Dr. Buel "Dan" Rodgers
Founder/Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Rodgers has 30 years research experience in skeletal and cardiac muscle development. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and has won numerous awards for research, teaching and mentorship. He held faculty positions in Pediatric Endocrinology at Johns Hopkins University and also in Molecular Biosciences at Washington State University where he directed the Washington Center for Muscle Biology.
Dr. Alexandra McPherron
Chief Science Officer
Dr. McPherron has over 25 years experience researching striated muscle and adipose development. She received her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Johns Hopkins and co-discovered the myokine myostatin as well as the basis of “double-muscling”. She was an intramural research scientist at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, held multiple leadership roles in different muscle-focused biotech companies and founded a consultancy for medical writing.
- Chief Financial Officer: Gary Carswell, CPA
President, Carswell & Associates
15 years’ experience with accounting, tax preparation, grants management, fiscal oversight & auditing - Business/Product Development & Management: Dr. William Mann, MBA/PhD
Former President & CEO, Helsinn; VP Corporate Development, Sapphire; Dir BD, Novartis - Business Development & Licensing: Jade Brown, MBA
Principle of Jade Brown consulting
30 years in the field, 20 in senior-level leadership - Director of CMC: Dr. Joe Rininger, PhD
Latham Biopharm Group
22 years' experience with cell and gene therapy manufacturing - Director of Preclinical Development: Dr. Sarah Herring, PhD
Latham Biopharm Group - Director of Regulatory Affairs: Chris Novashinski
Founder, RareMoon Consulting
21 years' industry experience, latter 11 with orphan drug development
Science Advisory Board
Aavogen is advised by highly respected and extremely well established leaders in the fields of gene therapy, muscle disease and molecular biology. This includes experts in viral gene delivery systems, muscular dystrophies and myopathies, cardiac regenerative medicine and inclusion body myositis. Such expertise complements that of Aavogen's leadership and partners, which together forms a muscle gene therapy dream team.
Bill Mann, Ph.D./M.B.A.
Expert in R&D commercialization. Former CEO, President or COO of Sapphire, Helsinn, NeuBase, Archimmune and Lodestar Biopharma as well as Global BD director for Novartis with $1B+ credited transactions.
Brian O’Rourke, PhD
Robert L. Levy Professor in Cardiology, Vice Chair of Basic and Translational Research and Director of the Bernard Laboratory of Preventive Cardiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Tom Lloyd, M.D./Ph.D.
Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Myositis Center, Chair of the Myositis Association Research Committee and Associate Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Paul Gregorevic, Ph.D.
Professor of Physiology, Head of the Laboratory for Muscle Research and Therapeutics and Deputy Director of the Center for Muscle Research, University of Melbourne. He is also the co-discoverer of AVGN7.
Jeff Chamberlain, Ph.D.
Endowed Professor at the University of Washington and Director of the Seattle Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center.
Board of Directors
Aavogen is seeking investment and is in the process of establishing a Board of Directors. For more information, please click the link to the right.