Team
Talented laboratory scientists, medicinal chemists, and biotech leaders with successful track records in oncological drug development.
Science and Operations
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Greg Crimmins
Greg has a Ph.D. in molecular biology from University of California, Berkeley, where he helped invent a promising new way to treat cancer with immunotherapy. He has 20 years of experience in biomedical research, including phenotypic screening, cell biology, and immunology. Greg has led Remedy Plan from inception through development of its drug screening platform to the optimization of novel first-in-class cancer therapeutics.
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Dennise A. De Jesús-Díaz
Dennise provides project leadership for our scientific operations and is responsible for development and implementation of effective research practices. She has worked in biomedical research for over 10 years, most recently at the National Institutes of Health. She holds a B.S. from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey and a Ph.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine.
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Cassandra Choe-Juliak
Dr. Cassandra Choe-Juliak has 20 years of experience in drug development. She previously worked at Pfizer, Ipsen and Karyopharm Therapeutics where she led the initial success of Selinexor, a first-in-class XPO1 inhibitor in multiple myeloma. Cassandra has also supported programs for Affimed where she led the clinical department, and at Flame Bioscences where she acts as Chief Medical Officer.
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Yushma Bhurruth-Alcor
Yushma brings extensive pharmaceutical drug discovery experience to the Remedy Plan team. She has worked for 10 years in the pharmaceutical industry for companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Galderma-NSH, and Johnson & Johnson, where she successfully developed new clinical drug candidates. After graduating from the ESPCI in Paris, Yushma obtained her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Imperial College London.
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Min Wu
Min earned her M.S. in chemistry from University of Maryland at Baltimore County and her Ph.D. in molecular biology and genetics from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She conducted postdoctoral research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on the crucial mechanisms of DNA replication and repair, and later at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine on translational studies of acute myeloid leukemia with a focus on identifying novel therapeutic targets.
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Tim Jarvela
Tim has a Ph.D. in biology from Carnegie Mellon University and performed his postdoctoral work at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. His research background is in the underlying cellular and molecular biology of proteins that maintain proper cell health. He has applied this to the study of diverse research topics such as diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.
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Caroline Robb
Caroline joins the Remedy Plan team with a strong background in oncology drug discovery. She received her Ph.D. in Cancer Research from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and conducted her postdoctoral research as a fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC. Throughout her training, Caroline has focused on characterization of mechanisms of action and target identification studies to identify new cancer therapies.
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Dexter Davis
Dexter joins the Remedy Plan team with more than three years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and a strong background in medicinal chemistry. He has successfully optimized and developed clinical drug candidates in the area of small molecule antivirals targeting hepatitis B and SARS-CoV-2. He received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Purdue University and carried out postdoctoral work at the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery at Vanderbilt University.
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Parisa Moghaddam-Taaheri
Parisa joins the Remedy Plan team with an extensive background in biomedical research and healthcare and life sciences consulting. She received her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Maryland, College Park where her research focused on protein and peptide engineering for therapeutic applications. She supports project management and business development activities at Remedy Plan.
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Frank Roushar
Frank has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Indiana University-Bloomington and performed his postdoctoral work at the NIH Clinical Center. His research background focuses on membrane protein folding and disease as well as cellular signaling. He has applied his skills to problems ranging from the underlying principles of membrane protein misfolding to developing approaches for precision medicine.
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James Digel
James received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a focus on evolutionary development and molecular biology. His past research includes risk assessment for using dsRNA in agricultural settings as a species-specific pesticide through RNA interference. At Remedy Plan, James supports mechanism of action and target engagement studies.
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Claudia Fabiola Ramos
Fabie is currently pursuing a B.S. in Biological Science at the University of Maryland, College Park, with a focus on Physiology and Neurobiology, with a minor in Criminal Justice. At Remedy Plan, she supports compound management, inventory management, and laboratory operations.
Scientific Advisory Board
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Frank McCormick
Frank is a Professor at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Comprehensive Cancer Center and founder of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, where he initiated drug discovery efforts that led to the approval of multiple cancer treatments (renal cell, liver, and nasopharyngeal). Frank is a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) and member of the National Academies of Science.
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Daniel Portnoy
Daniel is a Distinguished Chair in Global Public Health and Infectious Diseases and Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology at the University of California Berkeley. He is a member of the National Academies of Science, an NIH Merit Award recipient, and serves on the advisory board of Aduro Biotech, a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company.
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Vahe Bedian
Vahe is retired from a career in cancer pharmaceutical R&D, biotherapeutics, and immuno-oncology. He is currently serving as a consultant and advisor to biotechs and non-profits.
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Tom Dubensky
Tom is the President of Tempest Therapeutics. Previously he served as the CSO at Aduro, Immune Design, and Anza.
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Steve Abella
Steve has been in the oncology clinical research field for 35 years, including over 12 years in the pharmaceutical industry. Steve is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Shasqi, and previously held roles as the CMO at Vida Development Sciences and BioClin Therapeutics. He also previously served as Executive Director at Amgen, where he led global development efforts across clinical research and medical affairs.
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Erika Pearce
Dr. Pearce is an expert and leader in the field of immunology research and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Distinguished Professor whose research focuses on the impact that immune cell metabolism has on immunity, infection, and cancer.
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Ed Pearce
Dr. Pearce is an immunobiology expert and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Distinguished Professor whose research focuses on investigating immune cell metabolic reprogramming and type 2 immune responses.
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Ronald Parchem
Ron is a professor in Baylor's Department of Neuroscience at the Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, where his research focuses on neural development, stem cells, and cancer biology. He received his Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley and did his post-doctoral fellowship at U.C. San Francisco.
Partnerships and Alliances
- Maryland Venture Mentor Program
- Frank McCormick Lab, UCSF
- QB3 Biotech Incubator
- Harvard Medical School’s ICCB-L Lab