Who we are is born from the diversity of our thoughts, expertise, and experiences. And we are constantly evolving.
Who we are is born from the diversity of our thoughts, expertise, and experiences. And we are constantly evolving.
We are continually amazed at the wonder and discovery that emerges when people bring their different backgrounds, skillsets, and ideas together in an open and supportive atmosphere. We celebrate our differences here, not just because that’s a more interesting way to live, but also because it results in more creative thinking, more rapid discovery and better decisions. Every new team member is seen as chance to create a stronger community.
We are continually amazed at the wonder and discovery that emerges when people bring their different backgrounds, skillsets, and ideas together in an open and supportive atmosphere. We celebrate our differences here, not just because that’s a more interesting way to live, but also because it results in more creative thinking, more rapid discovery and better decisions. Every new team member is seen as chance to create a stronger community.
We are renewable energy.
There is a current that runs through all of us. People feel it when they walk through the door. It’s fed by our excitement for each other’s ideas and our cheering for other’s successes. It feeds our work and makes doing incredible things both possible and exhilarating.
We think independently, together.
We build connection into our days, from our purposefully designed formal and informal collaboration spaces, to our café and weekly Town Halls, to the times we get out of the office together to gain new perspectives.
How about a virtual stop-by?
How about a virtual stop-by?
We build many avenues for connection into our days, from our purposefully designed formal and informal collaboration spaces, to our café and weekly Town Halls, to the times we get out of the office together to gain new perspectives.
Yeah, we’re going to have challenges along the way. Here’s what we’re going to do about them.
We share in each other’s victories and each other’s setbacks. None of us is ever on our own. When challenges arise, we remind ourselves and each other why we’re here, that our work is difficult and that the path to success is not linear.
SPACES MATTER.
Our new headquarters, affectionately known as “301,” was purposefully designed to support our culture. Office ‘neighborhoods’ spark community. Extensive use of glass allows sunlight to flow through every lab space. The ceilings are high and plants abound.
Our new headquarters, affectionately known as “301,” was purposefully designed to support our culture. Office ‘neighborhoods’ spark community. Extensive use of glass allows sunlight to flow through every lab space. The ceilings are high and plants abound.
Here, leadership isn’t only about what you’ve worked to accomplish. It’s also about who you’ve worked to become.
We have purposefully assembled a team that believes exceptional leadership calls for being both inwardly sound and focused on others, as well as possessing a trained awareness that being an effective leader starts with leading oneself. This is an ongoing pursuit — and we are a constant work in progress. But when you can lead yourself in this way, you can lead teams. And those teams can go on to change the world.
With nearly two decades of legal experience in the biotechnology and life science sectors, Yalonda has led strategy and operations across legal, corporate governance, quality, and compliance functions. Before coming to Generation Bio, she served as chief legal officer, chief compliance officer, and corporate secretary of Codiak BioSciences. Prior to her time at Codiak, Yalonda served as a partner at Mintz Levin PC, where she managed transactional and litigation matters spanning a range of practice areas, specializing in the life sciences industry. Yalonda received a Bachelor of Arts degree in French from the University of Michigan, a Master of Divinity from the Harvard University School of Divinity, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Jasmin Tower
Senior Vice President, People & Operations
As an established human resources (HR) leader, Jasmin brings more than 20 years of progressive, global experience across a range of diverse industries. Before joining Generation Bio, Jasmin led the HR business partner strategy for the discovery, innovation, and research organizations at Astellas Pharma Inc.’s North America and EMEA organizations. Previously, Jasmin held several HR leadership roles of increasing responsibility while at Merck KGaA. During her tenure at Merck, Jasmin was the first person appointed as the Head of Global Engagement and Diversity, in which she established frameworks to educate, empower, and measure the company’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Jasmin holds a Master of Arts degree in organizational psychology and leadership from William James College and a Bachelor of Science degree in management from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
DANNIELLE APPELHANS
Dannielle served as the chief executive officer of Rubius Therapeutics, Inc., from November 2022 until its dissolution in March 2023. She previously served as its chief operating officer, where she oversaw corporate strategy, communications, quality, technical development, and operations. Prior to joining Rubius, she held multiple executive-level positions at Novartis, including as the global head of supply chain management, where she was responsible for the end-to-end supply chain of all Novartis divisions worldwide, culminating in her role as chief technical officer of Novartis Gene Therapies (formerly AveXis). Before Novartis, Dannielle was a consultant at McKinsey & Company, specializing in operations strategy for pharmaceutical and medical products. She also held early leadership roles in operations at Lilly. Dannielle earned a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology's School of Engineering, an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.
Sonia Razzetti, PHD
Senior Vice President, Quality & Operations
Sonia brings more than 20 years of experience managing quality and operations for small and large molecule companies, spanning from clinical development to commercial product lifecycle management. Before joining Generation Bio, Sonia served as the senior director, GxP Quality at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals. Before that, Sonia spent seven years at Shire Pharmaceuticals, where she supported the development and commercialization of rare disease products such as Elaprase®, VPRIV®, and Firazyr®. In her various roles, Sonia has enjoyed directly supporting product control strategy development and expansion of global quality operations in the US, EU, China, and Latin America. Sonia started her career as a bench scientist at Q-One Biotech after receiving her Ph.D. from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.
RON COOPER
Ron served as the president and chief executive officer of Albireo Pharma, Inc., from July 2015 and a member of its board of directors from November 2016, both until its acquisition by Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. in March 2023. As Albireo’s first president and chief executive officer, Ron took the company public in 2016 and advanced a deep pipeline through multiple late-stage clinical trials. Prior to joining Albireo, he spent more than 25 years at Bristol Myers Squibb, working in five different countries and holding positions of increasing responsibility in sales, marketing, and general management, culminating in his role as president of Europe, where he was responsible for over 30 countries. While at BMS, Ron played a leadership role in several product successes, including Abilify®, Avapro®, Atripla®, Eliquis®, Orencia®, Pravachol®, Plavix®, Reyataz®, Sustiva®, Sprycel®, and Yervoy®. Ron has successfully completed more than a dozen business development deals. He is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University in Canada.
ZHONG ZHONG, PHD
Senior Vice President, DNA Sciences
Serving as vice president of biology at Wave Life Sciences from 2016 through 2019, Zhong supported the development of an oligotherapeutics pipeline for central nervous system, ophthalmology, hepatic/metabolic, and muscle diseases. Previously, at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, he established a research site in Shanghai before moving to Boston in 2015 to oversee external research and innovation projects. From 2008 to 2013, as part of GSK’s leadership team for neuroscience research, Zhong established both platform functions and a stem cell discovery performance unit. He also led the GSK neuroinflammation R&D team, which delivered clinical candidates for several multiple sclerosis clinical studies. Zhong started his career at Johnson & Johnson, developing cell assay technologies as well as leading operations and research for the start-up Cell & Molecular Technologies through its acquisition and integration by Invitrogen (now Thermo Fisher Scientific). Zhong received his doctorate from The Rockefeller University.
LESLIE WOLFE, PHD
Senior Vice President, Head of Chemistry, Manufacturing & Controls
Leslie came to Generation Bio from Genzyme Biosurgery (now part of Sanofi), where she served as the vice president, technology development, cell therapies, and regenerative medicine. During her 18-year tenure, she was part of the leadership team that established the organizational structure supporting three autologous cell therapies, including manufacturing activities to support regulatory filings, production of clinical trial materials, validation of manufacturing processes, and distribution of cell therapy products globally. From 2014 to 2018, Leslie provided consultancy services to multiple cell and gene therapy companies with a focus on viral vector production, all aspects of the CMC function, and strategies for operations, scaling, and capacity modeling for the manufacturing of gene therapy products. Leslie received her doctorate in biochemistry from Boston University.
TRACY ZIMMERMANN, PHD
Chief Development Officer
Before coming to Generation Bio, Tracy served as the senior director, research, at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. Over her 15-year tenure at Alnylam, she led cross-functional teams from research, early development, clinical, and commercial in support of early-stage pipeline growth. She oversaw the integration of multiple facets of target and indication evaluation—including technical feasibility, target validation, unmet need, competitive landscape, and market analysis—into recommendations for the advancement of novel development candidates. Tracy began her career at Variagenics developing novel genotyping and DNA methylation assays for the evaluation of tumor-associated markers after completing a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship at Dana–Farber Cancer Institute. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from Lehigh University and her doctorate in chemistry from the University of Colorado Boulder.
ROBERT KOTIN, PhD
Founder
Rob has been a leader in adeno-associated virus (AAV) research for over 30 years, beginning as a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University Medical Center (now Weill), where he discovered a common integration site for AAV DNA in human chromosome 19, which he designated AAVS1 locus. He spent most of his career in the Intramural Research Program at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a tenure-track investigator, then as a tenured senior investigator and head of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Gene Therapy. While at the NIH, Rob's laboratory invented and developed a scalable recombinant AAV (rAAV) production process in Sf9 cells that was licensed by several companies and used to produce Glybera™, the first rAAV product granted regulatory agency approval for sale. The research at the NIH resulted in the discovery of an AAV replicative product that has been described as closed-ended linear duplex DNA. Rob served as the vice president of virology and gene therapy at Voyager Therapeutics from 2014 to 2016. Rob earned his Bachelor of Arts in biology from the University of California Santa Cruz and his doctorate from Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (now Robert Wood Johnson Medical School) in microbiology.
MARK ANGELINO, PhD
Founder
Mark was senior vice president of pharmaceutical sciences and rare disease franchise head at Bluebird Bio Inc. from 2012 until 2016. Previously, he was the senior director of research and development and site head in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for Baxter Healthcare Corporation from 2010 to 2012. Prior to 2010, Mark worked at Archemix, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and DuPont Pharmaceuticals. His experience spans from development through commercialization, including the first commercial launch for a bioequivalent (generic Lovenox™), the ANDA submission for generic Copaxone™, the sNDA for Integrilin™, and the BLA for Zynteglo™, as well as numerous INDs across small-molecules, biologics, peptides, biologics, complex mixture, and gene therapy products. Mark holds a doctorate in chemical engineering and a Master of Science in chemical engineering practice from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he obtained his Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from The Cooper Union.
ADRIAN THRASHER, PhD, MD
Adrian is a professor of pediatric immunology and Wellcome Trust principal research fellow at the University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (UCL GOSICH) and honorary consultant pediatric immunologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) for the Children's National Health Service Foundation Trust. He is the program head of Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation at UCL GOSICH and has a longstanding research and clinical interest in the development and application of gene therapy. He is the director of the Clinical Gene Therapy Program and theme leader of the gene stem and cellular therapies theme of the Biomedical Research Centre at UCL GOSICH/GOSH. Adrian is the principal investigator on several clinical trials for immunodeficiency and is the director of the clinical gene therapy GMP facility, managing a team of trial coordinators, clinical scientists, and quality systems personnel. His clinical interests are the diagnosis and treatment of patients with primary immunodeficiency. His specialist interests are in the Wiskott–Aldrich Syndrome (WAS), disorders of innate immunity, and autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome. His team at UCL GOSICH/GOSH is conducting trials of somatic gene therapy for various forms of PID, including X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency, chronic granulomatous disease, adenosine deaminase severe combined immunodeficiency, and WAS. Research interests include the pathophysiology of primary immunodeficiency syndromes, especially WAS; the actin cytoskeleton in hematopoietic cells; the development of somatic gene therapy; and thymus transplantation. Adrian qualified in medicine in 1986 at St. George’s Hospital Medical School, University of London. He earned his doctorate in 1995 at University College London.
RICHARD THOMPSON, BM BCh, DM
Richard is a professor of molecular hepatology at King’s College London and an honorary consultant pediatric hepatologist at King’s College Hospital, London. He specializes in pediatric liver disease and is particularly interested in genetic liver disease in both children and adults. Through worldwide collaborations, Richard’s lab continues to identify new causes of genetic liver disease. Additionally, Richard served as the clinical lead for genomics and the 100,000-genome project at King’s College Hospital and is the clinical lead for a diagnostic laboratory specializing in liver and gastrointestinal disease. He has been the principal investigator on several clinical trials. Richard has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles as well as several book chapters and editorials. He has been an invited speaker at numerous conferences worldwide. Richard received his undergraduate, medical, and research degrees from the University of Oxford.
KEVIN FITZGERALD, PhD
Head of Research at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Kevin is the chief scientific officer at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, with more than two decades of drug discovery experience. He joined Alnylam in 2005 as an associate director of research after spending seven years at Bristol Myers Squibb. He has since served in roles of increasing responsibility and leadership. His achievements at Alnylam include leadership of the company's RNAi delivery efforts, resulting in two clinically validated modes of siRNA delivery and the development of Alnylam’s disease pipeline. He is an inventor of over 50 patents, including the majority of Alnylam’s pipeline programs, and the author of over 40 papers, including many in prestigious journals such as Nature, Cell, and The New England Journal of Medicine. He has led multiple programs—including Alnylam’s Inclisiran program—from discovery through pre-clinical development, regulatory submissions, and early clinical development. Kevin received his Bachelor of Science in genetics from Cornell University and his doctorate in molecular biology from Princeton University. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship in oncology at Harvard Medical School.
KATHERINE FITZGERALD, PhD
Kate is a professor of medicine, director of the Program in Innate Immunity within the Division of Infectious Disease and Immunology, and vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, where she has worked since 2001. At the university, she serves as the principal investigator of the Fitzgerald Lab, working with postdoctoral fellows and graduate students to understand how dysregulation of innate immunity plays a central role in the pathogenesis of infectious, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases. From 2014 to 2019, Kate served as an adjunct professor at the Norwegian Institute of Science and Technology. She has received numerous awards for her research and has been named a Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher multiple times, recognizing her as being among the most frequently cited researchers in the field of immunology. Kate received her Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from the University of Cork, Ireland, and her doctorate in biochemistry from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
STEVEN DOWDY, PhD
Steven is a professor of cellular and molecular medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, where his research has focused on the delivery of novel therapeutics, especially RNAi therapies, into cells. He previously served as an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and as an assistant professor of pathology and medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. In addition to Generation Bio, he serves on the scientific advisory boards of Deep Genomics and NeuBase Therapeutics and is a member of the board of directors of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society. He is a co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications in cell and molecular medicine. Steven earned his PhD in microbiology and molecular genetics at the University of California School of Medicine, and he holds a Bachelor of Science with honors from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of California Irvine. He conducted postdoctoral research with Dr. Robert Weinberg at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
ANDREW SCHARENBERG, MD
Chair
Andy is the founder and chief executive officer of Umoja Biopharma and an executive partner/entrepreneur at MPM Capital. Previously he was the chief scientific officer at Casebia. Before joining Casebia, Andy was an attending physician at Seattle Children's Hospital and principal investigator in the Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies at Seattle Children's Research Institute. In addition, he served as a co-director of the Program for Cell and Gene Therapy at Seattle Children's Hospital, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics, and an adjunct professor in the Department of Immunology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He was also a member of the Transplantation Biology Consortium Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. As the chief scientific officer at Cellectis, Andy helped implement a gene-editing partnership with Pfizer. Andy earned his Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from Indiana University and his medical degree from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
CATHERINE STEHMAN-BREEN, MD
Catherine has served as the chief executive officer and as a board member of Chroma Medicine since December 2020. Previously, she was the chief development officer of Obsidian Therapeutics in 2019. Prior to that, she was the entrepreneur-in-residence at Atlas Venture, serving as the chief medical officer of both Dyne Therapeutics and Disarm Therapeutics. She also spent time as the chief medical officer of Sarepta Therapeutics and as the vice president, clinical development and regulatory affairs at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, initially as the head, pain therapeutic areas, and subsequently as the head, clinical project management and operations. From 2003 to 2015, she held senior leadership roles at Amgen, including as the vice president, global development, leading the neuroscience, nephrology, and bone therapeutic areas. Catherine earned her MD from the University of Chicago in 1990. She conducted her residency and fellowship training at the University of Washington, where she also received a Master of Science degree in epidemiology in 1996. From 1997 to 2003, Catherine was a faculty member in the Division of Nephrology at the University of Washington, where her primary responsibilities included managing the Clinical Research Training Program and the development of the Epidemiology and Clinical Trials Research Program. Her research focused on bone and cardiovascular disease in patients with kidney disease. Catherine was also active in various national programs, including serving as the chair for the United States Renal Data System National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases external expert panel and a reviewer for several journals.
CHARLES ROWLAND
Charlie has more than 30 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience and is currently a board member and strategic advisor for multiple biotechnology companies. He was most recently the president and chief executive officer of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the global lupus nephritis market. Prior to his tenure with Aurinia, Charlie served as the vice president and chief financial officer of ViroPharma, during which time the company grew into a global biopharmaceutical business with $500 million in annual revenues until it was acquired by Shire for $4.2 billion. Before joining ViroPharma, he was the executive vice president and chief financial officer, as well as the interim co-chief executive officer, for Endo Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical company with $1.3 billion in revenues. He previously held finance and operational positions of increasing responsibility at Biovail Pharmaceuticals, Breakaway Technologies, Pharmacia, Novartis, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Charlie currently serves as a member of the board of directors for Blueprint Medicines, Nabriva Therapeutics, Viking Therapeutics, Psioxus Therapeutics, and Orchard Therapeutics, with previous board appointments including Vitae Pharmaceuticals, BIND Therapeutics, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, and Idenix Pharmaceuticals. He holds an MBA from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Science from Saint Joseph's University.
ANTHONY QUINN, MB ChB, PhD
Anthony has more than two decades of biopharmaceutical industry experience. He most recently served as the president and chief executive officer at Aeglea BioTherapeutics and is currently an honorary professor of molecular and clinical medicine at the University of Dundee in the UK. Previously, Anthony served as the executive vice president, head of research and development, and chief medical officer at Synageva Biopharma until the company’s acquisition by Alexion Pharmaceuticals in 2015. During his tenure at Synageva, he played a key role in securing the European and US approvals of Kanuma™ for lysosomal acid lipase deficiency and in building the company’s research and development organization and rare-disease drug pipeline. Prior to his role at Synageva, Anthony served as the worldwide head of clinical research and exploratory development for inflammatory diseases at Roche. Previously, he was a professor of dermatology at Barts and The London School of Medicine. Anthony received his Bachelor of Medical Science and his MBChB from the University of Dundee and his PhD from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Anthony completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California San Francisco and is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London.
DONALD NICHOLSON, PhD
Don has been a member of the board of directors of Disc Medicine, Inc. since April 2019 and previously served as a member of the board of directors of Kymera Therapeutics, Inc. He has also served on the boards of several private companies, including Jnana Therapeutics, NodThera, Muna Therapeutics, and Matchpoint Therapeutics. Don served as chief executive officer of Nimbus Therapeutics from August 2014 to October 2018. Prior to that, he spent 25 years at Merck & Co. in various leadership, strategic, and operational roles. Don earned his Bachelor of Science with honors in biochemistry and his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Western Ontario, and he trained as a Medical Research Council postdoctoral fellow at the University of Munich in Germany.
GEOFF MCDONOUGH, MD
President & Chief Executive Officer
Geoff is the chief executive officer of Generation Bio. Geoff served as the president and chief executive officer of Sobi from 2011 to 2017. Prior to Sobi, he held various senior roles at Genzyme Corporation, including as the president of Genzyme Europe and senior vice president and general manager of the global lysosomal storage disease business. Geoff has a Bachelor of Science in biology and a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating summa cum laude in both. He obtained his MD at Harvard Medical School and completed his residency training in internal medicine and pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children's Hospital.
JEFF JONAS, MD
Jeff currently serves as the chief executive officer of ABio-X and a member of the board of directors of Sage Therapeutics. He has more than two decades of experience on both the scientific and business sides of the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, particularly in the CNS field. Previously, Jeff held positions as the chief innovation officer and, earlier, the chief executive officer and president of Sage. He currently serves on the board of directors of Karuna Pharmaceuticals and as the non-executive chair of the board of directors at Noema Pharma AG. He has published more than 70 scientific papers and chapters; authored more than 100 books, scientific articles, and abstracts; and has received numerous awards. Jeff received his Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College and MD from Harvard Medical School. He completed a residency in psychiatry at Harvard and then served as the chief resident in psychopharmacology at McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
GUSTAV CHRISTENSEN
Gustav Christensen is chairman of Morphic Therapeutic, a public biotech company. He was the president and chief executive officer of Dyax from 2009 until it was acquired by Shire for $6.4 billion in 2016. He joined Dyax in early 2007 as the executive vice president and chief business officer. Gustav began his career at Baxter International, with his last position being the vice president of operations of the Fenwal Laboratories division. He left in 1983 to become the vice president of business development at the Genetics Institute. Gustav received his Master of Science in economics from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, and his MBA from Harvard Business School.
JASON RHODES
Chair
Jason has served as the chairman of our board of directors since October 2017 and served as our founding chief executive officer from October 2016 to October 2017. Jason has been a partner at Atlas Venture since 2014 and serves as the chairman of the board of directors of Dyne Therapeutics. He previously served as a member of the boards of directors of Replimune Group, Gemini Therapeutics, and Bicycle Therapeutics. Jason also serves on the boards of several private companies, including Rectify Pharmaceuticals, Be Biopharma, K36 Therapeutics, and Accent Therapeutics, where he is also the chair. He previously served on the board of directors of Third Harmonic Bio. Jason earned a BA from Yale University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
ANTOINETTE PAONE, MS, MBA
Chief Operating Officer
Antoinette was previously the vice president and head of North American regulatory affairs strategy at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where she provided regulatory leadership on the marketing application submissions and approvals for Incivek®, Kalydeco®, Orkambi®, and Symdeko®. She previously led the Global Regulatory Affairs CMC department at Vertex. Before that, she held multiple positions in chemical research and development and regulatory affairs at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and began her career as a research chemist at Merck. Antoinette earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Fordham University, a Master of Science in organic chemistry at Yale University, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Bentley College.
SARA DEN BESTEN
Chief Culture and Engagement Officer
Sara has nearly 20 years’ experience managing HR and patient advocacy functions in the biotech industry, both from within companies and as an independent consultant and coach. She has a life-long passion for unleashing the best in people and catalyzing their collective excellence within organizations. While working at companies such as Genzyme Corporation, Sara drove leadership and organization development strategy from design to implementation. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Bucknell University. She completed the Greater Boston Executive Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, and she holds a professional coaching certification from New Ventures West.
PHILLIP SAMAYOA, PhD
Chief Strategy Officer
Since joining Generation Bio in 2017, Phillip has provided operational and strategic leadership across exploratory research, portfolio strategy, and business development. Phillip was a principal at Atlas Venture, where he focused on building novel platform therapeutics companies. He was a co-founder of Generation Bio and Dyne Therapeutics and a board observer for HotSpot Therapeutics. Phillip was previously director of the MRL Ventures Fund at Merck, where he worked to construct the strategic fund and led investments in early-stage therapeutics technologies, including Alector, Translate Bio, and Spero Therapeutics. Prior to that, Phillip was an associate at Flagship Pioneering, where he was involved in building several start-ups, including Codiak BioSciences and Indigo Ag. Phillip graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with dual Bachelor of Science degrees in biological engineering and physics and earned his doctorate in systems biology from the University of California San Diego, where he was a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow.
MATTHEW STANTON, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Matt served as vice president, head of chemistry and platform immunology at Moderna from 2014 to 2017. Matt was director and head of RNA medicinal chemistry at Merck, spending 16 years in several roles, including small molecule program leadership and head of chemistry capabilities enhancement. He was involved in numerous therapeutic areas, including oncology, cardiovascular, neuroscience, and infectious disease, that spanned a range of modalities, including small molecules, siRNA, and peptide conjugates. Matt graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and earned his doctorate in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a focus on physical organic chemistry and natural product synthesis.
DOUG KERR, MD, PhD, MBA
Chief Medical Officer
Doug served from 2015 to 2017 as the global development team lead and vice president for neurology at Shire, where he was responsible for the development of the rare neuroscience programs, including lysosomal storage disorders, neurodegeneration, and gene therapy candidates. Doug served as the senior director of corporate strategy and portfolio management at Biogen, where he led the development effort for Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Doug led the development of Spinraza™, now approved for SMA. Doug was on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as associate professor of neurology with joint appointments in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. He also ran a lab that investigated fundamental aspects of motor neuron/axon biology, provided direct patient care, and oversaw clinical trials, mainly spinal cord and neuromuscular disorders. Doug has participated on the boards and scientific advisory boards of several nonprofit organizations, including the Transverse Myelitis Association (now SRNA), CureSMA, and the ALS Association. Doug received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College, as well as his doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology. Doug obtained his MBA, with a specialization in entrepreneurship and finance, and his Bachelor of Arts degree in biochemistry from Princeton University.
MARK ANGELINO, PhD
Founder
Mark was senior vice president of pharmaceutical sciences and rare disease franchise head at bluebirdbio from 2012 until 2016. From 2010 to 2012, he was senior director of research and development and site head in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for Baxter Healthcare Corporation. Prior to 2010, Mark worked at Archemix, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and DuPont Pharmaceuticals. His experience ranges from development to commercialization, including the first commercial launch for a bioequivalent (generic Lovenox™), the ANDA submission for generic Copaxone™, the sNDA for Integrilin™, and the BLA for Zynteglo™, as well as numerous INDs across small-molecules, biologics, peptides, biologics, complex mixture, and gene therapy products. Mark holds a doctorate in chemical engineering and a Master of Science in chemical engineering practice from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and obtained his Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from The Cooper Union.
MATTHEW NORKUNAS, MD, MBA
Chief Financial Officer
Matt was previously the chief financial officer at SomaLogic, a Colorado-based biotech. In that role, he helped lead a complete strategic overhaul for the company, closed several large business development deals, and oversaw strong commercial growth both in the US and overseas. Previously, Matt served as senior equity analyst at Marsico Capital Management, where he was the firm’s primary healthcare investment specialist. Matt began his career as a practicing anesthesiologist. He earned an MBA from Columbia Business School, a medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
GEOFF MCDONOUGH, MD
President & Chief Executive Officer
Geoff served as the president and chief executive officer of Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (Sobi) from 2011 to 2017. Before Sobi, he held various senior roles at Genzyme Corporation, including the president of Genzyme Europe and senior vice president and general manager of the global lysosomal storage disease business. Geoff has a Bachelor of Science in biology and a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating summa cum laude in both. He obtained his MD at Harvard Medical School and completed his residency training in internal medicine and pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children's Hospital.
MARK ANGELINO, PhD
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Mark was senior vice president of pharmaceutical sciences and rare disease franchise head at bluebird bio Inc. from 2012 until 2016. Previously, he was senior director of research and development and site head in Cambridge, Massachusetts for Baxter Healthcare Corporation from 2010 to 2012. Prior to 2010, Mark worked at Archemix, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and DuPont Pharmaceuticals. His experience spans from development through commercialization including the first commercial launch for a bioequivalent (generic Lovenox™), the ANDA submission for generic Copaxone™, the sNDA for Integrilin™, as well as numerous INDs across small-molecules, biologics, peptides, biologics, complex mixture, and gene therapy products. Mark holds a doctorate in chemical engineering and a Master of Science in chemical engineering practice from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and obtained his Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from The Cooper Union.
There is a theme to our conference room names that honors a dear friend whose creative spirit is always with us. To find out the theme, you have to come visit.
It’s very common to see people enthralled with Mark Angelino. Capturing it in a photo is the stuff of legends.
We hold Town Hall every single week because we have a lot to share and learn.
It’s important to be yourself and, every once in a while, stick a turkey on your head.
Chilling.
You can ceDNA dance if you want to.
There is a good chance they are debating whether a marshmallow is candy.
Gratitude runs deep. We celebrate Thanksgiving together before we break to spend the holidays with our families.
Even our casual conversations lead to great collaboration. And, eventually, a broccoli jacket moment.
If you look closely you can see the disco ball that comes out when we need it most.
You’re never alone here. We are all in this together.
It takes each of us, individually, bringing our whole selves to the work to make the whole team powerful.
Colorful stickies hold our individual and collective values. We are always reflecting on what matters.
Retreating at Alnoba in New Hampshire gave us a great chance to connect and learn with each other as we aligned on our purpose and path ahead.
Chilling.
It’s important to be yourself and, every once in a while, stick a turkey on your head.
We hold Town Hall every single week because we have a lot to share and learn.
You can ceDNA dance if you want to.
There is a good chance they are debating whether a marshmallow is candy.
Even our casual conversations lead to great collaboration. And, eventually, a broccoli jacket moment.
If you look closely you can see the disco ball that comes out when we need it most.
It takes each of us, individually, bringing our whole selves to the work to make the whole team powerful.
Colorful stickies hold our individual and collective values. We are always reflecting on what matters.
Retreating at Alnoba in New Hampshire gave us a great chance to connect and learn with each other as we aligned on our purpose and path ahead.