Realizing the promise.
We are at the cusp of a revolution in medicine. Synthetic biology is an entirely new strategy in drug development, affording us the opportunity to design selective and potent living medicines to treat disease. With a team of experienced scientists and executives at the helm, Synlogic is forging new ground to advance this approach and design novel therapeutics to treat unmet medical needs.
Aoife M. Brennan, MB, ChB
President and Chief Executive Officer
Aoife M. Brennan, MB, ChB
Dr. Aoife Brennan has served as Synlogic’s president and chief executive officer since October 2018 after serving as interim president and CEO from May 2018. She joined Synlogic in September 2016 as chief medical officer. Aoife previously spent six years at Biogen, where she was in roles of increasing responsibility and most recently served as vice president and head of the Rare Disease Innovation Unit, which included programs ranging from pre-clinical to commercial. She also led programs across multiple therapeutic areas including the late phase development of nusinersen for spinal muscular atrophy and ALPROLIX® and ELOCTATE®, treatments for Hemophilia B and Hemophilia A. Prior to joining Biogen, she was director of clinical development at Tolerx, a start-up biotech company focusing on immunotherapy for Type 1 diabetes. Aoife holds a medical degree from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland and has completed post-graduate training in internal medicine, endocrinology and metabolism. She has completed post-doctoral training in clinical research and metabolism at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and is a graduate of the Harvard Medical School Scholars in Clinical Science Program.
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Gregg Beloff
Interim Chief Financial Officer
Gregg Beloff
Gregg Beloff has served as Synlogic’s interim chief financial officer since October 2019. Gregg has more than 20 years of experience in the life science industry, ranging from venture-backed start-ups to publicly traded companies, Gregg is the founder and managing director of Danforth Advisors, a company focused on providing finance support and strategy for life science companies. He previously served as CFO of four public and ten privately held companies, during which time he managed finance, accounting, corporate communications, human resources, IT, facilities, legal, IP, business development and manufacturing functions. Gregg’s core expertise includes operational management, strategic planning and corporate and business development, fundraising and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to his CFO roles, Gregg was a life science investment banker with Adams, Harkness & Hill, where he underwrote financings for and provided buy- and sell-side M&A counsel to biotechnology, medical device, and healthcare information technology companies. He began his career as a corporate attorney with Gaffin & Krattenmaker, a Boston-based law firm. Gregg holds a BA from Middlebury College, JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.
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Richard Riese, MD, PhD
CHIEF Medical OFFICER
Richard Riese, MD, PhD
Dr. Richard Riese has served as Synlogic’s chief medical officer since September 2019 and is responsible for the oversight and direction of the company’s clinical development strategy and operations. Richard is a physician scientist with over 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Synlogic, he served as vice president, clinical development at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals where he led clinical development projects in several areas across Alnylam’s rare disease portfolio. Previously, he served as head of translational clinical sciences in the Research Unit at Alexion, where he was responsible for the clinical development strategy of all compounds from discovery to proof-of-concept. In addition, at Alexion Richard played a key role in the approval of Strensiq (asfotase alfa), a transformative medicine for patients suffering from hyperphosphatasia. Richard started his industry career in clinical development at Pfizer where he led the clinical safety strategy for FDA approval of Xeljanz (tofacitinib) for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. He earned a Ph.D. in biophysics and an M.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin, and a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Riese carried out his residency training in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and achieved certification by the American Boards of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, and Internal Medicine.
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Adam Thomas
Chief Human Resources Officer
Adam Thomas
Adam Thomas joined Synlogic in July 2017 and is responsible for all human resource functions leading office operations and serving as Corporate Secretary. Adam has spent more than 20 years in human resources helping leading companies recruit and retain top talent. Prior to joining Synlogic, he served as Vice President and Head of Human Resources for Research and Development at Shire during a period when the company underwent major expansion, doubling the size of its research and development workforce in Massachusetts. Before joining Shire, Adam served as Head of Human Resources for Research, Development, and Engineering for S.C. Johnson and Company. Earlier in his career he served as director in various human resources functions at Pfizer. Adam holds an M.B.A. from Boston University, a Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B.) from the University of Edinburgh and an M.A. in human resource management from the University of the West of England.
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Amanda Kay, PhD
Head of Business Development
Amanda Kay, PhD
Amanda joined Synlogic in August 2016 and as Senior Vice President, Head of Business Development heads strategy, business development, alliance management, and new product commercialization. Prior to joining Synlogic, Amanda served as Chief Operating Officer for Pfizer’s Inflammation and Immunology Research Unit, driving development of strategy and operational execution across the portfolio, business development, finance, and human resources functions. Ultimately, the unit delivered an industry-leading pipeline with several programs now in Phase 3 development. She began her business career at L.E.K. Consulting and Genzyme. She received her Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from Harvard University and earned a B.S. in bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
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Caroline B. Kurtz, PhD
Head of Translational Sciences and Product Development
Caroline B. Kurtz, PhD
Dr. Caroline Kurtz joined Synlogic in October 2016 and is responsible for program leadership and portfolio planning and progression. Caroline has 25 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry and has led several programs across various stages of development. Previously, Caroline was vice president and GC-C platform lead at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, where she drove the development of linaclotide (LINZESS®) from pre-IND through NDA approval and life-cycle management. In this role, she managed the linaclotide development collaborations with U.S. partner Forest (now Allergan), European partner Almirall and Japanese partner Astellas. She also served as the portfolio lead for the discovery and development of new GC-C agonists, including identification of two additional clinical candidates. Prior to her role at Ironwood, Caroline served as director of infectious diseases at GelTex/Genzyme, where she led discovery of novel polymeric compounds as anti-infectives for intestinal and pulmonary infections. Caroline has over 41 publications and has received several industry and academic honors for her work including being named by PharmaVoice as one of 2016’s 100 most inspiring people. Caroline received her Ph.D. in immunology from Harvard University in the laboratory of Dr. John Weis, and carried out post-doctoral training in viral immunology and central nervous system demylelinating diseases in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Fujinami at the University of Utah. She received a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of New Hampshire.
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Antoine Awad
Head of Technical Operations
Antoine Awad
Antoine (Tony) Awad joined Synlogic in December 2018 as Head of Technical Operations and is responsible for process sciences and manufacturing functions for the Company. Tony has over 15 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry with substantial experience in the development and manufacturing of novel therapeutics from pre-IND studies through global commercialization. Prior to joining Synlogic, Tony was most recently at Abpro Therapeutics and served as Senior Vice President of CMC and Operations where he was responsible for the development of bi-specific antibodies for oncology and leading corporate operational functions. Prior to that he served as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations and Manufacturing at L.E.A.F. Pharmaceuticals focused on developing small molecules for oncology. Previously, Tony held positions of increasing responsibilities over a ten-year period at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals. As Head of Process Sciences & Manufacturing, Tony led CMC development, manufacturing and approval of ONIVYDE® for treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer and transitioned to Ipsen Bioscience to integrate and lead commercial manufacturing of ONIVYDE®. Tony has broad experience in partnerships, collaboration and M&A, most notably with Sanofi, Baxalta/Shire plc, Actavis Pharma/Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Ipsen Bioscience. He is a graduate of Boston University and holds degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, and conducted graduate research at Boston University School of Dental Medicine.
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Michael Slater
Head of Regulatory Affairs
Michael Slater
Mr. Michael Slater has served as Synlogic’s head of regulatory affairs since September 2019. Michael has more than 35 years of regulatory experience including hands-on preclinical and clinical regulatory strategy development from pre-investigational new drug (IND) application through drug marketing approvals. Mr. Slater was the Head of Regulatory Affairs and later, Development Operations at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals from 2010 to 2019. At Merrimack, Mr. Slater led the regulatory strategy resulting in the 2015 U.S. approval of Onivyde® (irinotecan liposome injection), an orphan drug for the treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer. In addition, he worked with Baxalta who acquired certain ex-US rights to Onyvide, to achieve approval in Europe and other countries. Prior to Merrimack, Mr. Slater held various regulatory roles in several biotech and pharmaceutical companies, including Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Acusphere, Inc., Anika Therapeutics, Inc., ImmuLogic Pharmaceuticals, Biogen and Hoechst Pharmaceuticals. With a background in applied biology, Mr. Slater also holds a B.Sc. in information science from Leeds Beckett University, U.K. and is a Fellow of The Organization for Professionals in Regulatory Affairs.
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Elizabeth Wolffe, PhD
Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Elizabeth Wolffe, Ph.D.
Dr. Elizabeth Wolffe has served as Synlogic’s head of investor relations and corporate communications overseeing all investor relations, public and media relations since August 2017. A scientist by training, with over 15 years of communications experience, she previously served as vice president of investor relations and communications at Sangamo Therapeutics (formerly Sangamo BioSciences), a genome editing and gene therapy company. Liz earned her Ph.D. in pharmacology and molecular sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She completed postdoctoral research in virus assembly and worked as a staff scientist in the Laboratory of Viral Diseases, NIAID, at the National Institutes of Health. Liz holds an M.Sc. in biochemistry from the University of London and a B.Sc. in biological sciences from Birmingham University in the U.K.
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