Management
Peter Van Vlasselaer, Ph.D. – Executive Chairman
Dr. Van Vlasselaer has over 20 years of industry experience and has been involved in the start-up of four biotechnology companies. Currently he is iPierian’s Executive Chairman, having served as its Interim CEO earlier in the year. Dr. Van Vlasselaer previously was the founding CEO of Arresto Biosciences which was acquired by Gilead Sciences in December 2010. Previously, he was the CEO of Avidia from May 2004 until it was acquired by Amgen in October 2006. Prior to joining Avidia, Dr. Van Vlasselaer was involved in the start-up of InterMune where he served as Senior VP of Technical Operations from November 1999 until May 2004. In 1993, Dr. Van Vlasselaer was involved in the start-up of Dendreon where he served as VP of Development until 1999. Between 1990 and 1993, Dr. Van Vlasselaer was a staff scientist at the Center for Nuclear Energy in Mol, Belgium. He obtained a bachelor degree in zoology and a PhD in immunology from the University of Leuven in Belgium, followed by post-doctoral research at Stanford University and at DNAX Research Institute. During his career, Dr. Van Vlasselaer has contributed to the development of several biologic and small molecule products in therapeutic areas such as cancer, inflammation, infectious diseases and fibrosis. He has authored several peer reviewed scientific articles and book chapters and is the inventor on more than 30 patents.
Karen Boezi - Chief Executive Officer
Ms. Boezi has spent more than 20 years launching, funding and building life science and medical technologies companies. Most recently, Ms. Boezi co-founded and was a Partner with Thomas, McNerney& Partners, a life science and medtech-focused venture firm with $600 million under management. Previously, she was a General Partner of Coral Ventures and a member of Warburg, Pincus LLC’s health care technology venture group. During her venture career, Ms. Boezi was involved in funding and assisting more than a dozen companies that went public or were sold. She was responsible for launching three of those companies in collaboration with their scientific founders. Prior to joining Warburg, Ms. Boezi was a member of Alex. Brown & Sons’ healthcare corporate finance team, with a focus on financing biotechnology companies. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.S. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Boezi is currently a board member of NaviNet, Inc. and a member of QB3’s Industrial Advisory Board.
David Rabuka Ph.D. - Founder and Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Rabuka received a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley as a Chevron Fellow in the lab of Professor Carolyn Bertozzi. While in the lab of Professor Bertozzi he initiated and developed a number of scientific collaborations, bringing together a diverse group of researchers from disparate fields. These collaborations included work on developing Redwood's platform technology. Prior to joining Bertozzi’s lab, David worked at Optimer Pharmaceuticals focused on the development of complex glycans and macrolides utlizing synthetic chemistry. David graduated with a double honours B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Saskatchewan where he received the Dean's Science Award and holds an M.S. in Chemistry from the University of Alberta. He is an author on over 20 publications, as well as a co-author of numerous book chapters and an inventor on several patents.
Mike Blank - VP Operations
Mr. Blank is the former founder/ CFO of Autobahn Software Inc., a specialty software development firm creating custom add-ons and enhancements to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems which was subsequently acquired by a larger software company. After leaving Autobahn, he spent eight years as a consultant, managing complex IT and related projects for a broad range of companies across various industries including Medline Industries and Kraft Foods. Mr. Blank holds an MBA from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, and a BBA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.