ABOUT: TEAM
OVERVIEW | LEADERSHIP TEAM | TEAM | BOARD
OVERVIEW | LEADERSHIP TEAM | TEAM | BOARD
Dr. Paul K. Wotton received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Nottingham and is an experienced CEO, Board Member, named inventor and entrepreneur. He has extensive experience in strategic growth management, business transactions and product development. Dr. Wotton serves on the Board of Directors of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ: VCEL), Cynata Therapeutics (ASX: CYP), Kytopen (Chairman), Combined Therapeutics and is a Co-Founder and Director of Avenge Bio., a clinical stage biotechnology company. Dr. Wotton was President and CEO of Ocata Therapeutics(NASDAQ:OCAT) until its acquisition by AstellasPharma in 2016. Paul was named as a “Top 100 Innovation CEO” by World Biz Magazine and won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Regional (NJ) Life Sciences award in 2014.
Rima is co-founder and managing partner of RBL LLC and is currently acting CEO of RBL LLC's first portfolio company, Sentinel BioTherapeutics. Previously, Rima was a Partner at KdT Ventures for 5 years, investing in a portfolio of companies spanning human and climate health. Rima started her career as a neurologist at the University of Pennsylvania and is a physician-scientist trained at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Her research on lipid metabolism and cholesterol homeostasis under Dr. Helen Hobbs was funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Dr. Omid Veiseh, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Director of the Biotech Launch Pad at Rice University, where he leads a research program aimed at engineering next-generation treatments for a wide range of human diseases by leveraging the latest techniques in synthetic biology, immunoengineering, and materials science to develop innovative cell-based platforms for real-time production of biologics. He is also a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded multiple biotechnology companies. These companies collectively have attracted ~ $500M in private and public investment capital.
Dr. Veiseh received a dual Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering and Nanotechnology from the University of Washington. He completed his postdoctoral research with Prof. Robert Langer and Daniel G. Anderson at MIT and Harvard Medical School. Throughout his career, he has authored or co-authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications, including those in Nature Biotechnology, Nature Materials, Nature Medicine, and Nature Biomedical Engineering. He is an inventor on more than 50 pending or awarded patents. Dr. Veiseh has been elected a fellow of the Controlled Release Society, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the National Academy of Inventors.
Ryan Newman, As VP of Operations and Planning at RBL, Ryan Newman is responsible for leading cross-functional teams to drive the development of IND-enabling programs and managing strategic external partnerships. His role involves cultivating and maintaining key collaborations to enhance RBL’s capabilities and growth. Prior to joining RBL, Ryan held a number of roles across Corporate Development and Portfolio Management, with a focus on oncology and cell therapy. Most recently, he was responsible for the operational management and organization of novel cell therapy programs at Avenge Bio and Sigilon Therapeutics, where he led integrated project teams to deliver on key milestones from proof of concept data through regulatory approvals (both US and ex-US). Ryan is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. He went on to earn an M.B.A. with a focus on Project Management from the Keller School of Management.
David Aubuchon is RBL-LLC’s Treasurer, Secretary and Head of Finance and is responsible for all financial operations of the Company. Mr. Aubuchon joined RBL with 25+ years of experience in finance leadership roles in the life sciences industry. Prior to RBL, Mr. Aubuchon was SVP of Finance, Chief Accounting Officer at Obsidian Therapeutics and had similar roles at Sigilon Therapeutics, Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Ocata Therapeutics and Sepracor Pharmaceuticals (now Sunovion Pharmaceuticals). Mr. Aubuchon began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers and earned his CPA in Massachusetts. Mr. Aubuchon holds a BA from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) and an MBA from Babson College.
Mr. Duke is an accomplished biotech executive with more than 20 years of global commercial, operational and clinical development experience at several leading rare disease and immuno-oncology companies. Mr. Duke previously served as chief executive officer of Gennao since 2022 and helped establish and lead key corporate functions, including program management, manufacturing, legal, business operations, human resources, and Information technology. Before Gennao, Mr. Duke led operations and the commercial team in Japan for Amicus Therapeutics, after previously serving as the company's vice president of global commercial operations. He also was chief operating officer for Advaxis, Inc., and executive director of International commercial operations for NPS Pharma. Earlier in his career, Mr. Duke held clinical and scientific positions at Merck & Co. and The Schering-Plough Corporation. He received an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as an M.P.H. and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rutgers University.