We are applying technology platforms that address the key limitations of current gene therapies, including tissue-specific delivery and gene regulation.
Kevin Forrest, Ph.D., is co-founder, President, and CEO of Kate Therapeutics. Prior to KateTx Dr. Forrest was co-founder, President, and CEO of Expansion Therapeutics, a drug discovery and development company advancing small molecule medicines for RNA-mediated diseases. Prior to Expansion, he served as Chief Strategy Officer of Cidara Therapeutics, an infectious disease company he co-founded and helped take public as COO/CFO. Dr. Forrest co-invented Cidara’s Cloudbreak antimicrobial immunotherapy platform and was responsible for the acquisition of rezafungin, a preclinical stage novel long acting echinocandin antifungal recently approved by the FDA. Prior to Cidara, Dr. Forrest held positions of increasing responsibility at 5AM Ventures, an early-stage life science venture capital firm. While at 5AM, Dr. Forrest supported the spin-out of Relypsa (acquired by Galenica) from Ilypsa/Amgen and led or supported investments in Semprus Biosciences (acquired by Teleflex), Marcadia Biotechnologies (acquired by Roche), among others. Dr. Forrest holds a B.S. in biology from Boston College and Ph.D. in molecular biology from Princeton University where he developed novel in vivo imaging tools to examine RNA localization and translational control.
Sharif Tabebordbar, Ph.D., is a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Kate Therapeutics. He received his Ph.D. in developmental and regenerative biology from Harvard and he has more than ten years of experience in the field of muscle gene therapy. Dr. Tabebordbar provided the first proof of concept for using in vivo gene editing to treat a mouse model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy as part of his graduate research. Prior to Kate, Dr. Tabebordbar was a supervisor, research scientist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where he developed the DELIVER platform and MyoAAV class of capsids to enable potent and selective muscle directed AAV-mediated gene delivery. Prior to the Broad, Dr. Tabebordbar was leading development of gene editing based therapeutics for specific genetic muscle disease indications at Editas Medicine. He is the recipient of multiple awards, including American Society of gene and Cell Therapy excellence in research and career development awards, and Royan international award for regenerative medicine. He was selected as a STAT wunderkid in 2021 and as one of the top 20 leaders in biopharma under 40 years by Ednpoints news in 2022.
Dr. Fielden is Senior Vice President of Nonclinical Development at Kate Therapeutics. He received his B.S. Degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Guelph, Canada, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Toxicology from Michigan State University. Dr. Fielden is a Diplomat of the American Board of Toxicology and has 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry focused on nonclinical development and safety assessment. This includes 10 years at Amgen where he was responsible for nonclinical leadership of numerous discovery, preclinical and clinical programs. While at Amgen he led a team of toxicologists and an investigative toxicology lab contributing to the discovery and development of numerous therapeutics and modalities across the Amgen portfolio. He also led the nonclinical development of Parsabiv (etelcalcetide), a peptide calcimimetic for secondary hyperparathyroidism, which was successfully registered in the US, EU and globally. Prior to Amgen, Dr. Fielden worked at Roche and Iconix Biosciences focusing on Discovery and Investigative Safety. Most recently he was Vice President of Nonclinical Development at Expansion Therapeutics, a startup focused on RNA-mediated diseases. Dr. Fielden has published over 50 peer reviewed papers and book chapters in the fields of nonclinical development, predictive and mechanistic toxicology, and biomarkers.
Prior to joining Kate in 2021, Christopher was Vice President of Global Development at Amgen, where he led strategy and portfolio prioritization together with cross-functional leaders for Amgen’s cardiovascular and metabolic programs. Christopher led a team of physician scientists in the design, execution, and interpretation of clinical trials for several medicines, including Repatha, a monoclonal antibody that reduces LDL cholesterol, omecamtiv mecarbil, a small molecule for heart failure, olpasiran, an siRNA for reduction of Lp(a), and early-stage programs in obesity. Christopher led GALACTIC-HF, the global Phase 3 heart failure outcomes trial for omecamtiv mecarbil, and multiple clinical trials of Repatha leading to its initial approval for lipid lowering and subsequent label expansion for cardiovascular risk reduction in the US and EU in 2017. Christopher earned a BS in chemistry with honors from Caltech, MD and residency certification in internal medicine at Mayo Clinic, and cardiology fellowship certification at the University of Washington. Prior to his industry career, Christopher practiced cardiology for three years at the University of Wisconsin as Assistant Professor of Medicine and Associate Program Director for the cardiology fellowship.
Nathan Jones, Ph.D., most recently served as Vice President of Passage Bio, a genetics medicine company developing therapies for patients with CNS disorders. Prior to Passage Bio, Dr. Jones was Vice President of Process Development and Manufacturing at Exonics Therapeutics, which was acquired in 2019 by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Between 2004 and 2016, Dr. Jones held a variety of positions at Genzyme, and later Sanofi which was acquired by Genzyme, including Director of Gene Therapy Development and Senior Scientist, Gene Therapy. Dr. Jones received a B.S. from The University of Kansas and a Ph.D. from Purdue University.
Robert joined Kate Therapeutics as its Vice President, Clinical Development in January 2022, bringing his biopharmaceutical and regulatory experience in rare diseases and gene therapy. He was most recently with Janssen Pharmaceuticals as Senior Director and Compound Development Team Leader in Immunology, where he led early and late-stage compound developmental activities, including maternal-fetal medicine programs. His prior roles include serving as a clinical lead for inherited neurodegenerative and metabolic disease gene therapies at REGENXBIO plus 10 years of increasing responsibility at the U.S. FDA as a medical officer and medical team leader (at CBER, CDRH and CDER). Dr. Fiorentino received a medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin, trained in Internal Medicine at Boston University, and earned an MPH at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Alan H. Beggs, PhD., is the Director of the Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research at Boston Children’s Hospital and is the Sir Edwin & Lady Manton Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Following undergraduate studies at Cornell University, Dr. Beggs obtained his Ph.D. in Human Genetics at Johns Hopkins University, with subsequent postdoctoral fellowship training in medical and molecular genetics at Johns Hopkins and Boston Children’s hospitals. He has general expertise in laboratory and clinical applications of genetics to human disease, and since 1992 has directed an independent research program in the Division of Genetics and Genomics. Dr. Beggs has used the toolset of human molecular genetics to study normal biology and pathophysiology of a variety of disorders including muscular dystrophies, cardiac arrhythmias, developmental brainstem defects, hereditary anemias, sudden infant death syndrome, and congenital myopathies. Dr. Beggs has been a standing and ad hoc member of numerous NIH study sections and a grant reviewer for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the March of Dimes. He is a member of several scientific advisory boards and boards of directors for nonprofit and commercial entities.
Dr. High received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Harvard University, her MD from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, a business certification from the University of North Carolina Business School’s Management Institute for Hospital Administrators and a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Over more than 30 years, her career has spanned internal medicine, hematology, molecular genetics and gene therapy. She served as the inaugural director of a Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) devoted to development of cell and gene therapies for diseases that affect the pediatric population. At CHOP she was also an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. High served a five-year term on the U.S. FDA Advisory Committee on Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapies and is a past president of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy. In 2013, she co-founded Spark Therapeutics where she served as President, CSO, and member of the Board of Directors until Dec 2019 when Spark was acquired by Roche. In January 2021 she joined AskBio, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer as President of Therapeutics and member of the Board of Directors. In December 2022, she left AskBio to become a Visiting Professor at Rockefeller University. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians (London), and the National Academy of Sciences.
Travis Hinson, M.D., is an NIH-funded scientist and clinical cardiologist with specialization in inherited cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Hinson is the Jim Calhoun Endowed Associate Professor of Cardiology and Genetics at The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, a precision medicine genomics institute based in Farmington, CT. Dr. Hinson’s research focuses on developing best-in-class cardiovascular disease models using human stem cells, tissue engineering, micro physiological devices, as well as mouse models. The Hinson Lab is developing a next generation of genome editing therapeutics to treat inherited cardiovascular diseases that are incompletely addressed by current therapies. Dr. Hinson also serves as Founding Director of CV Genetics at UConn Health, where he provides clinical care for individuals with inherited forms of cardiovascular disorders. Dr. Hinson attended Harvard Medical School, completed residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital, and completed a Fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Peter Jones, Ph.D., is a Professor of Pharmacology, and the Mick Hitchcock, Ph.D., Endowed Chair of Medical Biochemistry at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, and a member of the Sen. Paul D. Wellstone Cooperative Research Center for Muscular Dystrophy in Seattle. Dr. Jones has a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Immunology from Emory University and did his post-doctoral work in Biochemistry and Epigenetics with Dr. Alan Wolffe at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He made the connection between DNA methylation and methyl-DNA binding proteins with chromatin modifications and remodeling to regulate gene expression. Dr. Jones’ lab has been focused on facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) since 2003, investigating dysregulated epigenetic mechanisms, creating animal models of FSHD, inventing new diagnostics for FSHD, and developing novel FSHD therapeutic approaches, including CRISPR-inhibition gene therapy for FSHD. He recently founded MyFSHD.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the worldwide FSHD community and bringing affordable FSHD diagnostics to anyone in need.
Dr. Tapscott is a Professor in the Human Biology and Clinical Research Divisions of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and a Professor of Neurology at the University of Washington. He completed the M.D./Ph.D. program and neurology residency at the University of Pennsylvania where his graduate studies with Dr. Howard Holtzer were among the first to use intermediate filament proteins as markers of lineage specification and differentiation. His postdoctoral work at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center with Dr. Harold Weintraub and early independent studies identified the mechanisms of lineage specification and differentiation using the myogenic and neurogenic determination genes of the MyoD and NeuroD gene families. His research career includes contributions to the molecular mechanisms of myotonic dystrophy and early studies on immune responses in AAV gene therapies for muscular dystrophy. Together with a broad range of collaborators, his group confirmed the role of DUX4 as the cause of facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD), the identity of SMCHD1 as the major cause of FSHD2, the molecular consequences of DUX4 expression in skeletal muscle, and the role of DUX4 in the early embryo and a broad range of cancers. In addition, his clinical studies have established correlations between MRI characteristics and molecular disease activity in FSHD muscle, as well as identified several candidate therapeutics for FSHD.
Amy Wagers, Ph.D., is the Forst Family Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University, Senior Investigator in the Section on Islet Cell and Regenerative Biology at the Joslin Diabetes Center, Co-chair of the department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard, an HHMI Early Career Scientist, and a member of the Paul F. Glenn Laboratories for the Biological Mechanisms of Aging at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Wagers’ research focuses on defining the factors and mechanisms that regulate the migration, expansion, and regenerative potential of adult blood-forming and muscle-forming stem cells. Dr. Wagers received her Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis from Northwestern University and completed postdoctoral training in stem cell biology at Stanford University. Dr. Wagers has authored more than 100 primary research and review articles, and her work has been recognized by awards from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Beckman Foundation, WM Keck Foundation, and Glenn Foundation, and National Institutes of Health. In 2013, she received the New York Stem Cell Foundation’s Robertson Prize for outstanding achievement in translational stem cell research.
Eric Wang, Ph.D., received his B.A. in Biochemistry from Harvard College and his Ph.D. from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology in Medical Engineering/Medical Physics with a focus on Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics. Dr. Wang performed his graduate work with Christopher Burge and David Housman, developing and applying experimental and computational methods to studying alternative splicing across tissue transcriptomes (cited >2500 times), quantitating RNA processing events, and uncovering a role for Muscleblind-like proteins in regulating RNA localization. Following receipt of an NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, Dr. Wang launched his independent research group at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Center for Neurogenetics and Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at the University of Florida. Dr. Wang has received a Thomas H. Maren Junior Investigator Award, as well as grants from the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation and Biogen Idec. Dr. Wang’s family is affected by myotonic dystrophy, and outside of academic research, he has been involved with the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and serves on the board of the Promise to Kate Foundation, helping these organizations raise awareness and fund muscle disease research. Recently, Dr. Wang has co-led and co-organized the Strength, Science and Stories of Inspiration event in Boston, aimed at bringing together all stakeholders for muscle disease and supporting the next generation of young investigators in muscle disease.
Clare Ozawa, Ph.D., is a Managing Director at Versant Ventures and leads investments in San Diego and the Bay Area. Clare previously oversaw strategic business operations for all Inception Sciences research sites across North America. During her tenure at Inception, she assumed leadership roles in the creation and management of six new companies launched in partnership with academic researchers and major biopharmaceutical companies. Clare joined as Inception’s founding chief business officer in 2011 and was promoted to COO in 2014. She previously was an investment professional at Versant, where she was involved in several successful investments including Flexion (2014 IPO), BioTie (sale) and Quanticel (sale). Clare joined Versant from Novartis Pharma, where she worked in the Office of the CEO, leading strategic initiatives for the Novartis Pharma Executive Committee. Previously, Clare was at McKinsey & Company where she advised clients across the biopharmaceutical sector. Clare earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences with honors and distinction from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in neurosciences from Stanford University Medical School.
Dr. Seidenberg is a founding managing director of Westlake Village BioPartners and a general partner at Kleiner Perkins, a leading venture capital firm. A longtime life sciences investor, she has incubated-invested in greater than 44 biotech companies. Dr. Seidenberg has a demonstrated ability to identify and accelerate medically meaningful molecules through development. Her expertise is grounded in her significant senior level industry experience with leadership roles at Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck Research Laboratories. Most recently, at Amgen, Dr. Seidenberg was chief medical officer and head of global development. Dr. Seidenberg holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and anthropology from Barnard College and attended medical school at the University of Miami School of Medicine. She completed her medical residency at Johns Hopkins University and the George Washington University, and Fellowship at the National Institutes of Health.
