Dr. Josep Bassaganya-Riera | Executive Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO
Josep Bassaganya-Riera, PhD, has served as our Executive Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer since our founding. Dr. Bassaganya-Riera has served as the Director of the NIMML Institute since July 2002 and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Biotherapeutics Inc. since October 2008. He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer at Landos Biopharma and Professor of Inflammation & Immunology Virginia Tech. He is a captain of industry, innovator, thought leader, and serial entrepreneur, with more than 20 years in the industry. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and books on the acceleration of biopharmaceutical development and computational immunology, and he has contributed 200 patents in immunology and autoimmune disease treatment. He has raised over $250 million in non-dilutive and equity financing rounds. Dr. Bassaganya-Riera has applied agile and lean management systems in combination with an efficient use of capital to catalyze value accrual and capture. Dr. Bassaganya-Riera holds a degree in Veterinary Medicine from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and a Ph.D. in Nutrition and Immunology from Iowa State University.
Dr. Raquel Hontecillas | Chief Scientific Officer
Raquel Hontecillas, Ph.D., has served as our Chief Scientific Officer since our founding. She brings over 20 years of translational immunology research experience in the biotech industry, with a focus on infectious, autoimmune, and metabolic diseases. She leads efforts aimed at identifying and validating the role of the Lanthionine Synthetase C-Like 2 (LANCL2), and other immunometabolic pathways as key therapeutic targets for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other autoimmune diseases. Dr. Hontecillas is the Co-Director of the NIMML Institute, a position she has held since July 2002, and the Chief Scientific Officer of Biotherapeutics, Inc., a position she has held since October 2008. She previously served as the Chief Scientific Officer at Landos Biopharma, and a Research Professor of Immunology at Virginia Tech. She co-directed NIH and DOD-funded $68M translational research program in computational and mucosal immunology centered on studying the gastrointestinal immune system. Raquel has published over 250 peer-reviewed publications and has contributed to 200 patents. Dr. Hontecillas holds a degree in Veterinary Medicine from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain and a Ph.D. in Immunology from Iowa State University.
Dr. Andrew Leber | Chief Development Officer
Andrew Leber, Ph.D. contributes deep knowledge of immunology, advanced computational modeling, data analytics, AI, and drug development to NImmune Biopharma. As the Chief Development Officer, he is responsible for assessing the therapeutic potential of lead immunoregulatory targets in autoimmune diseases. Dr. Leber’s expertise in immunometabolism helped advance our first-in-class asset for IBD, omilancor, into clinical development. Dr. Leber previously served as the VP of Discovery & Product Development at Landos Biopharma, where he oversaw clinical operations, CMC and regulatory affairs. Landos was acquired by Abbvie. Dr. Leber obtained his B.S. in bioengineering and biomedical engineering from Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. in genetics, bioinformatics, and computational biology from Virginia Tech.
Jennifer Collette, MSA, CPA | Chief Accounting Officer & Controller
Jenny Collette, MSA, CPA, has 20 years of experience in accounting and financial systems for both large corporations and small businesses. In her role as Chief Accounting Officer & Controller at NImmune Biopharma, she manages business controller services as well as provides council on how to improve operational efficiencies. Jenny previously served as VP of Finance at Landos. She has expertise in technical & project accounting, budget planning, controls, and financial reporting. Jenny holds a Master’s degree in Accounting with a focus in taxation.
Marek Ciszewski, JD | Chief Financial Officer
Marek Ciszewski, J.D., has built a career investing in, financing and building biopharma companies through an extensive network of relationships across Wall Street and the biopharma industry. Prior to becoming the founding CFO of NImmune, Mr. Ciszewski held the position of Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at Coherus Biosciences and before that, led Financial Strategy, Investor Relations and Corporate Development at Landos Biopharma, Lantern Pharma, Epirus Biopharmaceuticals and Verastem Oncology. Before entering the biopharma industry, Mr. Ciszewski spent 18 years in the financial industry, most recently as the Global Head of Equity Research at BMO Global Asset Management, one of the world’s largest asset managers. Mr. Ciszewski received a Juris Doctor degree from Chicago-Kent School of Law and dual B.Sc. degrees in Finance and Economics from DePaul University.
Dr. Nuria Tubau-Juni | VP of Inflammation and Immunology
Nuria Tubau-Juni, Ph.D. brings extensive I&I expertise in translational immunology and metabolism, and has been focused on the identification of novel immunoregulatory and immunometabolic mechanisms and pathways underlying autoimmune and infectious diseases. Nuria previously served as Director of Inflammation & Immunology at Landos. Dr. Tubau-Juni is involved in translational and clinical studies of ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis and lupus. Dr. Tubau-Juni holds a Ph.D. in genetics, bioinformatics, and computational biology from Virginia Tech, a M.S. in Translational Biomedical Research from Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from UAB.