Founder & CEO
Sheila Mikhail has over 20 years of biopharmaceutical leadership experience and is CEO and co-founder of Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio), a company she started in 2001. She has also served as CEO and co-founder of Bamboo Therapeutics, which in 20 months raised $50 million, advanced a therapeutic for GAN into the clinic, completed pre-IND studies for a Duchenne muscular dystrophy therapeutic, and built a GMP manufacturing facility. Bamboo was acquired by Pfizer in August 2016 in a deal valued at $827 million.
Chief Scientific Officer (CSO)
Dr. Irnela Bajrovic received her PhD in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Texas at Austin. Her graduate work established the viability of the thin film technology as a superior method of vaccine stabilization, which bypasses cold-chain maintenance and has the potential to simplify the transportation of biologics. Since completing her PhD, Dr. Bajrovic established and led a formulation team at a leading biotechnology company, resulting in a patent and multiple publications.
Scientific Founder
Dr. Maria Croyle has over 25 years of experience in formulation and development of recombinant viruses for immunization and gene therapy. Her team was the first to report long-lasting protection from Ebola after administration of a single dose of the vaccine in non-human primates. Dr. Croyle has served on the USP Biologics and Biotechnology Expert Committee for Cell, Gene and Tissue Therapies and her laboratory has participated in international studies to characterize an IL-4 standard by the USP and an adenovirus reference standard by the FDA/CBER.
Co-Founder
Dr. Jude Samulski received his PhD in medical microbiology and immunology from the University of Florida. His graduate work (1978-82) demonstrated the first use of AAV as a viral vector and culminated in the first U.S. patent involving non-AAV genes inserted into AAV. Dr. Samulski has worked with AAV for 40 years, and for 25 years, he was director of the University of North Carolina Gene Therapy Center. He was the scientific founder of Bamboo Therapeutics, Inc. and served as the Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Chairman of the company until its acquisition by Pfizer in 2016. Dr. Samulski has advanced therapeutics into human clinical trials for hemophilia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, giant axonal neuropathy, and heart failure. He holds more than 200 patents related to AAV technology.
Vice President, Business Development
Megan Livingston gained almost a decade of research experience developing biomaterials, drug delivery systems, tissue engineering constructs, and stem cell therapies before leaving the lab. Prior to joining Jurata, she worked in new product development, helping cell and gene therapy companies scale up their GMP manufacturing and clinically translate their therapies. At Jurata, Ms. Livingston has contributed extensively to client development, investor recruitment and coordination, and design of its corporate growth and regulatory strategies.
Senior Analytical Scientist
Ms. Denise Reaves holds a Master’s Degree in Developmental Biology and has over 15 years’ experience in research, including gene dysregulation of pathways and/or cancer, as well as over-expressing and CRISPR knockout systems for pathway analysis, phenotypic changes, and small molecule exposure after Breast Cancer diagnosis. She has a strong background in DNA, RNA and protein analysis in both academia and the gene therapy industry. At Jurata, Ms. Reaves is leading the analytical team to develop novel assays that comply with regulatory requirements for our Thin Film Technology.
Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Site Head
Dr. Sogra Ali holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering with over 10 years of experience working in the Pharma/Biotech sector. She specializes in R&D and large-scale Instrumentation with proficiency on DOE, PAT, formulation, drug development, and manufacturing of oral solid dosages, including 3D-printed drugs for pediatrics. Dr. Ali, with a strong background in biotechnology, also has experience in scale up, technology transfer, upstream and downstream processing of cell and gene therapy products. At Jurata, Dr. Ali is helping optimize the pilot and commercial manufacturing of thin films.
Senior Formulation Scientist
Dr. Lalit Chudal holds a PhD in Nano-Bio Physics with over 8 years of experience in developing lipid-based nano-platforms for biomedical applications. His interdisciplinary background encompasses nanotechnology, drug delivery, and molecular biology. He is passionate in harnessing cutting-edge technologies to advance the field of drug delivery and non-viral vaccines and ultimately improve patient outcomes. At Jurata, Dr. Chudal is exploiting his diverse knowledge to contribute to the optimization of films for stabilizing mRNA-LNP vaccines and other API platforms.
Research Associate II
Ms. Sara R. Silver received her B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a minor in Chemistry from North Carolina Central University. She most recently worked with AAV, where she was tasked to find a universal formulation for their delivery. With over 6 years of lab experience, Ms. Silver has worked with cell culture, various analytical techniques, technology transfer, upstream and downstream processing, small and large scale manufacturing, and formulation development. At Jurata, she works with the formulations team to develop and optimize assays for Jurata's thin film technology.
Jurata Thin Film, Inc.
Houston, Texas, USA
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