Experience

Spero Therapeutics

• United States
• Biotechnology Research
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Senior Director, Program Lead

  • Sep 2021 - Present



Bristol Myers Squibb

• United States
• Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Associate Director, Project Team Leader

  • Nov 2020 - Jun 2021



MyoKardia

• United States
• Biotechnology Research
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Associate Director, Project Team Leader

  • Feb 2020 - Nov 2020

  MYK-224 Project (Core) Team Lead - Team Lead for MYK-224, one of three clinical stage programs at MyoKardia. The cross-functional team consisted of Clinical Science (MD), Clinical Operations, Regulatory, DMPK, CMC, Toxicology, Biostatistics, Commercial, Pharmacovigilance, and IP. - Developed and executed on an integrated program strategy, focusing on how MYK-224 could capture additional value over mavacamten in select regions and indications. - Responsible for resource needs… Show more MYK-224 Project (Core) Team Lead - Team Lead for MYK-224, one of three clinical stage programs at MyoKardia. The cross-functional team consisted of Clinical Science (MD), Clinical Operations, Regulatory, DMPK, CMC, Toxicology, Biostatistics, Commercial, Pharmacovigilance, and IP. - Developed and executed on an integrated program strategy, focusing on how MYK-224 could capture additional value over mavacamten in select regions and indications. - Responsible for resource needs, timelines, and budget (~$10M/year). - Accountable for filing both a CTA (AUS) and an IND for FIH studies (Ph1). The team successfully dosed its first healthy volunteer in 2019. - Identified potential risks and implemented risk mitigation/contingency plans. - Provided strategic business perspectives and quarterly updates to the EC and the BoD. - Managed a Project Manager, ensuring efficient internal & external team meetings. Mavacamten tHFpEF Sub-Team Lead - Led a second cross-functional team (similar functions as above) focused on mavacamten life-cycle management, specifically in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). - Guided efforts towards a “business case” in a targeted HFpEF patient population, consolidating multiple TPPs into one which was subsequently utilized to optimally design the Phase 2a Proof of Concept study. Mavacamten China Sub-Team Lead & Alliance Manager - Partnered with colleagues at LianBio and stakeholders at MyoKardia/BMS to strategize the best path towards the commercialization of mavacamten in China.

• Project Team Leader/Senior Project Manager

  • Aug 2017 - Jan 2020

• Senior Scientist I, Medicinal Chemistry

  • Jan 2017 - Jul 2017

  - Medicinal Chemistry representative for the Discovery Research Team that discovered MYK-224. - Made key decisions on compound design, progression, assay sequencing, etc. to create a streamlined, iterative process to identify multiple safety assessment candidates. - Represented the Medicinal Chemistry group as the EH&S liaison; coordinating procedures, protocols, and training for proper safety measures. - Collaborated with multiple CROs along with our internal Executive Director of… Show more - Medicinal Chemistry representative for the Discovery Research Team that discovered MYK-224. - Made key decisions on compound design, progression, assay sequencing, etc. to create a streamlined, iterative process to identify multiple safety assessment candidates. - Represented the Medicinal Chemistry group as the EH&S liaison; coordinating procedures, protocols, and training for proper safety measures. - Collaborated with multiple CROs along with our internal Executive Director of Manufacturing and Technical Operations to assist in the scale-up/route optimization of a pre-clinical candidate. After optimization, the new route provided overall yields of ~ 5 fold greater than the initial one. Patents: Oslob, Johan; Aubele, Danielle; Evanchik, Marc; Fox, Jonathan Charles; Grillo, Mark; Kane, Brian; Mcdowell, Robert; Song, Yonghong; Zhong, Min. Bicyclic-​pyrimidinedione compounds. U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. (2016), US 20160176868. Oslob, Johan; Anderson, Robert; Aubele, Danielle; Evanchik, Marc; Fox, Jonathan Charles; Kane, Brian; McDowell, Robert; Rodriguez, Hector; Song, Yonghong; Sran, Arvinder. Preparation of 6-(cycloalkylamino)-2,4-(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione derivatives as myosin inhibitors for the treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. PCT Int. Appl., WO 2014205234 Oslob, Johan; Anderson, Robert; Aubele, Danielle; Evanchik, Marc; Fox, Jonathan Charles; Kane, Brian; Lu, Puping; McDowell, Robert; Rodriguez, Hector; Song, Yonghong; Sran, Arvinder. Preparation of pyrimidinedione compounds for treating hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and other cardiac conditions. PCT Int. Appl., WO 2014205223.

• Scientist II, Medicinal Chemistry

  • Jan 2013 - Dec 2016

  South San Francisco, CA Co-inventor of Mavacamten



Portola Pharmaceuticals

• United States
• Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Scientist II, Medicinal Chemistry

  • Jan 2012 - Nov 2012

  - Synthesized, purified and characterized multiple chemotypes of selective Spleen Tyrosine Kinase (Syk) inhibitors. - Hired and mentored college interns for three consecutive summers. - Evaluated software for the Medicinal Chemistry group including Dotmatics, Seurat, JChem for Excel, and Pipeline pilot. - Routinely utilized SciFinder, Beilstein, ACD labs, ChemDraw, and PyMol - Analyzed and characterized compounds by utilizing a combination of NMR, LCMS, HPLC, TLC… Show more - Synthesized, purified and characterized multiple chemotypes of selective Spleen Tyrosine Kinase (Syk) inhibitors. - Hired and mentored college interns for three consecutive summers. - Evaluated software for the Medicinal Chemistry group including Dotmatics, Seurat, JChem for Excel, and Pipeline pilot. - Routinely utilized SciFinder, Beilstein, ACD labs, ChemDraw, and PyMol - Analyzed and characterized compounds by utilizing a combination of NMR, LCMS, HPLC, TLC, etc. Patents: Song, Yonghong; Xu, Qing; Sran, Arvinder; Bauer, Shawn M.; Jia, Zhaozhong J.; Kane, Brian; Pandey, Anjali. Preparation of 5-alkylamino-3-arylaminopicoliamide derivatives as Syk kinase inhibitors. PCT Int. Appl. (2013), WO 2013192046. Jia, Zhaozhong J.; Kane, Brian; Rose, Jack; Bauer, Shawn M.; Song, Yonghong; Xu, Qing; Pandey, Anjali. Preparation of 1,2,4-triazine-6-carboxamides as Syk kinase inhibitors. U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. (2013), US 20130345191. Jia, Zhaozhong J.; Kane, Brian; Xu, Qing; Bauer, Shawn M.; Song, Yonghong; Pandey, Anjali; Dick, Ryan. Preparation of pyrimidinecarboxamide derivatives for use as Syk kinase activity inhibitors. PCT Int. Appl. (2013), WO 2013078468. Song, Yonghong; Xu, Qing; Jia, Zhaozhong J.; Kane, Brian; Bauer, Shawn M.; Pandey, Anjali. Preparation of pyrazine derivatives for use as Syk kinase activity inhibitors. U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. (2013), US 20130131040. Jia, Zhaozhong J.; Song, Yonghong; Xu, Qing; Kane, Brian; Bauer, Shawn M.; Pandey, Anjali. Preparation of benzamides and nicotinamides as spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitors. PCT Int. Appl. (2012), WO 2012061418. Bauer, Shawn M.; Song, Yonghong; Xu, Qing; Rose, Jack W.; Jia, Zhaozhong J.; Kane, Brian; Huang, Wolin; Pandey, Anjali; Mehrotra, Mukund. Preparation of nicotinamides as JAK kinase modulators. U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. (2012), US 20120108566.

• Scientist I, Medicinal Chemistry

  • Mar 2008 - Jan 2012



University of California, Berkeley

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Post Doctoral Scholar

  • 2007 - 2008

  - Identified a lead compound for a photoswitchable group II metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonist and evaluated its azobenzene-based derivatives as group II mGluR ligands in calcium imaging based assays. - Synthesized a series of spiropyran-merocyanine compounds for use as two-photon based photoisomerizable ligands. Publications: Optical control of metabotropic glutamate receptors. Levitz, Joshua; Pantoja, Carlos; Gaub, Benjamin; Janovjak, Harald; Reiner, Andreas;… Show more - Identified a lead compound for a photoswitchable group II metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonist and evaluated its azobenzene-based derivatives as group II mGluR ligands in calcium imaging based assays. - Synthesized a series of spiropyran-merocyanine compounds for use as two-photon based photoisomerizable ligands. Publications: Optical control of metabotropic glutamate receptors. Levitz, Joshua; Pantoja, Carlos; Gaub, Benjamin; Janovjak, Harald; Reiner, Andreas; Hoagland, Adam; Schoppik, David; Kane, Brian; Stawski, Philipp; Schier, Alexander F.; et al. Nature Neuroscience (2013), 16(4), 507-516. Show less



University of Minnesota

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Graduate Student

  • 2000 - 2006

  - Synthesized a focused library of SNC80 analogs (diarylpiperazines) and tested them on wild-type and mutant opioid cell lines in order to address structure-function related hypotheses. - Synthesized a series of xanomeline analogs (a wash-resistant muscarinic agonist) in order to address questions regarding structure-function and persistent binding. - Created mutant and chimeric opioid receptors in order to probe the molecular recognition of salvinorin A and developed/published a… Show more - Synthesized a focused library of SNC80 analogs (diarylpiperazines) and tested them on wild-type and mutant opioid cell lines in order to address structure-function related hypotheses. - Synthesized a series of xanomeline analogs (a wash-resistant muscarinic agonist) in order to address questions regarding structure-function and persistent binding. - Created mutant and chimeric opioid receptors in order to probe the molecular recognition of salvinorin A and developed/published a structural model. Show less