the same institute, she moved to the University of California San Francisco, where she started to work on the molecular mechanisms of growth factor action and tissue repair as a postdoctoral scientist in the laboratory of Prof. Lewis T. Williams. From 1993-1999 she was a group leader at the Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany. In 1996 she obtained a Hermann-and-Lilly Schilling professorship of Medical Research at the same institute and from 1995-1999 she was also Associate Professor of Biochemistry at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich.

CLINICAL STEERING COMMITTEES

Endothelial Indications Clinical Steering Committee

John Hovenesian, MD

Harvard Eye Associates

Endothelial Indications Clinical Steering Committee sem.

Cathleen McCabe, MD

Medical Director , The Eye Associates of Manatee

Endothelial Indications Clinical Steering Committee

Robert Weinstock, MD

The Eye Institute of West Florida

Endothelial Indications Clinical Steering Committee

Epithelial Indications Clinical Steering Committee

Essen K. Akpek, MD

Benndann Family Professor of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University

Epithelial Indications Clinical Steering Committee

Penny Asbell, MD, FACS, MBA

Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center

Epithelial Indications Clinical Steering Committee

Paul Karpecki, OD, FAAO

Director of Corneal Services and the Advanced OSD Clinic, Kentucky Eye Institute

Epithelial Indications Clinical Steering Committee

Mark Mandel, MD

Optima Ophthalmic Medical Associates, Inc.

Epithelial Indications Clinical Steering Committee

Investors

Bios Partners
Bios Partners is a venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage biopharmaceutical and medical device companies. Founded in 2014 and based in Fort Worth, TX, the firm utilizes an experienced team of industry professionals to actively collaborate with its investment portfolio companies and enhance stakeholder value.
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Hatteras Venture Partners
Hatteras Venture Partners is a venture capital firm based in Durham, N.C. with a focus on seed and early stage opportunities across the health care continuum from transformational therapies to disruptive technologies. The firm has over $550 milion in capital commitments under management.
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Access Biotechnology
Access Biotechnology is the life science investment arm of Access Industries. The investment strategy is broad, long term and aims to enable truly innovative therapeutic platforms and products across three key stages: company foundation, technology translation and company expansion. Our approach is based on rigorous diligence and we provide value-added support from our extensive experience and networks.
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Solasta Ventures
AJU Life Sciences Overseas Expansion Platform Fund is part of Solasta Ventures., a leading venture capital firm headquartered in Seoul Korea with approximately USD $1 billion in capital under management. Solasta Venture's US office invests exclusively in companies developing pioneering new therapies or medical technologies.
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Correlation Ventures
Correlation Ventures leverages world-class analytics to offer entrepreneurs and other venture capitalists a dramatically better option when they are seeking additional co-investment capital to complete a financing round.
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ExSight Ventures
ExSight is a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage impact investments in innovative ophthalmic diagnostic and treatment solutions. The firm seeks investments in biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and software solutions in ophthalmology.
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InFocus Capital Partners
InFocus Capital Partners provides seed and early round funding to life science companies, specifically within ophthalmology. Their strategy has focused on identifying start-up opportunities with disruptive potential, seasoned management and attractive valuation.
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FemHealth
FemHealth Ventures invests in women’s health by helping companies grow through strategic guidance and investment capital. FemHealth defines women’s health as targeting conditions that affect only women, affect mostly women, and are worse in women.
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