Laurie Stelzer

Chair, Board of Directors

Laurie Stelzer is a veteran Chief Financial Officer and board director, most recently serving as CFO at Kailera Therapeutics a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of obesity and related conditions. She currently serves on the board of Siona Therapeutics and Spyre Therapeutics, Inc. Laurie has over 25 years of finance and business development leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. She has held leadership roles in finance, treasury, global accounting, business development, project management, and site operations for a range of biopharmaceutical companies including as CFO of Orna Therapeutics, Mirati Therapeutics, Inc., Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. She also held senior management roles at Shire Plc and Amgen, Inc., and previously served on the board of Surface Oncology, Inc. and Longboard Pharmaceuticals. Laurie earned a B.S. in Accounting from Arizona State University and an M.B.A. from University of California, Los Angeles, Anderson School of Management.

Arnold Levine, Ph.D.

Co-Founder & Member, Scientific Advisory Board

Arnold J. Levine is currently a Professor Emeritus at The Simons Center for Systems Biology at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and a joint Professor in the Pediatrics and Biochemistry Departments at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. He received his B.A. in Biology from Harpur College, SUNY and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

He trained as a Postdoctoral Fellow at California Institute of Technology in the laboratory of Robert Sinsheimer. Dr. Levine is a widely acclaimed leader in cancer research. In 1979, Dr. Levine and others discovered the p53 tumor suppressor protein, a molecule that inhibits tumor development. He established the Simons Center for Systems Biology at the Institute for Advanced Study, which concentrates on research at the interface of molecular biology and the physical sciences: on genetics and genomics, polymorphisms and molecular aspects of evolution, signal transduction pathways and networks, stress responses, and pharmacogenomics in cancer biology. Dr. Levine helped shape U.S. science priorities as chairman of an influential 1996 review panel on federal AIDS research funding. He also chaired the National Cancer Advisory Board, which advises the National Academy of Sciences and its Institute of Medicine on cancer policy. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1991 and to its Institute of Medicine in 1995. In April 2001, Levine received the first Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, the largest annual prize in science or medicine offered in the United States. In 1968 Dr. Levine joined Princeton University as an Assistant Professor, becoming a Professor of biochemistry in 1976. In 1979, he moved to the SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine to Chair the Department of Microbiology. He returned to Princeton in 1984. Between 1984 and 1996, he presided over a major expansion of Princeton’s life sciences programs as Chairman of the Department of Molecular Biology. From 1998 to 2002, Dr. Levine was President of The Rockefeller University.

David H. Mack, Ph.D.

Co-Founder, President & CEO

Prior to co-founding PMV Pharma with biologists Arnold Levine and Thomas Shenk, Dr. Mack was a general partner at Alta Partners from 2002 to 2013. His first investment was Angiosyn (acquired by Pfizer in 2005) where he was a director and CEO. 
Prior to Alta, Dr. Mack co-founded and served as Vice President of Genomics Research at Eos Biotechnology (acquired by Protein Design Labs in 2003).

From 1994 to 1997, he served at Affymetrix as Head of Cancer Biology where he oversaw the development and application of DNA array technology in the areas of oncology and inflammation. Dr. Mack was also a pivotal member of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Invention Group at Cetus (now Novartis) in the mid 1980s. Dr. Mack has co-authored more than 30 scientific articles and reviews, including papers published in Cell, Science, and Nature, and is an inventor on 26 issued US patents. Dr. Mack was an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow in Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, where he was a Howard Hughes Fellow in Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, and he received a B.A. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Mack has served on the Board of Directors of numerous biotechnology companies including Angiosyn, Aerie Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AERI), Ceregene, Proacta Therapeutics, aTyr Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LIFE), Pathwork Diagnostics, Silence Therapeutics (LON:SLN), Aduro Biotech (NASDAQ:ADRO), and Sutro Biopharma (NASDAQ:STRO). He currently serves on the Polsky Center Council for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Chicago.

Charles M Baum, M.D., Ph.D.

CEO, Terremoto

Dr. Baum is the CEO at Terremoto and has served on the board of directors since July 2023. Prior to becoming the CEO at Terremoto, Chuck was the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mirati Therapeutics, where he also served as a Board Member since 2012 through its recent acquisition by Bristol Meyers Squibb in 2024. He was Founder, President and Head of Research and Development at Mirati from 2021 to 2023 and was President, Founder and CEO from Nov 2012 to 2021.

Under his leadership, Mirati transformed into a precision oncology company focused on advancing drug discovery and research and delivering novel therapeutics that target the genetic drivers of cancer. Mirati discovered, developed and commercialized Krazati* (adagrasib) for the treatment of NSCLC patients with KRAS G12C mutations. Mirati also discovered a number of other novel, first in class or best in class inhibitors that target KRAS G12D, PRMT5, SOS1 and other critical oncology pathways.

Prior to his tenure at Mirati, Dr. Baum held positions of increasing responsibility in research and development at Pfizer from 2003 to 2012, where he was responsible for the development of several major drugs, including Inlyta®, Xalkori®, Ibrance® and Sutent®. While at Schering Plough he contributed to the development of Temodar® for the treatment of patients with glioblastoma.

Chuck’s career has also included academic and hospital positions at Stanford and Emory universities. He currently serves on the board of directors at Poseida Therapeutics, PMV Pharma, Acrivon Therapeutics, Odyssey Therapeutics and Crossbow Therapeutics. Chuck is also on the Scientific Advisory Board at ALX Oncology. Previously, he served as a member of the board of Array Biopharma from 2014 to 2019 when it was acquired by Pfizer, Inc., Immunomedics from 2019 to 2020 when it was acquired by Gilead, and BCTG Acquisition Corp from 2020 to 2021 when it merged with Tango Therapeutics.

Chuck received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Washington University School of Medicine and completed his post-graduate training at Stanford University. Additionally, he has received research support from the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society, published more than 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts and holds a number of patents and patent applications.

Kirsten Flowers

CEO and Co-Founder, Chiara Biosciences

Kirsten Flowers has served as the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Chiara Biosciences, a platform and therapeutics company leveraging a differentiated approach to targeted protein degradation, since June 2024. Kirsten brings more than 25 years of pharmaceutical and biotech experience successfully leading corporate strategy, commercial and new product planning activities. She previously was the Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer for Kura Oncology from 2020 to 2023, and prior to that, Kirsten served as SVP of Commercial Operations at Array Biopharma where she built and led the commercial organization that delivered the successful launch of Braftovi® + Mektovi® for patients with BRAF-mutant melanoma. Before joining Array, she held several leadership positions within Pfizer including the U.S. commercial lead for the launch of the blockbuster drugs IBRANCE® in breast cancer and INLYTA® in renal cell carcinoma. Kirsten earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, and her BS in Molecular & Cellular Biology and Psychology from the University of Arizona.

Carol Gallagher, Pharm.D

Dr. Gallagher is a veteran board director. Over the last ten years she has served as a director at multiple public and private companies. In these roles, she has been involved in multiple IPOs and several successful M&A transactions. Her recent directorships include Atara Biotherapeutics (where she served for 13 years until her term expired this year), Mirati Therapeutics (acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb in January, 2024) and Turning Point Therapeutics (acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb in August, 2022). From 1989 through 2011, she served in roles of increasing responsibility within Eli Lilly, Amgen, Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Idec Pharmaceuticals, CancerVax, and Anadys Pharmaceuticals. With over thirty years of biopharma industry experience, she brings commercial, business development, and drug development skills and expertise. From 2008-2011, she was CEO of Calistoga Pharmaceuticals where she led its successful acquisition by Gilead Sciences in 2011. For 2014 until 2023, she held Partner and Advisor roles in biopharma venture capital investing at New Enterprise Associates. She studied chemistry at Vanderbilt University and then pursued a clinical education earning both a bachelor of science and a doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy.

Matt Eckler, Ph.D

Principal, Public Investing, Samsara BioCapital

Matt is a Principal at Samsara, where he leads the firm’s public equity strategy. He joined in 2025, bringing over two decades of combined experience in healthcare investing and scientific research. Before joining Samsara, Matt held investment roles at ArrowMark Partners, GMT Capital, and RBC Capital Markets, and earlier in his career, conducted research on the genetics of early brain development and circuit-level plasticity.

Matt received a BS in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a PhD in Molecular Biology from UC Santa Cruz, and completed his postdoctoral work in neuroscience at UC San Diego.

Scott Lowe, Ph.D.

Chair, Scientific Advisory Board

Dr. Lowe is a member of the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and an Investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is also chair of the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center at MSKCC. Dr. Lowe received his Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Ph.D. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He started his independent research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he eventually became Director of the Cancer Center. He joined Memorial Sloan Kettering in 2011.

Dr. Lowe studies the genes and processes whose alterations cause and maintain cancer. Much of his work has focused on the tumor suppressor gene p53, where he has focused on how p53 acts to suppress tumorigenesis and the diverse consequences of p53 mutation on cancer progression. As examples, he has identified key roles for p53 in the processes of apoptosis (cell death) and senescence, and shown how p53 can suppress tumors through both cell intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms. Conversely, he has shown how p53 inactivation can promote resistance to certain cytotoxic agents, and facilitate escape from immune surveillance. His work has been recognized by several awards, including the AACR Outstanding Investigator Award, the AACR Clowes Award, the Paul Marks Prize, and the Albert Knudsen award from the National Cancer Institute. He has also been elected as a Fellow in the Academy of the American Association of Cancer Research, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences.

Arnold Levine, Ph.D.

Co-Founder & Member, Scientific Advisory Board

Arnold J. Levine is currently a Professor Emeritus at The Simons Center for Systems Biology at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and a joint Professor in the Pediatrics and Biochemistry Departments at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. He received his B.A. in Biology from Harpur College, SUNY and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

He trained as a Postdoctoral Fellow at California Institute of Technology in the laboratory of Robert Sinsheimer. Dr. Levine is a widely acclaimed leader in cancer research. In 1979, Dr. Levine and others discovered the p53 tumor suppressor protein, a molecule that inhibits tumor development. He established the Simons Center for Systems Biology at the Institute for Advanced Study, which concentrates on research at the interface of molecular biology and the physical sciences: on genetics and genomics, polymorphisms and molecular aspects of evolution, signal transduction pathways and networks, stress responses, and pharmacogenomics in cancer biology. Dr. Levine helped shape U.S. science priorities as chairman of an influential 1996 review panel on federal AIDS research funding. He also chaired the National Cancer Advisory Board, which advises the National Academy of Sciences and its Institute of Medicine on cancer policy. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1991 and to its Institute of Medicine in 1995. In April 2001, Levine received the first Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, the largest annual prize in science or medicine offered in the United States. In 1968 Dr. Levine joined Princeton University as an Assistant Professor, becoming a Professor of biochemistry in 1976. In 1979, he moved to the SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine to Chair the Department of Microbiology. He returned to Princeton in 1984. Between 1984 and 1996, he presided over a major expansion of Princeton’s life sciences programs as Chairman of the Department of Molecular Biology. From 1998 to 2002, Dr. Levine was President of The Rockefeller University.

Guillermina (Gigi) Lozano, Ph.D.

Member, Scientific Advisory Board

Dr. Lozano received her BS degree in Biology and Mathematics, Magna Cum Laude, from Pan American University now the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She received her PhD from Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and performed post-doctoral studies with Dr. Arnold Levine at Princeton University.

Dr. Lozano was hired as an Instructor at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 1987 and quickly rose through the ranks to her current position as professor and chair of the Department of Genetics. She holds the Hubert L. Olive Stringer Distinguished Chair in Oncology in Honor of Sue Gribble Stringer.

Dr. Lozano's research is focused on understanding the activities of the p53 tumor suppressor and the upstream signals that regulate p53 function. Dr. Lozano used the mouse as a model system to demonstrate that Mdm2 and Mdm4 are critical inhibitors of p53, and identified gain-of-function mechanisms for p53 missense mutations which result in more aggressive cancers. Other models showed that cell cycle arrest and senescence (independent of apoptosis) were important p53 tumor suppressive mechanisms and explored the clinical implications of restoring p53 activity in different contexts in vivo.

Dr. Lozano is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She received the Minorities in Cancer Research Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship and the Women in Cancer Research Charlotte Friend Lectureship awards, both from the American Association for Cancer Research. She also received the EE Just Award from the American Society of Cell Biology. She is also the recipient of distinguished alumni awards from both her undergraduate and graduate alma maters.

Richard A. Heyman, Ph.D.

Member, Scientific Advisory Board

Richard A. Heyman, PhD, is a scientist and entrepreneur with experience in building biotech and life science companies. He currently serves as Chairman and co-founder of Metacrine Inc., a biotech startup developing therapeutics for liver and gastrointestinal diseases. He also is the co-founder and Chairman of ORIC Pharmaceuticals, which is developing drugs to overcome resistance in cancer. Previously, Rich was the co-founder and CEO of Aragon and Seragon Pharmaceuticals, which focused on therapeutics targeting hormone dependent cancers. J&J purchased Aragon in 2013, and Genentech purchased Seragon in 2014. He has been involved in the discovery and development of multiple therapeutic agents approved by the FDA, including the recently approved prostate cancer drug Erleada.

Dr. Heyman is a Venture Partner for Arch Ventures and serves on the BOD of Gritstone Oncology, Yumanity Therapeutics and Vividion Therapeutics. Rich is Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Salk Institute, on the Board Foundation for the AACR and on the Executive Committee at the UCSD Moores Cancer Center. He has won numerous awards including Ernst and Young San Diego Regional Entrepreneur of the Year and the Endocrine Society Outstanding Innovation Award. He was an NIH postdoctoral fellow and staff scientist at the Salk Institute. Rich received a PhD in pharmacology and a BS in chemistry and is the author or inventor on more than 125 publications and patents.

Charles M Baum, M.D., Ph.D.

Chair, Clinical Advisory Board

Dr. Baum is the CEO at Terremoto and has served on the board of directors since July 2023. Prior to becoming the CEO at Terremoto, Chuck was the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mirati Therapeutics, where he also served as a Board Member since 2012 through its recent acquisition by Bristol Meyers Squibb in 2024. He was Founder, President and Head of Research and Development at Mirati from 2021 to 2023 and was President, Founder and CEO from Nov 2012 to 2021.

Under his leadership, Mirati transformed into a precision oncology company focused on advancing drug discovery and research and delivering novel therapeutics that target the genetic drivers of cancer. Mirati discovered, developed and commercialized Krazati* (adagrasib) for the treatment of NSCLC patients with KRAS G12C mutations. Mirati also discovered a number of other novel, first in class or best in class inhibitors that target KRAS G12D, PRMT5, SOS1 and other critical oncology pathways.

Prior to his tenure at Mirati, Dr. Baum held positions of increasing responsibility in research and development at Pfizer from 2003 to 2012, where he was responsible for the development of several major drugs, including Inlyta®, Xalkori®, Ibrance® and Sutent®. While at Schering Plough he contributed to the development of Temodar® for the treatment of patients with glioblastoma.

Chuck’s career has also included academic and hospital positions at Stanford and Emory universities. He currently serves on the board of directors at Poseida Therapeutics, PMV Pharma, Acrivon Therapeutics, Odyssey Therapeutics and Crossbow Therapeutics. Chuck is also on the Scientific Advisory Board at ALX Oncology. Previously, he served as a member of the board of Array Biopharma from 2014 to 2019 when it was acquired by Pfizer, Inc., Immunomedics from 2019 to 2020 when it was acquired by Gilead, and BCTG Acquisition Corp from 2020 to 2021 when it merged with Tango Therapeutics.

Chuck received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Washington University School of Medicine and completed his post-graduate training at Stanford University. Additionally, he has received research support from the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society, published more than 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts and holds a number of patents and patent applications.

Charles Sawyers, M.D.

Member, Clinical Advisory Board

Dr. Sawyers is chair of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He was appointed to US President Barack Obama’s National Cancer Advisory Board, and is former president of the American Association for Cancer Research and of the American Society for Clinical Investigation. He is also a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the co-founder of Aragon (acquired by J&J in 2013) and Seragon (acquired by Genentech in 2014).

Dr. Sawyers received his doctor of medicine from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and worked at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Los Angeles for nearly 18 years before joining Memorial Sloan Kettering in 2006. An internationally acclaimed cancer researcher, he co-developed the tyrosine kinase inhibitor Gleevec (imatinib mesylate) and the anti-androgen drug Xtandi (enzalutamide). He has received numerous honors and awards, including the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award in 2009.

Michael E. Jung, Ph.D.

General Advisor Board

Michael E. Jung is currently a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is also an Adjunct Member of the Department of Medical and Molecular Pharmacology. He is a member of the Molecular Biology Institute and the California Nanosystems Institute. He serves as the funding director of the Biosciences Synthetic Chemistry Core Facility at UCLA. He received his B.A. in Chemistry from Rice University and his Ph.D. from Columbia University.

He trained as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) in Zürich in the laboratory of Albert Eschenmoser. In 1974 Dr. Jung joined the faculty at UCLA as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, becoming a Professor in 1983. He is a widely acclaimed leader in synthetic medicinal chemistry and drug discovery. Beginning in 2003, he teamed with Professor Charles Sawyers at UCLA on a joint project to design and prepare new antagonists of the androgen receptor which still functioned under the high AR expression found in castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). This led to the discovery of novel AR antagonists and culminated in the approval of one of his analogues, RD162’ - enzalutamide, as a first line treatment for CRPC in 2012. A different AR antagonist, ARN509, is now in phase 3 clinical trials for pre-metastatic CRPC, sponsored by Johnson and Johnson. He has been a founder of six biotech startups and has more than 15 ongoing collaborations with MDs and biologists at UCLA and elsewhere. He serves on the Board of Directors or the Scientific Advisory Board of five companies. He consult currently for 25 pharmaceutical firms and biotech companies. Recently he and his wife established the Jung Chair in Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery at UCLA.