Board of Directors

Dr. Erlander has served as our Chief Executive Officer since May 2020 and formerly as the Chief Scientific Officer from March 2013 to May 2020. 

Previously, he was Chief Scientific Officer at bioTheranostics, a subsidiary of bioMérieux, a molecular diagnostic testing company focused on clinical applications in oncology, where he served from 2008 to 2013. From 2000 to 2008, Dr. Erlander was Chief Scientific Officer at Arcturus, Inc. (later AviaraDx), which was acquired by bioMérieux in 2008. Dr. Erlander entered therapeutics as a Group Leader and then Research Fellow in drug discovery at Johnson & Johnson from 1994 to 2000. From 1991 to 1994, Dr. Erlander was a Postdoctoral Fellow and then Assistant Professor at Scripps Research. He has 44 issued patents, over 50 pending applications, and has co-authored more than 90 scientific publications. 

Dr. Erlander holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis, an M.S. degree in Biochemistry from Iowa State University, and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Mani Mohindru has been a director since 2021. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Novasenta, an early-stage biotechnology company, and a Director on the Board of CytomX, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTMX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Mohindru previously worked in executive roles at several additional biotechnology companies, having served as Chief Executive Officer of CereXis, Inc., Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer of Cara Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CARA), and Chief Strategy Officer at Curis, Inc (Nasdaq: CRIS). Prior to her leadership roles in the biotechnology industry, Dr. Mohindru spent several years as an equity research analyst covering the biotechnology sector at UBS, Credit Suisse and ThinkEquity. She also co-founded a privately held biotechnology company and was a healthcare industry consultant. She was also a member of the Board of Directors of SAB Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage private biopharmaceutical company.

On the non-profit side, Dr. Mohindru is a member of the Executive Advisory Board of the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute of Northwestern University and a member of the Scientific Investment Advisory Committee of the Gates Center of Regenerative Medicine at the University of Colorado. Dr. Mohindru received her Ph.D. in Neurosciences from Northwestern University and her master’s in biotechnology and BS in Human Biology (Hons) from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, India.

Dr. Gary W. Pace has been a director since 2020 and is a seasoned biopharmaceutical executive with over 40 years of experience in the industry. He has co-founded several early-stage life science companies, where he built products from the laboratory to commercialization and is currently actively involved with several private companies. He has served on the boards of several public companies including, Pacira Biosciences Inc. from 2008 to 2024, Antisense Therapeutics Ltd. from 2015 to 2022, Simavita Ltd. from 2016 to 2022, ResMed Inc. from 1994 to 2018, Transition Therapeutics Inc. from 2002 to 2016, and ORxPharma Ltd. from 2001 to 2013. Dr. Pace has contributed to the development of the biotechnology industry through honorary university appointments and industry and government committees. In 2003, he was awarded a Centenary Medal by the Australian Government “for service to Australian society in research and development” and was recognized as the 2011 Director of the Year (corporate governance) by the San Diego Directors Forum. Dr. Pace holds a B.Sc. (Hons I) from the University of New South Wales and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was a Fulbright Fellow and General Foods Scholar. The Board believes that Dr. Pace’s years of experience providing strategic advisory services to complex organizations, including as a public company director provides him with the qualifications and skills to serve as a director.

Renee Tannenbaum has been a director since 2021. She currently serves as vice president of global partnering at Halozyme, Inc., where she is responsible for leading business development activities and the company’s alliances through partnerships and collaborations. Dr Tannenbaum previously served as the head of global customer excellence at AbbVie, where she was responsible for building commercial capabilities for the organization. Prior to her time at AbbVie, Dr. Tannenbaum served as president of Myrtle Potter & Company, LLC, a global life-sciences consulting and advisory firm, and executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. During her time at Elan, Dr. Tannenbaum was responsible for revenue generation from Elan’s marketed products, preparing for the commercialization of pipeline candidates, and strengthening the company’s overall commercial capabilities. Prior to her role at Elan, Dr. Tannenbaum spent three years leading the global commercial operations organization at Novartis Pharma AG, and nine and sixteen years at Bristol Myers Squibb and at Merck and Company, Inc., respectively, where she held a variety of leadership positions in operations and general management. She has extensive Board experience, as she is currently a director at Zogenix, Inc., and previously served as a director at Nordic Nanovector ASA, Cipher Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Sharps Compliance Inc., and Immune Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

In addition to her roles in industry, Dr. Tannenbaum retains a faculty position at the University of the Sciences’ Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy, where she serves as the Dean’s professor. Dr. Tannenbaum received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Sciences, her MBA from Temple University, and her B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Connecticut.