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Gary W. Pace, Ph.D.
Dr. Gary W Pace has more than 40 years of experience in the development and commercialization of advanced life sciences and related technologies, spanning biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and food industries. He is a serial entrepreneur and has held senior positions in small- and large-scale life sciences ventures and companies in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. He has long-term board level experience with multi-billion and small cap companies with an in-depth knowledge of all aspects of technical operations, compensation and corporate governance. Currently, he is a Director of Pacira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: PCRX), Simavita Ltd. (ASX: SVA), Antisense Therapeutics (ASX: ANP) and Invitrocue (ASX: IVQ) as well as several private companies.
Dr. Pace is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, as well as author or co-author of over 70 research papers and patents. In 2003, Dr. Pace was awarded a Centenary Medal by the Australian Government for service to Australian society in research and development. Dr. Pace holds a Ph.D. from MIT, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.
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Martin Simonetti
Mr. Simonetti is currently the COO of Mist Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, Mr. Simonetti served as VLST’s President and CEO from 2005 to 2013. From 1999 to 2005, he was employed at Dendreon Corp., most recently serving as the CFO, Senior Vice President Finance and Treasurer. From 1991 to 1998, he was employed at Amgen Inc., serving as the VP of Operations and Finance of Amgen BioPharma and its Director of Colorado Operations. From 1984 to 1991, he worked at Genentech, Inc., first as a scientist in its Medicinal and Analytical Chemistry Department and later as a financial analyst and group controller.
Besides Curtana Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Simonetti serves on the Board of Directors of Nexgenia, EpiThany and VLST Corp., Inc. He served on the Boards of Directors of Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE: ARE), from 2005 – 2013 and Icagen, Inc., a Nasdaq company, from 2005 until its sale to Pfizer in 2011. He was also a past member of the Dean’s executive advisory board for the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University and former chairman of the board of Life Sciences Washington. He received an M.S. and B.S. from the University of California, Davis and an M.B.A. from the University of Santa Clara.
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Gregory Stein, M.D., M.B.A.
Dr. Stein co-founded Curtana Pharmaceuticals and became the company’s Chief Executive Officer in April, 2013. During his professional career of over 30 years, he has been a clinician and a life sciences executive with experience in the areas of diagnostics, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
Prior to co-founding Curtana, Dr. Stein served as the Vice President, Operations and Medical Affairs at Sova Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a venture-backed company he co-founded in March, 2010. The company is focused on the development of novel therapeutic drugs for the treatment of inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Prior to Sova, he was the Senior Director of Product Marketing at Genoptix, which was recently acquired by Novartis. Genoptix is a specialized laboratory service provider focused on delivering personalized and comprehensive diagnostic services to community-based hematologists and oncologists. Prior to joining Genoptix, Dr. Stein was an entrepreneur with a focus on identifying innovative technology for commercial development in the medical therapeutic, device and diagnostic areas. He has been the founder of two other early-stage drug development companies, Opus Pharmaceuticals and Uzima Bioscience.
Before pursuing a career in the business world, Dr. Stein practiced Emergency Medicine in a busy urban hospital on the west side of Chicago where he served as the Assistant Medical Director of the department and Associate Emergency Medical Services Director for the regional EMS system.
Dr. Stein is formerly board certified in Emergency Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of Illinois Affiliated Hospitals in Chicago and is a graduate of the 3-year accelerated Independent Study Program at the Ohio State University School of Medicine. Dr. Stein received a B.A. in Psychology from UC San Diego and an M.B.A. from The Rady School of Management at UC San Diego.
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Santosh Kesari, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Kesari is currently the Director of Neuro-oncology, Professor of Neurosciences, and Chairman of the Department of Translational Neuro-oncology and Neuro-therapeutics at the John Wayne Cancer Institute. From 2009 through 2015, he was the Director of the Neuro-Oncology Program, Director of the Neurotoxicity Treatment Center, and Director of the Translational Neuro-Oncology Laboratories at Moores Cancer Center and a Professor of Neurosciences at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. Prior to coming to UC San Diego in 2009, he was an Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston from 2003 to 2009.
Dr. Kesari was determined to be among the top 1% neuro-oncologists and neurologists in the nation, according to Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., which reports its findings as the U.S. News & World Report Top Doctor list. He is a winner of an Innovation Award by the San Diego Business Journal. He is on the advisory board of American Brain Tumor Association, San Diego Brain Tumor Foundation, Chris Elliott Fund, Nicolas Conor Institute, Voices Against Brain Cancer, and Philippine Brain Tumor Alliance. He has been the author of over 200 scientific publications and is the inventor on several patents and patent applications.
Dr. Kesari is board certified in Medical Oncology and Neurology. He completed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and his fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He earned a Ph.D. degree in molecular biology and a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He is a member of the Society of Neuro-Oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Indian Society of Neuro-Oncology, and American Academy of Neurology.
