Archives: Team

Richard is Chief Financial Officer of Averna Therapeutics, bringing more than 25 years of biopharmaceutical finance and operational leadership experience. Most recently, he served as CFO of CARISMA Therapeutics, where he oversaw financial strategy and operations for the clinical-stage company. Prior to CARISMA, he was CFO at Passage Bio, where he helped guide the company’s evolution from a private startup to a publicly traded biotechnology company. Earlier in his career, he served as Executive Vice President and CFO at Context Therapeutics, CFO at Vitae Pharmaceuticals through its acquisition by Allergan, and held senior finance roles at ViroPharma through its acquisition by Shire.
He holds a B.S. in Accounting from Saint Joseph’s University and was previously licensed as a Certified Public Accountant.

Dr. Robert Mabry is Chief Scientific Officer of Averna Therapeutics, bringing deep expertise in genomic medicine research, translational strategy, and drug discovery. Prior to joining Averna, he was CEO of Hillstar Bio, where he led the company’s work in precision immunotherapy for autoimmune diseases. Previously, he served as CSO of Orna Therapeutics, where he led drug discovery and development of the company’s circular RNA therapeutics platform. Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership roles at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Cogen Therapeutics, Jounce Therapeutics, Adimab, ZymoGenetics, and ImClone Systems.
He holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin and a BA in Biology/Biochemistry from Baylor University.

Pazit Enker Ohana is an operations executive with over 15 years of leadership experience across public and private medtech and biotechnology companies. She brings extensive expertise in global operations spanning the US, Europe, and Asia, including business development, licensing, strategic partnerships, and execution of complex strategic initiatives.

Prior to joining Averna Therapeutics, Pazit served as CEO of BioCEP Ltd. and previously held the position of Senior Director at Orgenesis (NASDAQ: ORGS), where she led global operational and strategic initiatives.

Pazit holds a B.Sc. in Biotechnology Engineering from ORT Braude College and an MBA from The College of Management Academic Studies.

Tal is Executive Chairman of the Board at Averna Therapeutics and a partner on the Private Equity team at OrbiMed, which he joined in 2021. He recently served as Chief Medical Officer at Moderna, where he led the development of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine and other key programs. He has also held senior drug development roles at leading pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline.

He received his MD and PhD from Ben-Gurion University and conducted postdoctoral research at the US National Institutes of Health.

Dr Stephen Squinto is a board member at Averna Therapeutics and a biotechnology industry veteran with over 30 years of drug development experience. He currently serves as Chief Investment Officer and managing partner of J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital. His distinguished career includes serving as an executive partner at OrbiMed Advisors and interim CEO at Passage Bio. He cofounded Alexion Pharmaceuticals, where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Global Operations Officer, held various positions at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and held joint academic appointments at Tulane University and LSU Medical Schools.

He received his BA and PhD from Loyola University of Chicago and is the recipient of numerous honors and awards.

Michal Silverberg, MBA, is a Managing Director at the Novartis Venture Fund in Cambridge, MA, USA. Prior to joining NVF, she was Senior Partner at Takeda Ventures and was also at Novo Nordisk in Business Development and New Product Commercialization. Since 1998, she has held positions in various sectors of the life science industry, including in the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel, VC, and in global pharmaceutical and biotech companies. She received her BA in economics and business management from Haifa University, her MBA from Tel Aviv University, and her MSc in biotechnology from Columbia University, NY.

Dr Raju Prasad is a board member at Averna Therapeutics and has served as Chief Financial Officer of CRISPR Therapeutics since March 2023. Prior to joining CRISPR, he was a partner and senior biotechnology analyst at William Blair & Company, where he led the firm’s initiatives in cell, gene, and gene-editing therapies—covering small- to large-cap companies. Earlier in his career, he worked as a research associate at UNC Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and as an independent consultant with the US Environmental Protection Agency.

He holds a BA from Rutgers, an MS from the University of Delaware, and a PhD from UNC Chapel Hill. He is also the author of Building Breakthroughs: On the Frontier of Medical Innovation.

Nick is a board member at Averna Therapeutics and a principal on the investment team at Innovation Endeavors. He invests primarily in companies developing novel therapeutics and tools to improve disease diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment. His experience spans the healthcare ecosystem, with prior roles at Tempus AI, Spark Therapeutics, and Bain & Company.

He holds a BS in bioengineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Jake is Vice President and Head of Business Development at Averna Therapeutics, bringing over 15 years of biopharma experience and more than a decade in corporate and business development. He began his career as an investment banker and strategy consultant at Leerink Partners and later held senior roles at Orna Therapeutics, where he contributed to high-profile collaborations with Merck ($3.6B) and Vertex ($4B). He has also held corporate and business development roles of increasing responsibility at publicly traded companies, including Pfizer, Biogen, and Teleflex.

He holds a BA in economics from New York University.

Dylan is a managing director at Insight Partners, where he leads the firm’s bio practice with a focus on investments at the intersection of computation and biology. He also serves on the boards of several private life sciences companies, including Superluminal Medicines, Unlearn, and Profluent. Previously, he was a general partner at CRV, where he helped build the firm’s bioengineering practice and led investments in Recursion Pharmaceuticals and Dyno Therapeutics. Prior to investing, he cofounded the diagnostics start-up, Integrated Plasmonics.

He received his AB in computer science from Harvard and conducted graduate research in biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Caltech.