Peter is a scientist-turned entrepreneur who has held positions at small, medium and large biotech companies during his 20 year career. He is also an angel investor and advisor to multiple biotech companies. Prior to Eclipse Bio, Dr. Chu was founding CEO of Eclipse Therapeutics, a Biogen spin-out developing cancer stem cell antibodies. After Eclipse Therapeutics was acquired by Bionomics Limited, Dr. Chu led Bionomics’ US operations and successful Phase I clinical trials for BNC101 antibody therapy in colon cancer.
Dr. Chu began his career as a scientist at Biogen Idec, where he led the cancer stem cells program and also worked with business development and new ventures to evaluate licensing and investment opportunities. He is a graduate of McGill University, where he majored in microbiology and immunology, and holds a Ph.D from the biomedical sciences program at UC San Diego and a masters degree from the University of Toronto.
Alex is our molecular biology guru and has previously trained and held positions in Eric Lander’s lab at the Broad Institute, California Institute of Technology and Illumina. He has developed technologies published in Nature Methods, Cell and Science, and his papers have been referenced more than 6,500 times.
Dr. Underwood is a molecular biologist with over two decades of RNA experience in both academic and industry environments. After studying alternative splicing in the nervous system as a PhD student at UCLA, he expanded his toolbox at UC-Santa Cruz with postdoctoral training in genomics and RNA structure. As NGS emerged, Jason discovered a passion for creative technology development and further pursued this theme at PacBio, pioneering long read sequencing approaches for RNA isoforms. He continues to work the intersection of genomics and RNA as a Principal Scientist at PacBio, focused on new technology development.
Daniel Vasella, M.D., works as board director, coach and strategic consultant for top executives. After the foundation of Novartis in 1996 he led the company for 17 years as CEO (1996-2010) and Chairman of the Board of Directors (1999-2013). Since 2013 Dr. Vasella is Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors for Novartis AG. Before the Novartis merger, Dr. Vasella was CEO of Sandoz Pharma Ltd. and a member of the Sandoz Group Executive Committee. From 1988 to 1992, he worked for Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corporation in the United States, prior to which he held a number of medical positions in Switzerland. He graduated with an M.D. from the University of Bern and completed executive training at Harvard Business School. Dr. Vasella also trained as psychoanalyst and executive coach. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Basel and the Harvard Business School Alumnus Award and many other distinctions. Dr. Vasella is a member of the board of directors of PepsiCo, Inc., the American Express Company, SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. and several biotech companies. He is also a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as of various cultural establishments.
Hallie Kuhn, PhD, is Vice President – Science & Technology at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., an S&P 500® urban office REIT (Alexandria), and Alexandria Venture Investments, the company’s strategic venture capital platform. In her role, Dr. Kuhn oversees venture investments, tenant underwriting, and business development in Alexandria’s San Diego and Greater Los Angeles clusters. Through Alexandria Venture Investments, Dr. Kuhn has led and manages more than 25 early- and growth-stage Southern California life science investments spanning therapeutics, research tools, and molecular diagnostics. Alexandria Venture Investments has been recognized by Silicon Valley Bank as the most active biopharma corporate investor by new deal volume for the last four consecutive years.
Formerly, Dr. Kuhn was a Principal at LS Polaris Innovation Fund, a Boston-based VC fund specializing in early-stage life science investments. She concurrently served as Chief of Staff for Polaris Partner Amy Schulman, supporting business development and operations for multiple companies, including Olivo Laboratories (acquired by Shiseido) and Lyndra Therapeutics. Prior to Polaris, she was a Senior Consultant at Clearview Healthcare Partners, where she engaged biopharma companies on strategic projects covering the full cycle of drug development and commercialization. Dr. Kuhn holds a PhD in Systems Biology from Harvard University and was a Churchill Scholar at Cambridge University. She is a recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, National Defense Science and Engineering Fellowship, and Harvard Ashford Fellowship. She holds a BS from Harvey Mudd College.
