Experts in Polymer Therapeutics

Simba has a wealth of biotech and pharma experience in building companies and transformative platforms as well as developing products, having served in key executive roles at Maxygen, Systemix, Boehringer Mannheim and Celltech over his thirty-year career.  He has served as a partner and advisor at Flagship Pioneering where he was the founding CEO of Evelo Biosciences and as a Venture Partner at TPG where he was Founder CEO of Moksh8 Pharmaceuticals. Simba is currently a board member at Foghorn Therapeutics (NASDAQ – FHTX) and Sensorium Therapeutics. He earned his MBA at INSEAD and received his Ph.D. from King’s College, London.

Steve has served as CEO since March 2024 and CFO from March 2022 to March 2024. He has more than 35 years of experience as an investor, board member, advisor, and in operational roles with early-stage companies. He is a General Partner of Form & Fiction Ventures (FFV), a venture studio that launches and invests in startup and seed stage companies focused on socially responsible initiatives. He has served in investment management roles at Caldwell Sutter Capital, Tamalpais Partners, SF Sentry Securities, Kayne Anderson, and Fidelity Investments. Mr. Ledger received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Connecticut.

Milton served as Chair of the Serina Board of Directors since co-founding Serina in 2006. Prior to founding Serina, he was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shearwater Polymers, Inc. (Shearwater). Shearwater was founded by Dr. Harris in 1992 and sold in 2001 to Nektar Therapeutics, Inc. Shearwater successfully patented, manufactured, and partnered PEG technology that enabled multiple drug products including Neulasta® (Amgen) and Pegasys® (Roche). Dr. Harris earned a B.S. from Auburn University and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas.

Greg is the Executive Chairman of Juvenescence which he co-founded in 2017. He is also a board director of public companies Biohaven Pharmaceuticals (NYSE – BHVN) and Portage Biotech (NASDAQ – PRTG). Dr. Bailey founded and served as a director of a number of private and public companies and previously served as a managing partner of Palantir Group, Inc., a merchant bank involved in a number of biotech company startups and financings. Dr. Bailey practiced emergency medicine for ten years before entering finance. Dr. Bailey received his M.D. from the University of Western Ontario.

Richard is the CEO of Juvenescence. He was SVP and Global Head of Respiratory & Immunology Development at AstraZeneca, overseeing the development and approval of five new medicines including the SARS CoV-2 vaccine, Vaxzevria®, and combination antibody, EvushieldTM. Prior to AstraZeneca, Richard served 16 years in increasingly senior roles at GSK, including Vice President of Fibrosis R&D. He received a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience, a Bachelor of Medicine, a Bachelor of Surgery, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Sciences from University College London. Dr. Marshall has co-authored more than 60 original publications in journals including The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Brannan has more than three decades of experience in neuroscience and neuropsychiatry drug development, with a proven track record of leading clinical programs from early development through regulatory approval and commercialization. Prior to joining the Serina board, he most recently served as Chief Medical Officer at Karuna Therapeutics, where he led the clinical strategy for KarXT (xanomeline–trospium), the first new mechanism of action for schizophrenia approved in over 30 years. KarXT’s successful development and launch were key to Karuna’s $14 billion acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2024.

Dr. Brannan previously held senior leadership roles at Takeda, Novartis, Cyberonics (now LivaNova), and Eli Lilly, where he directed clinical development programs in depression, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and treatment-resistant epilepsy. At Takeda, he led turnaround efforts that rescued and advanced multiple late-stage CNS programs. He is a founding member of the CNS Summit Leadership Council and has served on the Executive Committee of the International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology (ISCTM), reflecting his continued influence on the field’s evolving standards and methodologies.

Dr. Brannan received his A.B. from Harvard University and his M.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He completed residency and fellowship training in psychiatry and neuroimaging, and has served in academic, clinical, and industry leadership roles throughout his career.

Karen J. Wilson has more than 30 years of industry and leadership experience in life sciences companies across finance, strategy, and risk management. She joined Serina’s Board in January 2025. She also currently serves as independent director and audit committee chair for Elicio Therapeutics Board, joining Elicio in June 2023, after the merger with Angion Biomedica where she had been a board member since April 2020. She also currently serves as independent director and audit committee chair for Connect Biopharma, and LAVA Therapeutics. Ms. Wilson previously served as a board member at Vaxart, Inc. until August 2022. Ms. Wilson served as Senior Vice President of Finance at Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc, a pharmaceutical company, until September 2020 after serving as Vice President of Finance and Principal Accounting Officer. Prior to joining Jazz in 2011, she served as Principal Accounting Officer and Vice President of Finance at PDL BioPharma, Inc., a life sciences company. She previously served as a principal at the consulting firm of Wilson Crisler LLC, Chief Financial Officer of ViroLogic, Inc., a biosciences company, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Operations for Novare Surgical Systems, Inc., a medical device manufacturer, and as a consultant and auditor for Deloitte & Touche LLP, a professional services firm. Ms. Wilson is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of California and received a B.S. in Business from the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Venkatesan joined the Serina Therapeutics board in February 2024. Jay served as the Chairman, President & CEO of Angion Biomedica from May 2018 until Angion’s June 2023 merger with Elicio Therapeutics. He currently serves as a Board Director at Elicio. Prior to Angion, Dr. Venkatesan served as President and Board Director of Alpine Immune Sciences (ALPN), which he co-founded as a Managing Partner of Alpine BioVentures. ALPN was acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) for $4.9 billion in May 2024. Previously, Dr. Venkatesan was the founder and portfolio manager of Ayer Capital, a global healthcare fund. Prior to that, he served as a director at Brookside Capital, part of Bain Capital, where he co-managed healthcare investments. He was also a consultant at McKinsey & Co. and a venture investor with Patricof & Co. Ventures (now Apax Partners). He received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and his B.A. from Williams College.