Jason Luke, M.D., FACP, Advisor, is a medical oncologist at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Center who cares for patients with melanoma and advanced solid tumors. Dr. Luke's research focuses on translational therapeutic advances for melanoma and early phase drug development, particularly immunotherapy. He is Study Chair for the only on-going national clinical trial for patients with advanced uveal (ocular) melanoma and is the principal investigator of several clinical trials of immunotherapy and targeted molecular therapies for melanoma and advanced cancer. Dr. Luke was at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School where he treated patients with melanoma and performed early phase clinical trials. Dr. Luke has received several awards for his research, including a Young Investigator Award from the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO, an ASCO Merit Award and others.

Lionel Lewis, M.D. Chief Medical Officer, is an experienced solid tumor trialist who has worked on 40 Phase I trials, and led 10 first-in-human studies including immune checkpoint inhibitors. Currently he co-directs co-directs the Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) at Dartmouth Molecular Therapeutics Program and the NCCC Phase-I group, and is Director of the Clinical Pharmacology Shared Resource and Medical Director of the Dartmouth Clinical Trials Office. He is also the current Executive Director of the American Board of Clinical Pharmacology and the vice chair of the Pharmacogenetics and Population Pharmacology (PPP) committee of the Alliance of Clinical Trials in Oncology, an NCI intergroup.  He has served on and chaired several DOD and NIH study section panels.  He has published more than 150 peer reviewed manuscripts in the field of clinical pharmacology and has edited/co-authored several textbooks in the field.  

Michael S. Perry, DVM, PhD, Chairman, joined 7 Hills Pharma’s Board of Managers in July 2021. Dr. Perry brings extensive experience across the global pharmaceutical value chain for healthcare products spanning diverse therapeutic areas. In his career, he has been materially involved in the successful development and commercial launch of more than 30 prescription products, 14 of which achieved blockbuster status.  Dr. Perry is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Avita Medical (NASDAQ:RCEL and ASX:AVH) and has previously served in a variety of pharmaceutical executive roles, including as Chief Scientific Officer of Novartis’ Cell and Gene Therapy Unit from 2014-2017 and Vice President and Global Head of Stem Cell Therapy for Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. from 2012-2014.  He also served as President and Chief Medical Officer of Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Chief Development Officer at VIA Pharmaceuticals, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Extropy Pharmaceuticals, Global Head of Research and Development for Baxter’s BioScience Division, President and Chief Executive Officer of both SyStemix Inc. and Genetic Therapy Inc., and Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for Novartis Pharma.  Additionally, he served in executive roles at Syntex Corporation (now Roche) and at Schering-Plough (now Merck).  Dr. Perry holds a BSc in Physics, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), and a PhD in Biomedical Pharmacology from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. He is also a graduate of the International Management Program at Harvard Business School and serves as Adjunct Professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine.

Richard Dixon, PhD, Co-founder & Manager, is an experienced pharmaceutical executive who has founded and invested in new ventures and also has led numerous commercial programs, which have resulted in four approved commercial products including Argatroban, Crixivan and Singulair. He co-founded and served as CSO of Encysive Pharmaceuticals (ENCY) and sold the business to Pfizer for ~$400 million. Prior to that, he held various management positions, including head of the molecular biology department at Merck and Co (MSD).  Dr. Dixon's research groups have produced more than 10 new chemical entities which have entered human testing. He has a Ph.D. in Virology from Baylor College of Medicine and conducted postdoctoral research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Nathans, the 1978 Nobel Laureate in Medicine.   

F. Stephen Hodi, MD, Advisor is the Director of the Melanoma Center and the Center for Immuno-Oncology at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, the Sharon Crowley Martin Chair in Melanoma at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.  Dr. Hodi is an internationally recognized leader in the development of immune therapy and melanoma therapeutics. In particular, he is known for the clinical development of immune checkpoint inhibitors.  His clinical investigation efforts have pioneered the use of immune checkpoint blockade and combinatorial approaches to treat cancer.  His publications include articles in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Clinical Oncology and the New England Journal of Medicine.  Dr. Hodi is a founding member of the Society for Melanoma Research.  Dr. Hodi is a graduate of Harvard University and Cornell University Medical College.  He completed his postdoctoral training in In­ternal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and his medical oncology training at Dana-Farber cancer Institute, where he joined the faculty in 1998.

Robert Kramer, Advisor.  Rob has 24 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry and is the former Head of Oncology Discovery Research at both Bristol-Myers Squibb and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, part of the Johnson & Johnson group of companies. He has been responsible for enabling the transition of 35 drugs from discovery into the clinic. Rob championed immunotheraphy at Bristol-Myers Squibb, resulting in the acquisition of Medarex, Inc. in 2009 and its portfolio of immune therapeutics that included Ipilimumab and Nivolumab. He received his PhD in pharmacology from the University of Vermont and undertook his post doctorate studies at the US National Cancer Institute. Rob held an Assistant Professorship at the Harvard Medical School.

Jeffrey K. Actor, PhD, Advisor & Collaborator, is a Professor and Master Educator at the McGovern Medical School of the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, TX. He has high expertise in immunology of tuberculosis disease, designing vaccines and therapeutics to reduce Tubercuolsis related pathology. He received multiple grant awards from the National Institutes of Health focusing on molecules to modify inflammation. Dr. Actor has authored immunology texts, and over 100 peer reviewed publications examining immune response to pathogenic infections. He serves on NIH vaccine review panels, and on journal Editorial Boards, including Frontiers (Immunology) and International Immunopharmacology. He earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Massachusetts, and completed post-doctoral training at NIAID. He has been a scientific advisor for biotech since 1995.  

Adolfo García-Sastre, PhD, Advisor & Collaborator, is Professor in the Departmentsof Microbiology and Medicine and in the TischCancer Center at Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai (ISMMS) in New York,. He is also Director of the Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute at ISMMS, and Principal Investigator for the Center for Research on Influenza Pathogenesis (CRIP), one of five NIAID Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS). For the past 30 years, his research interest has been focused on the molecular biology, virus-host interactions, innate immunity and pathogenesis of influenza viruses and several other RNA viruses, as well as on the development of new vaccines and antivirals.  In 2019, he was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

William Schary, Ph.D., Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs, has extensive experience as a development, clinical and regulatory scientist and biopharmaceutical industry executive. He is a former clinical reviewer for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has served in senior roles in global clinical and regulatory functions with Abbvie Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., and has held executive management positions at a number of biotech companies. He has designed and successfully executed drug development plans resulting in the acceptance of global dossiers for investigational products, including approval of more than 20 drug and medicinal products across multiple therapeutic areas. He also established the procedures and managed operations of a Phase 1 clinic unit as well as coordinated efforts at academic and commercial research centers for implementation of new drug development and new drug regulatory and quality assurance programs.

Joseph Bailes, MD, Advisor & Manager,is a medical oncologist with substantial experience in legislation, public policy and advocacy, as well as the business aspects of the practice of oncology and medicine. Dr. Bailes has served in various executive leadership capacities for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), including terms as President, Interim Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, and Chair of the ASCO Government Relations Council. He has also served as the Executive Vice President of Clinical Affairs for US Oncology, Inc. Dr. Bailes received his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas.

Darren Woodside, PhD, Advisor & Collaborator, is a co-founder, investor, and an inventor of 7HP technology. He is an experienced pharmaceutical executive and immunologist.  As the Associate Director of Drug Discovery, Biological Sciences at Encysive Pharmaceuticals, he directed drug discovery efforts targeting cell adhesion molecule signaling and function. Dr. Woodside is an author of numerous peer reviewed publications, and has been a Principal Investigator on a number grants from the National Institutes of Health.  Dr. Woodside has served on a number of Editorial Review Boards, including Nature Journal Genes and Immunity, and review panels for the NIH. He has a Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Upendra Marathi, PhD, MBA, President & CEO, is the founder, investor, and an inventor of 7HP technology. He has led the development of three novel pain and cardiovascular drugs, including one which has recently been approved by the FDA. He co-developed one of the first genetically modified stem cells to improve bone marrow function in chemotherapeutic patients.  As a venture capitalist, he was involved in the founding and launch of several biotechnology companies.  He has helped raise over $50 million in equity financing.  Upendra was a post-doctoral fellow at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Loyola University Chicago.  Upendra has an M.B.A. from Rice University and has served as a faculty member.

Peter Vanderslice, PhD, Advisor & Collaborator, ​is a co-founder, investor, and an inventor of 7HP technology. He is an experienced pharmaceutical executive that has identified and developed four clinical stage compounds, managed joint ventures, and helped raise $100 million in equity financing at Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  He has translated numerous approaches targeting cell adhesion molecules into pharmaceutical development programs. Dr. Vanderslice has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications focusing on the biological function and therapeutic targeting of cell adhesion and trafficking.  The extensive experience in cell adhesion is critical to validating the 7HP lead compounds for use in hematologic cancers, and stem cell transplant and other indications.He has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Management & Advisors