Atalanta is pioneering new treatment options for intractable CNS diseases

Joanne brings to Atalanta extensive executive and life science experience, including most recently as cofounder and CEO of Jnana Therapeutics. She led the company from an early discovery platform stage through the transition to clinical stage. Jnana was acquired by Otsuka Pharmaceutical in 2024 for ~$1B following the demonstration of positive clinical proof of concept for the company’s lead rare disease program. Prior to Jnana, Joanne held leadership roles at FBRI, F-Prime Capital’s initiative to enable therapeutic breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s disease and related brain disorders, and at the Broad Institute. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Chordoma Foundation. Joanne received her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Florida. She conducted postdoctoral research at Genentech and at the Necker Children’s Hospital in Paris.

Doug brings to Atalanta over two decades of experience in finance, investor relations, and capital formation across both public and venture-backed biopharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining Atalanta, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Jnana Therapeutics, where he was instrumental in securing the company’s ~$100 million Series C financing heading into the clinic and the subsequent ~$1B acquisition by Otsuka Pharmaceutical. Prior to Jnana, Doug was Chief Financial Officer at the RNAi company Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, where he oversaw the 2021 sale of the company to Novo Nordisk for $3.3 billion. Doug has previously held leadership roles at Acceleron and Biogen and has served on the Board of Directors of the biotech companies Zipohparm and Timberlyne Therapeutics. Doug holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BSE in chemical engineering from Princeton University.

Bob brings more than 30 years of experience in RNAi and oligonucleotide research and development, including from discovery through drug approval and across a wide range of clinical indications and regulatory jurisdictions. Most recently, Bob served as Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of R&D at Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, an RNAi-focused therapeutics company that was acquired by Novo Nordisk. At Novo, he served as President and Head of the Dicerna Transformation Research Unit and SVP. Prior to Dicerna, Bob held various R&D leadership positions at Genta, a clinical-stage antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics company, and previously was a co-founder of Oasis Biosciences, which was acquired by Gen-Probe. Bob earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of California, Berkeley and B.S. degrees in chemistry and biology from the University of Washington, Seattle.

Dr. Gonzalez-Alegre is a physician-scientist who received his MD and PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Malaga in Spain. After completing a neurology residency and a fellowship in movement disorders and neurogenetics at the University of Iowa, he joined the faculty there and spent more than a decade in multiple leadership roles, including Director of the Neurology Residency Program and Acting Vice-Chair for Education. He joined the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Neurology in 2014, where he became the founding Director of both the Huntington Disease Center of Excellence and the Neurogenetics Therapy Translational Center of Excellence. He also served as Director of Clinical Programs at the Raymond G. Perelman Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapy at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In 2021 he joined Spark Therapeutics as Senior Vice President and Head of Gene Therapy Research, overseeing all therapeutic areas within the research organization. Throughout his clinical career, he has provided care for patients with Parkinson’s disease, Huntington disease, ataxia, and other movement disorders.

As a research leader at both biotech and large pharmaceutical companies, Charlie has expertise across a broad range of therapeutic areas including neurology, neuromuscular, cardiovascular, ophthalmology and oncology. Charlie currently serves as CSO of Affinia Therapeutics.  Prior to Affinia, he was chief scientific officer at Editas Medicine where his research group advanced the pioneering CRISPR gene-editing platform and medicines from program inception to IND application. Previously, he was vice president of genetically defined diseases and genomics at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he was responsible for developing the group’s strategy and building a pipeline of novel therapeutics with a focus on CNS and cardiovascular rare diseases. Before joining the industry, Charlie held academic positions at Vanderbilt University and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. Charlie earned a Ph.D. in biology and a B.S. in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Whitehead Institute.

Adam brings to Atalanta over a decade of deal-making experience from private and public biotech and global pharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining Atalanta, he held BD leadership roles in the gene therapy space, most recently serving as VP, Head of Business Development at Spark Therapeutics. Prior to Spark, Adam held BD leadership roles within the gene therapy group at Novartis, culminating ultimately in his role as Head of Gene Therapies Business Development at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research where he led in-and out-partnering activities broadly across the gene therapy platform. Earlier in his career, Adam was an initial member of the Roivant Sciences business development team where he worked on asset acquisitions that formed the basis of new company formation. Adam holds a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina and Chapel Hill and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University.

Stephen has over twenty years of experience leading people strategies for successful life science companies. Most recently, Steve was Vice President, Human Resources for Akouos. Prior to that, he was Head of Human Resources for Scholar Rock where he played a key role in building the company from start-up phase through IPO and clinical development. Earlier in his career, Steve led the human resources function for multiple research and business areas within Genzyme. Stephen earned his B.A. in psychology at Stonehill College.

Stefan was most recently at Pfizer World R&D & Medical for 5 years as Executive Director, Genetics. Stefan also held positions at Amgen Inc. from Senior Scientist to Scientific Director in the Department of Neuroscience, and as Executive Director and head of Amgen’s Genome Analysis Unit. Previously Stefan was Assistant Scientist (tenure-track) at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole MA. He currently is an Adjunct Professor at Brown University, where he also serves on the advisory board of the Carney Institute for Brain Science.

Stefan completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Maryland Medical School (Department of Biochemistry / calcium imaging) and at Harvard Medical School (Department of Neurobiology / neuropharmacology) and received an MS and a PhD in Biology (Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience) from Caltech. He holds an ScB in Engineering Physics from Brown.

Garth brings to Atalanta nearly 20 years of oligonucleotide therapeutics research and development experience.  His most recent experience was as Executive Director of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Development, at Regulus Therapeutics, where he assumed roles of increasing responsibility during his over 5-year tenure.  Prior to Regulus, Garth was at Ionis Pharmaceuticals for 13 years where he conducted research in PNA, microRNA, siRNA, ss-siRNA, splicing and gapmer based therapeutics. Garth received his B.S. in Chemistry from Sonoma State University as well as his M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from University of California, San Diego.

For the past 13 years, Qingmin has worked in biotechnology research and drug development, focusing on neurodegenerative and rare diseases. Most recently, Qingmin worked at Renascent Biosciences and Voyager Therapeutics, where she was program and biology lead for multiple gene therapy programs, including Alzheimer’s Disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and neuropathic pain. Earlier in her career, Qingmin worked at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, where she led the pharmacology efforts for the transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis program, resulting in the first FDA-approved RNAi drug, Onpattro, and several neuroscience RNAi therapeutic programs. Qingmin received a Ph.D. in medical pharmacology and an M.S. in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Arizona. She received her medical degree from Shandong Medical University, China.

After starting his career as an auditor within KPMG’s life sciences practice, Ted has served in financial reporting roles at several other public and private Boston area biotechnology organizations. Most recently Ted was at Jnana Therapeutics with previous experiences including TESARO, AMAG and PRAECIS Pharmaceuticals. Ted received his MBA/MSA from Northeastern University and BSBA from Georgetown University.

Jason currently serves as Managing Director of Sanofi Ventures. Prior to Sanofi, Jason was the Director of Corporate Development at Translate Bio (fka RaNA Therapeutics), a company co-founded by his previous firm Atlas Venture. While at Atlas, Jason was an Associate in the Life Sciences group. Previously, he was a Flagship Ventures Entrepreneurial Fellow, and consulted for the technology transfer company at the University of Cambridge while performing his doctoral research. Before his time at Cambridge, Jason was an analyst at JSB Partners LP, an investment banking firm, focusing on advisory and business development activities in the life sciences space.

Scott is co-founder and CEO of Comanche Biopharma, a private company developing novel siRNA compounds to treat preeclampsia. Prior to Comanche, Scott was a co-founder of The Medicines Company where he served as director (1996-2009) until he joined the management team as chief medical advisor (2009-2021). In that role, he was responsible for evaluating the company’s long-range global strategy and for the licensing or acquisition of innovative products, including inclisiran, for which the company was purchased by Novartis.

Previously, Scott was a founding General Partner at JSB Partners, L.P., an investment bank with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, private financings and corporate alliances within the healthcare sector. From September 1991 to July 1999, Scott served as a founder and managing director of MPM Capital, LLC, a venture capital firm.

Scott holds a B.S. in chemistry (Phi Beta Kappa) and an M.D. (Alpha Omega Alpha) from the University of Alabama. His academic career included faculty positions at Harvard Medical School, the University of Colorado Medical School, and the University of South Alabama. He has been Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Sleep Disorders Medicine. He currently is Chairman, Board of Directors, MaxiVAX SA, a biopharmaceutical company focused on immuno-oncology.

Steve is president and managing partner at F-Prime Capital. He has worked in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries for over 25 years and invests broadly across healthcare.  Steve serves on the Board of Directors of Atalanta Therapeutics, Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BEAM), Geneception, Genomics plc, Iora Health, Pulmocide and Sana Biotechnology.  Steve previously served on the boards of several private and public health care companies including Blueprint Medicines (NASDAQ: BPMC), Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ: DNLI), FoldRx Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer), Innovent Biologics (1801.HK), (Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IRWD), NextWave Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer), Proteostasis Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PTI), Respivert, Ltd (acquired by J&J) and Semma Therapeutics (acquired by Vertex).

Prior to joining F-Prime Capital, Steve held various senior management roles in private and public biotechnology and consulting companies. He also was a researcher at AT&T Bell Laboratories, the National Institutes of Health, and Yale University. He holds an M.D. from the Yale University School of Medicine, an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Organization and Management and received a B.S. in biology from Columbia University, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

Joanne brings to Atalanta extensive executive and life science experience, including most recently as cofounder and CEO of Jnana Therapeutics. She led the company from an early discovery platform stage through the transition to clinical stage. Jnana was acquired by Otsuka Pharmaceutical in 2024 for ~$1B following the demonstration of positive clinical proof of concept for the company’s lead rare disease program. Prior to Jnana, Joanne held leadership roles at FBRI, F-Prime Capital’s initiative to enable therapeutic breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s disease and related brain disorders, and at the Broad Institute. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Chordoma Foundation. Joanne received her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Florida. She conducted postdoctoral research at Genentech and at the Necker Children’s Hospital in Paris.

Niall O’Donnell, Ph.D., is a managing director of RiverVest Venture Partners, a leading venture capital firm building life science companies. Since joining RiverVest in 2006 as a Kauffman Fellow, Niall has been instrumental in developing and shaping the firm’s successful biopharmaceutical strategy. He has founded or co-founded five biopharmaceutical companies, directed clinical strategy, co-founded key patents, and helped to raise over a billion dollars in venture capital for early-stage companies addressing significant unmet medical needs. Niall is currently chairman of the board of Avalyn Pharma and a board member of Engrail Therapeutics, Sparrow Pharmaceuticals, and Glycomine.

Niall served as interim CEO of Reneo Pharmaceuticals and interim chief medical officer at Lumena Pharmaceuticals before its 2014 acquisition by Shire (now part of Takeda America Holdings). Niall also helped found and develop the clinical strategy for RiverVest portfolio companies Curzion Pharmaceuticals and Excaliard Pharmaceuticals. He was a member of the boards of directors of Amplyx Pharmaceuticals and Spruce Biosciences, and the scientific advisory board of Ziarco. Prior to joining RiverVest, Niall was an immunologist at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development in San Diego. Niall earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Dundee, Scotland, and an M.A. in Biochemistry from Pembroke College, Oxford. He completed his postdoctoral work at the University of California, San Diego, and later earned an MBA from the University of California, San Diego – Rady School of Management.

Stacie is the president of FBRI. Prior to this position, she was the senior director of science programs for the Fidelity Foundations. In 2005, Stacie served as the project manager and senior analyst for the Task Force on Women in Science at Harvard University. From 2001-2005, Stacie was a senior scientist at Cell Press for the journal Neuron. Before joining Cell Press, Stacie was a postdoctoral research fellow at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School with Dr. Bruce Yankner. She was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute predoctoral fellow in the program in neuroscience at Harvard University. While a graduate student and postdoctoral research fellow, Stacie was actively involved in undergraduate teaching, winning six teaching awards.

Stacie received a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard University, and a B.S. degree in chemistry with highest honors from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She currently chairs the Collaboration for Alzheimer’s Prevention; is President of Alzforum; serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Rugen Therapeutics; serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Aratome, Atalanta, Eikonizo, RBNC, Sironax, and Target ALS; and serves as a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards for Denali Therapeutics, the Indian Institute of Science’s Centre for Brain Research and the UK Dementia Research Institute. She previously served as a founding member of the Board of Directors for Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ: DNLI); as well as a member of the Board of Directors for Annexon Biosciences (NASDAQ: ANNX), BRI-Alzan (acquired by MeiraGTx), Digital Cognition Technologies (acquired by Linus Health), Enspectra, Inscopix, Syllable Life Sciences (acquired by RBNC), and Q-State Biosciences.

Arno is a Director in the EQT Life Sciences team, where he is a co-founder of its Dementia Fund. Next to Atalanta Therapeutics, Arno serves on the boards of Vectory Therapeutics, AstronauTx and Asceneuron. At EQT Life Sciences, he additionally focused on investments across a broad range of life sciences companies, including NewAmsterdam Pharma, Nobi, QurAlis and Muna Therapeutics. Prior to joining EQT Life Sciences in 2019, Arno worked as a physician-scientist at Amsterdam UMC, where he practiced medicine for six years and trained in Neurology. His research at the Alzheimer Center in Amsterdam focused on imaging and biofluid biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases, where he co-authored over 20 publications in peer-reviewed journals. Next to his work in venture capital, he is a Member of the Societal Advisory Board of Amsterdam UMC. Arno holds an M.D. from Utrecht University, a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from VU Amsterdam, and an M.B.A. from INSEAD.