Our People
Make a Difference
We Are Experienced,
Dedicated, and Collegial
We are an experienced and accomplished scientific and development team who have filed multiple investigational new drug applications (INDs) and taken both small molecules and biologic products through to FDA approval and commercialization. Supporting our efforts is a strong team of founders and esteemed scientific collaborators who have published extensively and hold patents in this area of research.
Leadership
Julie Anne Smith
Chief Executive Officer
Julie Smith has more than 20 years of experience in the life science industry, with a focus on leading private and public biotech companies through development and commercialization of therapeutics for orphan diseases. Prior to Nuvig, Julie served as President and CEO of ESCAPE Bio, a biotech company developing precisely targeted therapies for genetic forms of neurodegeneration. She previously served as President and CEO of Raptor Pharmaceuticals, which developed and commercialized therapies for the orphan disease nephropathic cystinosis and chronic pulmonary infections before its acquisition by Horizon Pharmaceuticals. Julie also served as Chief Commercial Officer of Enobia Pharmaceuticals until it was acquired by Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in her career, she held roles at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Genzyme, Novazyme, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Julie serves as a director on the Boards of Exelixis (Nasdaq: EXEL) and Stoke Therapeutics (Nasdaq: STOK). Julie obtained her B.S. in biology from Cornell University.
Pamela Conley, Ph.D.
Cofounder & Chief Scientific Officer
Pamela Conley, Ph.D., is Chief Scientific Officer and Cofounder of Nuvig Therapeutics. She has more than 30 years of biotech industry experience. Prior to founding Nuvig Therapeutics, she was Senior Vice President of Research and a member of the executive team at Portola Pharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for Preclinical and Translational Research, Medicinal Chemistry, In Vivo Pharmacology, and DMPK. During her tenure at Portola, she played key roles in the development and approval of both Andexxa and Bevyxxa, and was the project leader for the elinogrel program, a P2Y12 antagonist developed by Portola and partnered with Novartis. In addition, Pam and her team filed multiple INDs for investigational molecules in the areas of thrombosis, hemostasis, inflammation, and hematologic cancers. Prior to Portola Pharmaceuticals, Pam was Senior Director at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, via acquisition of COR Therapeutics, where she led the research and discovery efforts that identified the platelet P2Y12 receptor, a program that continued in drug development through the acquisition of COR Therapeutics by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and ultimately at Portola Pharmaceuticals. Pam holds a B.A. in biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin, received her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University in the Howard Hughes Institute and the Carnegie Institution. She has co-authored multiple scientific publications and issued patents.
Alan Glicklich, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Alan Glicklich, M.D., has more than 20 years of experience in the biotech industry. Prior to joining Nuvig Therapeutics, he was Chief Medical Officer of Chinook Therapeutics, focusing on biologics and small molecules for rare, chronic kidney diseases. At Chinook, he built the clinical development, clinical operations, medical affairs, biometrics, regulatory, and pharmacovigilance teams, and designed and operationalized a successful Phase 3 registrational study for atrasentan in IgA nephropathy and multiple earlier phase studies across rare chronic kidney disease indications. Prior to Chinook, Alan was Chief Medical Officer at Bird Rock Bio, focusing on monoclonal antibody development for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. Prior to Bird Rock, Alan was Vice President of Clinical Development at Arena Pharmaceuticals where he designed and operationalized the Phase 2 ralinepeg program in pulmonary artery hypertension and the etrasimod Phase 2 program in ulcerative colitis. Earlier in his career Alan held positions at BMS, Sanofi-Aventis, and Regeneron. Alan holds a B.A. in biology from the University of Chicago, an M.D. from the University of Wisconsin, and an MBA from the Emory University-Goizueta School of Business.
Greg Coffey, PhD
Cofounder & Vice President, Immunology & Clinical Translational Research
Greg Coffey, Ph.D., has more than 17 years of experience in clinical translational research and drug development. Before founding Nuvig Therapeutics, he served as Senior Director of Clinical Translational Medicine at Alexion/AstraZeneca, overseeing the implementation of clinical studies to further our understanding of disease pathobiology, drug mechanism of action, PK/PD relationships, and biomarkers predictive of clinical response in a variety of autoimmune diseases. Prior to this, Greg worked at Portola Pharmaceuticals, where he led the immunology research and in vivo pharmacology groups. In this dual role, he oversaw the discovery and development of two small-molecule kinase inhibitors, the first completing a series of Phase 1 healthy volunteer trials prior to partnering with Biogen IDEC, and the second completing a Phase 2 study in hematological malignancies where Greg served as the clinical project team lead, overseeing all aspects of the development program. His extensive publication record demonstrates the nature of this work over a period of ~15 years. Greg received his postdoctoral training in the Department of Medicine at Stanford University, and his Ph.D. in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Minnesota.
Bella Oguno
Vice President, Development Operations
Bella Oguno has more than 20 years of experience in clinical operations with a focus on developing high-level operational strategies and teams to execute multiple global and complex clinical trials. Before joining Nuvig, Bella served as VP of Clinical Operations at Ashvattha Therapeutics, where she led the execution of the inflammation, neurology, and ophthalmology programs. Prior to Ashvattha, Bella was at Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT), where she led the Development Operations team and oversaw the execution of over 20 clinical studies across multiple regions. She previously was at Genentech’s gRED group and Amgen’s Global Development Operations group. Bella holds a B.A. in sociology, health care and social issues from UC San Diego and an M.P.H. from Benedictine University.
Bill Avery, Ph.D.
Vice President, Nonclinical Development
Bill Avery, Ph.D., has over 23 years of biotech industry experience in preclinical and translational development. Bill has worked on more than 20 programs, including small molecules, biologics, gene therapy, and cellular therapies, through IND and into early clinical development. Prior to Nuvig, he was the Senior Vice President of Translational and Nonclinical Development at Kisbee Therapeutics, where he worked on engineering recombinant lipoproteins to restore lipid homeostasis in neurodegenerative disease. Prior to joining Kisbee, Bill held roles of increasing responsibility within Preclinical and Translational Development at Xilio Therapeutics, Lyndra Therapeutics, Life BioSciences, Momenta, CombinatoRx, and Millennium. Bill holds a B.S. in veterinary sciences from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology from A.T. Still University.
Cindy Young, CPA
Vice President, Finance
Cindy Young has more than 25 years of experience focused on establishing strategy and leading finance at private biotech companies. Prior to Nuvig, Cindy served as Vice President (VP) Finance at ashibio, Inc. where she managed all aspects of finance and accounting. Prior to ashibio, Cindy was VP Finance at Iconic Therapeutics leading finance and accounting through its sale to Endpoint Health. She previously served as VP Finance at Silicon Valley Finance Group working with multiple start-up companies to create and refine efficient and productive financial solutions. Earlier in her career Cindy held various financial leadership roles, including Managing Director at Ares Capital. Cindy started her career as an auditor at Arthur Andersen. Cindy serves as the Chief Financial Officer of the Scleroderma Research Foundation, a non-profit organization funding research aimed at improved therapies and a cure for scleroderma. She holds a B.S. in accountancy from the University of Illinois where she earned her CPA.
Karen Grimm
Senior Director of Analytical Development
Karen Grimm has more than 20 years of experience in the biotech and medical device industries, with a focus on analytical development. Before joining Nuvig Therapeutics, Karen served as Director of Analytical Sciences at Alexion/AstraZeneca, managing analytical assay transfer to an international network of manufacturing and testing partners. She previously led analytical development for Andexxa® at Portola Pharmaceuticals and was responsible for establishing clinical phase and commercial testing in the US, EU, and Japan. During her tenure at Diadexis, Karen oversaw the development of in vitro diagnostics and played a critical role in approving the PLAC Test. Earlier she held positions at Astellas Pharma, Acologix, and Merck, where she focused on process and assay development and characterization of biologics. Karen holds a B.S in biochemistry from Wilkes University and an M.S. in chemistry from Lehigh University.
Joseph Leung
Director of CMC Biologics Manufacturing
Joseph Leung has more than 13 years of industry experience focused on process development and manufacturing of antibodies, bispecifics, and antibody-drug conjugates. Prior to joining Nuvig Therapeutics, he served as an Associate Director, CMC at Teneobio, where he managed all aspects of CMC from cell line development to FDP distribution before joining Amgen through the acquisition of Teneobio. Joseph has worked at a number of startups and large companies including Parvus Therapeutics, AbbVie, and Stemcentrx, where he supported pre-clinical activities and clinical manufacturing for numerous FIH clinical programs in oncology. Joseph earned a B.S. in biochemistry from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Jessica Bright
Director, Research Immunology
Jessica Bright has more than 25 years of experience in the biotech industry driving discovery projects from inception through preclinical development for small molecules and biologics. Previously, she was Principal Scientist at BridgeBio, focusing on autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and tuberous sclerosis complex. Prior to BridgeBio, Jessica was Director at ESCAPE Bio, where she led cell biology efforts to model genetic forms of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. She also worked as a lead Scientist at iPierian, where she was instrumental in elucidating the therapeutic potential of tau antibody (IPN007). Jessica also held roles at Allakos, iPierian/True North, and Hyseq/Nuvelo. She has extensive experience designing cell-based assays and using iPSC to interrogate disease, with numerous publications resulting. Jessica holds a B.S in genetics and a B.A. in English literature from University of California, Davis.
Heidi Remsberg
Associate Director of Operations
Heidi Remsberg brings more than 20 years of experience in biotech and medical device start-ups with critical roles in operations, human resources, marketing, and sales. At Nuvig, Heidi is responsible for operations activities, including information technology, administrative management, and human resources. Prior to joining Nuvig, Heidi was Head of Operations at pH Pharma Inc., where she oversaw operations, finance, and legal. She also oversaw the site selection of the new U.S. headquarters and the move to a new space with labs and offices in Palo Alto, California. Before pH Pharma, Heidi was Quality Control Specialist and Contracts Manager at Menlo Therapeutics, Inc., where she joined before the IPO and helped with the transition after VYNE Therapeutics (former Foamex) acquired Menlo in 2020 and all activities were moved to New Jersey. Previous to that, Heidi was Head of Human Resources at AlterG, Inc., where she built the human resources department and office operations. Heidi began her career in Switzerland at Recotec, a subsidiary of BERNINA. She was a key contributor during the acquisition of Proxomed Medizintechnik GmBH and held roles in sales and marketing, developing the company’s presence in Switzerland and Germany. Heidi has a degree in Business and Office Administration and Marketing from the Kaderschule in Zurich.
Board of Directors
Hannah Chang, M.D., Ph.D.
Director
Hannah Chang, M.D., Ph.D., is a Managing Director at Platanus (formerly Wu Capital). She focuses on early-stage biopharmaceutical investments out of the firm’s San Francisco office. Representative investments include Korro Bio, Inipharm, Semma Therapeutics (acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals), and Akouos (Nasdaq: AKUS). She was previously an investment professional at 5AM Ventures, where she helped found IDEAYA Biosciences (Nasdaq: IDYA) and served as a Board Observer for Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CRNX), among others. Earlier in her career, Hannah was a Project Leader at The Boston Consulting and a member of the Healthcare Practice. Hannah obtained her M.D. from Harvard Medical School, Ph.D. in biophysics from Harvard University, and B.A. in chemistry from Princeton University. She trained clinically in internal medicine and ophthalmology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, respectively. She is a licensed physician in the District of Columbia.
Kenneth Harrison, Ph.D.
Director
Ken Harrison, Ph.D., is a Partner with Novo Ventures (US) Inc. and is based in San Francisco. Ken currently serves on the boards of several private and publicly traded biotech companies, including Aristea Therapeutics, Claris Biotherapeutics, Edgewise Therapeutics (NASDAQ: EWTX), Glycomine, Hummingbird Bio, Rondo Therapeutics, and Vertuis Bio, and while at Novo has been closely involved with investments in Bolt Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: BOLT), Mirum Pharma (NASDAQ: MIRM) and Reneo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RPHM). Prior to joining Novo Ventures, Ken worked in strategic planning at Genentech, as a life sciences management consultant at L.E.K. Consulting and as a seed-stage investor in life sciences companies at Mission Bay Capital, where he also helped launch and build life sciences companies in the SF Bay Area. Ken trained as an A.P. Giannini Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellow at the J. David Gladstone Institutes / UCSF and earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology from Yale University.
Julie Anne Smith
Director
Julie Smith has more than 20 years of experience in the life science industry, with a focus on leading private and public biotech companies through development and commercialization of therapeutics for orphan diseases. Prior to Nuvig, Julie served as President and CEO of ESCAPE Bio, a biotech company developing precisely targeted therapies for genetic forms of neurodegeneration. She previously served as President and CEO of Raptor Pharmaceuticals, which developed and commercialized therapies for the orphan disease nephropathic cystinosis and chronic pulmonary infections before its acquisition by Horizon Pharmaceuticals. Julie also served as Chief Commercial Officer of Enobia Pharmaceuticals until it was acquired by Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in her career, she held roles at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Genzyme, Novazyme, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Julie serves as a director on the Boards of Exelixis (Nasdaq: EXEL) and Stoke Therapeutics (Nasdaq: STOK). Julie obtained her B.S. in biology from Cornell University.
Pamela Conley, Ph.D.
Director
Pamela Conley, Ph.D., is Chief Scientific Officer and Cofounder of Nuvig Therapeutics. She has more than 30 years of biotech industry experience. Prior to founding Nuvig Therapeutics, she was Senior Vice President of Research and a member of the executive team at Portola Pharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for Preclinical and Translational Research, Medicinal Chemistry, In Vivo Pharmacology, and DMPK. During her tenure at Portola, she played key roles in the development and approval of both Andexxa and Bevyxxa, and was the project leader for the elinogrel program, a P2Y12 antagonist developed by Portola and partnered with Novartis. In addition, Pam and her team filed multiple INDs for investigational molecules in the areas of thrombosis, hemostasis, inflammation, and hematologic cancers. Prior to Portola Pharmaceuticals, Pam was Senior Director at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, via acquisition of COR Therapeutics, where she led the research and discovery efforts that identified the platelet P2Y12 receptor, a program that continued in drug development through the acquisition of COR Therapeutics by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and ultimately at Portola Pharmaceuticals. Pam holds a B.A. in biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin, received her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University in the Howard Hughes Institute and the Carnegie Institution. She has co-authored multiple scientific publications and issued patents.
Advisors
Robert M. Anthony, Ph.D.
Advisor
Robert Anthony, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, Associate Investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Principle Investigator at the Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases. His lab studies the role and regulation of glycosylation to arguably the two most clinically relevant antibody classes, IgG and IgE. His group demonstrated surprising, essential, and divergent roles for glycan across IgE, and developed soluble glycosylation enzymes that modulate antibody glycosylation in vivo. Robert attended Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. As a graduate student, Robert trained in immunoparasitology in the laboratories of William Gause and Joseph Urban (USDA). For his postdoctoral training, he moved to New York City to join the laboratory of Jeffrey Ravetch at the Rockefeller University. There, Robert studied the paradoxical anti-inflammatory activity of IgG. His work is published in Cell, JEM, Science, Nature, Nature Medicine, and PNAS. Robert has received several awards for his work, including the MGH Martin Prize in Fundamental Research, MGH DOM Krane Award for Excellent Junior Investigators, MGH Howard M. Goodman Endowed Fellowship, NIH New Innovator Award, Irvington Institute Fellowship, and an H.M. Jackson Foundation Graduate Student Fellowship.
Falk Nimmerjahn, Ph.D.
Advisor
Falk Nimmerjahn, Ph.D., is a full professor and director of the Institute of Genetics at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen in Germany. His work focuses on a better understanding of how immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies work in mice and humans in vivo. This not only includes in-depth studies on the activity of cytotoxic antibodies used widely in the therapy of human malignant and autoimmune diseases but also aims at deciphering the mechanisms of how self-reactive antibodies (autoantibodies) mediate tissue inflammation and destruction during autoimmune diseases. Moreover, he studies which genetic factors impact the loss of humoral tolerance ultimately leading to autoantibody production and to use this information to develop novel therapeutic avenues to treat autoimmune diseases. A major focus of his most recent work is identifying the impact of glycosylation on IgG activity in vivo and the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying differential antibody glycosylation. Apart from identifying the mechanisms of pro-inflammatory antibody activity, he is investigating how polyclonal IgG preparations (IVIg) used to suppress a variety of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases mediate their activity. For his work on IgG activity, he received several awards including the Paul-Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Award for young scientists and the award for scientific excellence of the European Macrophage and Dendritic Cell Society. Furthermore, he is an elected member of the Henry G. Kunkel society at Rockefeller University in New York. He is a member of several scientific advisory boards and a consultant for a broad range of companies around the world.
Dr. Nimmerjahn studied biology at the Universities of Bayreuth, Erlangen, and Munich. He did his postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Dr. Jeffrey Ravetch at Rockefeller University in New York. Following his postdoc, he was appointed an Associate Professor for Immunology and Immunotherapy at the University Hospital Erlangen, Germany.
Jeffrey V. Ravetch, M.D., Ph.D.
Advisor and Cofounder
Jeffrey V. Ravetch, M.D., Ph.D., is a cofounder of Nuvig Therapeutics. He currently is the Theresa and Eugene Lang Professor at the Rockefeller University and Head of the Leonard Wagner Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Immunology. His laboratory has focused on the Fc domain of antibodies and the receptors it engages, determining the mechanisms by which this domain enables antibodies to mediate their diverse biological activities in vivo. His work established the novel structural basis for Fc domain functional diversity and the pre-eminence of FcR pathways in host defense, inflammation and tolerance, describing novel inhibitory signaling pathways to account for the paradoxical roles of antibodies as promoting and suppressing inflammation. His work has been widely extended into clinical applications for the treatment of neoplastic, inflammatory and infectious diseases.
Dr. Ravetch has contributed extensively to the scientific community by serving as a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of the Cancer Research Institute, the Irvington Institute for Medical Research, the Damon Runyon Foundation, the medical advisory board of Gairdner Foundation, the Sanofi-Pasteur Award Jury and the L’Oreal Women in Science Jury. He has been active in biotechnology for the last two decades, and currently serves as a consultant or member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of Asylia, Biohaven, Harpoon, Jasper, Palleon, Vir, and Xencor.
Dr. Ravetch, a native of New York City, received his undergraduate training in molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale University, earning his B.S. degree in 1973, working with Donald M. Crothers on the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of synthetic oligoribonucleotides. He continued his training at the Rockefeller University – Cornell Medical School MD/Ph.D program, earning his doctorate in 1978 in genetics with Norton Zinder and Peter Model, investigating the genetics of viral replication and gene expression for the single stranded DNA bacteriophage f1. In 1979 he earned his M.D. from Cornell University Medical School. He pursued postdoctoral studies at the NIH with Phil Leder where he identified and characterized the genes for human antibodies and the DNA elements involved in switch recombination. From 1982 to 1996, Dr. Ravetch was a member of the faculty of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Cornell Medical College.
Dr. Ravetch has received numerous awards including the Burroughs-Wellcome Scholar Award, the Pew Scholar Award, the Boyer Award, the NIH Merit Award, the Lee C. Howley, Sr. Prize (2004), the AAI-Huang Foundation Meritorious Career Award (2005), the William B. Coley Award (2007), the Sanofi-Pasteur Award (2012), the Gairdner International Prize (2012), the Wolf Prize in Medicine (2015), the Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine (2017) and the Robert Koch award (2018). He has presented numerous named lectures including the Kunkel Lecture, the Ecker Lecture, the Goidl Lecture, the Grabar Lecture, the Dyer Lecture, the Heidelberger/Kabat Lecture, the Josephson Lecture, the Distinguished Scientist Lecture at the Academia Sinica and the Benacerraf Lecture. He has received an honorary doctorate from Friedrich-Alexander University, Nuremberg/Erlangen. He is a member of National Academy of Sciences (2006), the Institute of Medicine (2007), a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2008) and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2009).
