CHANGiNG LiVES THROUGH LiViNG MEDiCiNE

Dr. Stein brings over 35 years of biopharmaceutical industry, currently serving as Chief Medical Officer of Protagenic Therapeutics and Executive Vice President of Research and Development of MINDEX. He previously served as President of R&D at Agenus Inc. where he lead Agenus’ research, preclinical development and translational medicine functions. Dr. Stein also previously played a pivotal role in bringing several products to the market including Sustiva®, Fablyn®, Viviant®, PanRetin®, TargRetin®, Promacta® and Eliquis®. He has also held executive management positions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals, DuPont Merck, Incyte Pharmaceuticals, Roche Palo Alto and KineMed. Dr. Stein holds an MD and a PhD in Physiology & Pharmacology from Duke University.

Manuel Hidalgo, M.D., Ph.D. is currently the Chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine/New York Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Hidalgo received his MD degree from the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain in 1992 and a Ph.D. degree from University Autonoma of Madrid in 1997. He trained in medicine and medical oncology at Hospital ¨12 de Octubre¨ in Madrid and at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. He also completed a fellowship program in anticancer drug development at the Institute of Drug Development in San Antonio, TX.

Prior to this position, he served as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. In 2001, Dr. Hidalgo relocated to Johns Hopkins University to be Director of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Program at the Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins and Associate Professor of Oncology. In 2009 he became Director of the Clinical Research Program at the Spanish National Cancer Center and Vice director of Translational Research in 2011. In 2015 he became the Chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology and Director of the Rosenberg Clinical Cancer Center at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He was also the Theodore W. and Evenly G. Berenson Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

His main focus of research has been new drug development in pancreatic cancer. His group popularized the use of Avatar mouse models for cancer research and recently contributed to the development and approval of nab-paclitaxel for pancreatic cancer treatment. His current work focuses on strategies for personalized medicine and immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Mark Exley is an expert on cell therapy. His areas of research have included immunity to cancers: natural anti-tumor immunity and how to optimize responses directly and through vaccines, protective versus inflammatory immune responses to acute and chronic viral infections, and cells involved in suppressing graft-versus-host disease, obesity-associated and other inflammations.
He has published over 120 mostly peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals, as well as reviews and book chapters, and serves as Associate Editor of Clin. Immunol. He has received numerous research awards and grants from federal and other agencies.
Dr. Exley was Faculty at Harvard Medical School, where he was co-founder of NKT Therapeutics Inc., and Professor at University of Manchester, UK. He retains honorary appointments at both institutions. His post-doctoral fellowship was completed at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School and was a Scientist at Immulogic Inc. He received his Bachelor of Science from Imperial College, London, Master of Science from King’s College, London and his Ph.D. from the Institute of Cancer Research, London.

Dr. Gumperz received her Ph.D. in 1996 from Stanford University, where she investigated NK cell recognition of HLA molecules. During her postdoctoral studies at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School she turned her attention towards iNKT cells with a view to understanding their antigen recognition and ability to become activated in the absence of microbial antigens. In 2003, she joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, where she is now a Professor of Medical Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Gumperz’ research currently focuses on developing and using humanized-mouse model systems to further our insight into the molecular interactions and functions of human iNKT cells, MAIT cells, and Vg9Vd2 T cells in vivo.

Lydia Lynch received her B.Sc. degree in Cell Biology and Genetics from University College Dublin, Ireland. She received her PhD in Immunology in 2008 from University College Dublin, in the lab of Prof. Cliona O’Farrelly in St. Vincent’s University Hospital. Lydia received a Newman Fellowship for her early post-doctoral studies with Prof. Donal O’Shea in St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin. Here they established the Immunology and Obesity Lab, which coordinates international, collaborative, translational research in obesity and its complications. Lydia then received the prestigious UNESCO-L’Oreal International Women In Science Fellowship, where she moved to Harvard Medical School to study iNKT cells in adipose tissue in the lab of Mark Exley. In 2009, Lydia received an International Marie Curie Fellowship to continue her postdoctoral studies in immunometabolism, in the labs of Prof. Michael Brenner and Prof. Ulrich von Andrian in Harvard. In 2013, she became a junior faculty member at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. In 2014, Lydia started her independent lab with a joint appointment between the Division of Endocrinology and the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Marcela Maus is the Director of Cellular Immunotherapy at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and an Attending Physician in the Bone Marrow Transplant and Cell Therapy division of Hematology/Oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Maus is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, an Associate Member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and an Associate Member of the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard.

Dr. Maus is a translational physician-scientist in the field of immunology, particularly as it relates to cancer. Her research program spans basic mechanisms of human immunology to design and test novel immune-based therapeutic interventions in vitro, in mouse models, and in patients. Her group has initiated novel clinical trials of cell therapies in lymphoma, myeloma, glioblastoma, and has ongoing projects to enhance CAR T cells for multiple solid tumors.

Dr. Maus received her S.B. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Maus trained in internal medicine at University of Pennsylvania and in hematology and medical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering, and is board-certified in these three disciplines. Her laboratory research training was focused on gene and cell therapies, and occurred in the laboratories of Dr. Katherine High, Dr. Michel Sadelain, and Dr. Carl June.

Dr. Marc van Dijk brings over 25 years of experience in leading platform development and advancing innovative therapeutic programs. As Chief Scientific Officer at MiNK Therapeutics, he spearheaded the discovery and development of the company’s iNKT cell platform. Previously, Dr. van Dijk served as Chief Technology Officer at Agenus and its subsidiary, 4-Antibody, where he oversaw the development of Retrocyte Display™, Agenus’ proprietary antibody discovery platform. In this role, he led antibody discovery programs in collaboration with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, advancing multiple clinical candidates, including CTLA4, PD1, GITR, and OX40 antibodies.

Earlier in his career, Dr. van Dijk was Vice President of Antibody Technology at Genmab and Director of Applied Research at Innogenetics (now Fujirebio). At Medarex and Genmab, he managed key partnerships with Immunex (now Amgen) and Roche, and served as project leader on numerous discovery projects, including Humax-CD20 (Arzerra™).

Dr. van Dijk held a tenure-track position in the Department of Immunology at the University Medical Center Utrecht and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Molecular Biology at the University of California, San Diego. He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Utrecht University.

Garo Armen is the Chairman of the Board of MiNK Therapeutics. He is currently the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Agenus Inc. Under his leadership, Agenus has been advancing breakthrough scientific technologies and immunotherapeutic products for more than 20 years. In addition, Garo oversaw the successful restructuring of the biopharmaceutical company Elan Corporation, where he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Garo is currently Chairman of the Board of Protagenic Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focusing on human brain hormones for the treatment of neurological and metabolic disorders. He began his research career at Brookhaven National Laboratory subsequent to which he made a transition to Wall Street, as an analyst and investment banker at EF Hutton and then at Dean Witter Reynolds (now Morgan Stanley), cultivating key relationships and stock-market expertise. Garo received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the City University of New York.

Mr. Behner has been in equity partnership positions for the past 18 years at a number of global strategy and management consulting firms. Since July 2020 Mr. Behner has served as Global Health Sciences & Wellness Strategy and Transactions Leader at Ernst & Young. Mr. Behner joined Ernst & Young in September 2018 as the Global Transaction Services Leader for the Pharmaceutical and Lifesciences Industries. From 2013 to June 2018 Mr. Behner was European Head of Health Industries and Consulting Leader for the Pharma & Lifesciences Industries for the EMEA region for Strategy&, a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) company. From 2005 until its 2013 acquisition by PwC, Mr. Behner was an equity partner at Booz & Company (BC), together with Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) prior to BC’s spin-out from BAH. From 2003 to 2005 Mr. Behner was a partner at A.T. Kearney in its German Division, and from 2004 to 2005 he was Head of A.T. Kearney’s European Pharmaceutical and Life Science Industry group.   Additionally, since April 2015, Mr. Behner has served as a Principal of Rottendorf GmbH, a pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing company. He holds a combined BE & ME degree in Mechanical Engineering for RWTH Aachen University in Germany.

Dr. Jennifer Buell is the President and Chief Executive Officer at MiNK Therapeutics. She brings more than 25 years of biopharmaceutical experience, leading teams to advance discovery candidates through to clinical development to commercialization. She was previously President and Chief Operating Officer at Agenus, where she was responsible for organizational operations, overseeing research, clinical development, manufacturing, commercial operations, investor relations and external affairs. During her tenure, she transformed Agenus from a neoantigen vaccine company to a global, fully-integrated biotech company with multiple strategic partnerships. Prior to Agenus, Dr. Buell held leadership positions in R&D operations at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Harvard Clinical Research Institute (Baim), where she was involved in the development strategy and operations for a portfolio of industry and government-sponsored clinical programs. She obtained her Ph.D. in Cellular, Biochemical, and Molecular Biochemistry with an M.S. in Biostatistics from Tufts University.

Mr. Brian Corvese is President and Founder of Vencor Capital, a private equity firm with telecommunications and technology investments in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions. Prior to Vencor, Mr. Corvese worked on investments in the US and global equity markets as a Managing Director and Partner at Soros Fund Management, the largest hedge fund in the world at the time. From 1988 to 1996, Mr. Corvese was a partner at Chancellor Capital Management, a $25 billion money management firm. While at Chancellor, Mr. Corvese was a portfolio manager with responsibility for investments made in basic industries, restructurings, and special situations, corporate governance investments, as well as founding and managing his own hedge fund. From 1981 to 1988, Mr. Corvese was with Drexel Burnham Lambert as an equity analyst following the chemical and specialty chemical industries and he participated in a significant number of merger and acquisition activities. While at Drexel, Mr. Corvese was a member of the top chemical and specialty chemical research team, as ranked by Institutional Investor.

Mr. Corvese currently serves on the board of the National Telecommunications Company, based in Cairo, Egypt. Mr. Corvese earned degrees in Finance and Political Science from The University of Rhode Island and attended New York University Graduate School.

Barbara Ryan is the CEO of Barbara Ryan Advisors, and a Senior Advisor at EY. Previously, Ms. Ryan was a Wall Street research analyst; a Managing Director and Head of Pharmaceutical Research at Deutsche Bank; and began her career covering the pharmaceutical industry at Bear Stearns in 1982. She has been the lead analyst on high-profile IPO’s, including Express Scripts, PSSI, Henry Schein, and Flamel Technologies, and, as a consultant, has provided strategic counsel and tactical support deals, including Shire/Abbvie, Shire/Baxalta, and Allergan/Valeant. Barbara has raised over $1.5 B for emerging biopharma companies in IPOs, follow-ons, PIPEsand convertible debt transactions. She has led the IR/PR programs, or served as senior strategic investor relations counsel, to firms including Shire, Cardinal Health, Zoetis, Agenus, Radius Health, Eloxx, Rafael Holdings, Centrexion, Esperion, ContraFect, Relypsa, Syndax, Allergan, and Perrigo.

In 2012, Barbara formed Barbara Ryan Advisors, a life sciences capital markets strategic advisory firm, and joined FTI Consulting as Managing Director. Ms. Ryan is the Founder of Fabulous Pharma Females, a non-profit dedicated to advancing and mentoring women in biopharma. Barbara is currently a member of the Gilda’s Club NYC Board of Directors, serves on several Advisory Boards, and writes a monthly Finance Column for Pharma Executive Magazine.

Mr. Wiinberg has 20 years of senior leadership experience, currently serving as Chief Executive Officer of X+Vax Technology A.S., a biotech company committed to developing vaccines against pathogens acquired by mucosal infection such as herpes. Mr. Wiinberg previously served as Chief Executive Officer of  H. Lundbeck A.S., a global pharmaceutical company developing and marketing treatments for psychiatric and neurological disorders. His expertise encompasses serving on the boards of several other healthcare industry associations and multiple executive roles at Wyeth, one of the world’s largest research-driven pharmaceutical companies that was acquired by Pfizer in 2009.

Yekaterina “Katie” Chudnovsky is an attorney, venture investor, dedicated patient advocate, and supporter of medical research. She firmly believes in the power of scientific inquiry to unearth groundbreaking treatments for cancer patients. She is deeply committed to the cause, leading and participating in countless research projects that aim to expand our understanding of rare cancers and the most effective ways to fight them.

Katie’s philanthropic endeavors have significantly advanced the reach and resources of cancer research. Her efforts have provided financial support for hundreds of patients in need and understands that without sufficient funding, even the most promising research projects remain unrealized.

Katie serves as the chairperson of GI Research Foundation (GIRF) for the University of Chicago Digestive Diseases Center and has previously served as their President and Board Member for 12 years. Additionally, Katie currently serves on the Board of Directors for Elicio Therapeutics, Immix Biopharma, XCures, Colorectal Cancer Alliance (CCA)and is a Board Observer for MiNK Therapeutics.

Katie holds a BA from Northwestern University and a JD from DePaul University.

Dr. John B. Holcomb is a globally recognized expert in trauma and critical care medicine with over two decades of service in the U.S. Army, including as Commander of the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research and Trauma Consultant to the Army Surgeon General. A pioneer in combat casualty care and transfusion medicine, Dr. Holcomb’s innovations have transformed global trauma systems and saved countless lives. Following his military career, he has continued to advance patient care and innovation through academic medicine, biotech leadership, and advisory roles across public health and defense sectors. At MiNK, Dr. Holcomb brings deep expertise in immune activation, clinical trial execution, and systems design to guide the advancement of iNKT cell therapies for cancer, immune-mediated diseases, and global health preparedness.