Cory R. Nicholas, PhD

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Cory Nicholas is a Founder and the Chief Executive Officer at Neurona Therapeutics. Before Neurona, he was a faculty member in the Department of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco where he investigated human cortical interneuron development. Cory pioneered methods to derive interneuron precursors from human pluripotent stem cells, and he evaluated the therapeutic potential of interneuron cell therapy in multiple preclinical models of neurological disease. Cory’s post-doctoral work was conducted at UCSF. His pre-doctoral research at both UCSF and Stanford University studied germline stem cells and gametogenesis. He received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Catherine Priest, PhD

Chief Development Officer

Dr. Catherine Priest is the Chief Development Officer at Neurona Therapeutics. Catherine was most recently the Vice President of Preclinical Development at Neurona. Prior to Neurona, she was a Senior Science Officer at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), where she managed a grant portfolio of Translational and Clinical programs. Previously, Dr. Priest led the preclinical cellular therapeutics group at Geron Corporation, working on treatments for spinal cord injury, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. During that time, the company developed the first successful IND application for an embryonic stem cell-derived cellular therapeutic that was approved by the FDA for use in a clinical trial. Dr. Priest also managed a research group at Bayer Biotechnology and was an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where her lab focused on neuroendocrine modulation of behavior and neural circuitry. Dr. Priest received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Psychology from Kalamazoo College in Michigan, and a Ph.D. in Neuroanatomy and Cell Biology from the UCLA School of Medicine. She did postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University and Mt. Sinai Medical School.

Gautam Banik, PhD

Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Gautam Banik is the Chief Technology Officer at Neurona Therapeutics. Previously, Gautam was the Vice President of Manufacturing and Process Sciences at Neurona Therapeutics. Prior to joining Neurona he was Vice President of Manufacturing and Process Sciences at Cellerant Therapeutics where he developed a myeloid progenitor stem cell product derived from adult donors for the treatment of neutropenia in acute myelogenous leukemia and acute radiation syndrome. Gautam also developed an antibody drug conjugate product for the treatment of AML for early phase clinical studies. Prior to Cellerant, he worked in the Process Sciences group at Cell Genesys from 1997 to 2008. During this period, he held a number of positions with increasing responsibility including leading the development of manufacturing processes and scale up to commercial scale for cell therapy products such as GVAX immunotherapy. He also worked on a number of gene therapy and viral vector products. He conducted his post-doctoral research in Biochemical Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder and received his Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College.

James Stutz

Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer

Mr. James Stutz is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Chief Business Officer (CBO) at Neurona Therapeutics. He has 20 years of experience in the biopharma industry across multiple operating roles in private and public biotech companies as well as in venture capital investment, and management consulting. Prior to joining Neurona, James served as CBO at Actym Therapeutics, a private company developing microbial cell therapies designed to overcome the tumor microenvironment, and prior to that as head of business development at Instil Bio, a global public, clinical stage, cell therapy company developing tumor infiltrating lymphocytes for the treatment of cancer. Before joining Instil Bio, he was the CFO at Tolerion, and CBO at Tioma Therapeutics. Earlier in his career he held roles of increasing responsibility at InterMune, CoMentis, and Alios BioPharma (acquired by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson). Prior to holding operating roles in biopharma companies, James was a principal with Essex Woodlands Health Ventures where he focused on investments in the biopharma and life sciences tools space including ProteinSimple (acquired by Bio-Techne), Revance Therapeutics, IntegenX (acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific) and Symphogen (acquired by Servier). He was also a senior consultant with Strategic Decisions Group and prior to his career in the life science industry was a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force. James earned an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a B.A. in business economics, from the University of California at Santa Barbara. From 2012 through 2017 James held an appointment as Lecturer at Stanford University in the Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Pharmacology in the School of Medicine.

Eduardo Dunayevich, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Eduardo Dunayevich is the Chief Medical Officer at Neurona Therapeutics, bringing more than 25 years of scientific, clinical, and executive leadership to the advancement of transformative therapies for neurological and psychiatric disorders. A distinguished clinical developer and strategic innovator, he has led multidisciplinary teams across the biopharmaceutical industry and has played a pivotal role in progressing programs from early discovery through global regulatory approvals.

Before joining Neurona, Dr. Dunayevich served as Vice President and VMAT2 Franchise Leader at Neurocrine Biosciences, where he directed the clinical and cross-functional strategy for valbenazine and next-generation VMAT2 inhibitors, contributing to major lifecycle advancements in Tardive Dyskinesia, Schizophrenia and Huntington’s disease. He previously held the role of Vice President and Head of Clinical Sciences at GW/Greenwich Biosciences, overseeing clinical development, biometrics, and clinical pharmacology for a portfolio of cannabinoid-based therapeutics, and guiding multiple global submissions, including sNDAs and MAAs.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Dunayevich served as Chief Medical Officer of Annexon Bioscience, where he led clinical development and regulatory strategy for programs in neuroinflammation and ophthalmology. He also held senior leadership positions at Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Amgen, shaping global development plans across CNS indications. As Chief Medical Officer at Orexigen Therapeutics, he spearheaded clinical strategy, execution and regulatory submissions for Contrave, guiding the program through late-stage development and NDA submission.

Dr. Dunayevich began his career in academic medicine as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati, where he led the Inpatient Clinical Research Unit and other specialized clinical programs. He has authored an extensive body of peer-reviewed publications spanning schizophrenia, epilepsy, obesity, mood disorders, and clinical trial methodology, and has served as a reviewer for Biological Psychiatry and the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Dunayevich earned his medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires Medical School and completed his psychiatry residency training at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Nadia Agopyan, PhD, RAC

Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs

Dr. Nadia Agopyan is the Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Neurona Therapeutics. She has over 20 years of experience in strategic global regulatory affairs and has held senior leadership positions at leading biotechnology and pharmaceuticals companies including companies focused on the development of cellular therapies. Prior to joining Neurona, Nadia was Senior Vice-President Regulatory Affairs at Marker Therapeutics, Inc., a public company focused on the development of next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for patients with hematologic and solid tumors. Before joining Marker, she served as Director of Regulatory Affairs at Kite Pharma, Inc., a subsidiary of Gilead Sciences, where she led the global regulatory development of cellular therapies such as YESCARTA® autologous anti-CD19 CAR T cell products for the treatment of relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Nadia was responsible for the regulatory oversight of clinical programs from Phase 1 – 4 development and all operational aspects of global regulatory submissions including the filing of YESCARTA global marketing authorizations, as well as applications for various label expansions. Previously, she was Global Regulatory Lead at Baxter Biosciences, where she defined global regulatory strategies for new products in its hemophilia franchise and filed VONVENDI®, the recombinant von Willebrand factor, Senior Director Regulatory Affairs at Ambit Biosciences and Director, Regulatory Affairs at Cougar Biotechnology. Prior to joining industry, Nadia had a successful academic career in neurophysiology, investigating molecular mechanisms underlying cognitive deficits in neurodegenerative diseases and the electrophysiological properties of neural structures in CNS diseases including epilepsy. Nadia received her B.Sc. and Ph.D. in physiology and neurophysiology respectively, from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Amy Kinsey

Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations and Project Management

Amy Kinsey is Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations and Project Management at Neurona Therapeutics. Prior to Neurona, she enjoyed a fulfilling 25-year career with Amgen that included extensive global development experience and multiple successful regulatory filings before venturing into smaller biotech and cell therapy development. She has built deep expertise in leading cross-functional teams through clinical trial delivery and building inspection readiness tools and training to prepare organizations for success. Amy holds a B.S. in Microbiology from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Alexis van Lingen

Vice President of Quality

Alexis van Lingen is the Vice President of Quality at Neurona Therapeutics, bringing over 25 years of industry experience in Quality and Manufacturing, including two decades in leadership roles. Her expertise spans plasma products, medical devices, monoclonal antibodies, and cell and gene therapies.

Prior to joining Neurona, Alexis served as VP of Quality at Nkarta, Inc., a company advancing natural killer (NK) cell therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer. Before that, she was Head of Quality at Lonza, overseeing a CDMO site dedicated to clinical development of monoclonal antibodies. Her earlier roles include Head of Quality at Baxter’s Hayward and Irvine facilities, Compliance Excellence Director at Baxter Los Angeles, and Quality Operations Director at Baxter Canada.

Alexis began her career at Baxter BioScience, where she held roles of increasing responsibility. Known not only for her deep commitment to quality but also for her collaborative leadership, Alexis is recognized for fostering high-performing teams and delivering exceptional results.

She holds an MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Southern California.

Alessandro Bulfone, MD

Vice President of Operations

Dr. Alessandro Bulfone is the Vice Presiden of Operations at Neurona Therapeutics where he leads all operational functions for the planning, prioritization, and execution of the company’s research and development programs. Most recently, Alessandro was head of the Biomedicine Department at CRS4 in Italy, an interdisciplinary research center focused on applying state-of-the-art computational and genomic technologies in large collaborative biomedical research projects. Previously, while leading an early-stage start-up company, he contributed to the identification and early development of putative molecular biomarkers in neuro-oncology and autoimmune diseases. In his prior career as an independent research investigator, he managed research projects at Hospital San Raffaele and Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine in Milan (Italy), focused on the characterization of genes involved in early forebrain development. Alessandro earned his M.D. and completed his residency in Neurology at the University of Turin, Italy. He completed his post-doctoral training in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, contributing to the early discoveries being studied further at Neurona Therapeutics.

Agape Eleftheriadis

Vice President of Human Resources

Agape Eleftheriadis is the Vice President of Human Resources at Neurona Therapeutics. She joined the company in 2024, bringing over two decades of leadership experience in the medical device and high-tech industries. Agape was most recently the Vice President of People & Culture at Aerospike, where she led strategic initiatives in talent acquisition, organizational effectiveness, and cultural transformation to support the company’s rapid expansion. Prior to Aerospike, she held senior HR leadership roles at SI-BONE, Inc. and other innovative organizations, where she successfully guided teams through pivotal milestones including IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and global growth. Throughout her career, Agape has built and led high-performing HR teams in both startup and global environments. She is known for her ability to partner strategically with business leaders, foster inclusive and engaging workplace cultures, and champion leadership development and employee engagement. Agape received a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from Northeastern Illinois University. She actively mentors first-generation college students, reflecting her commitment to professional development and community engagement. Her work continues to be driven by a strong sense of purpose and the belief that people are the foundation of every organization’s success.

Sheri Madrid

Vice President of Clinical Operations and Development

Sheri Madrid is VP of Clinical Operations and Development at Neurona Therapeutics. Prior to joining Neurona, Sheri was a clinical development consultant offering broad clinical trial support for the development of drugs, biologics and medical devices. Prior to that she served as Executive Director, Clinical Operations at Advanced Clinical, a clinical development organization that provides global services including broad clinical consulting solutions for pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device organizations. For over 26 years, she has led global clinical teams in both start up and corporate environments in multiple therapeutic areas, including interventional neuroradiology, cardiology, oncology, rare diseases and endocrinology. Sheri is recognized for her expertise in clinical trial strategy and management, process improvement and workforce planning. She is passionate about clinical research and identifying treatments that improve the lives of patients. Sheri graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Social Ecology.

James Tanaka

Vice President of& Finance and Accounting

James Tanaka is the Vice President of Finance and Accounting at Neurona Therapeutics. Prior to joining Neurona, he worked at Cord Blood Registry, a family cord blood stem cell banking company. While at Cord Blood Registry, James held a number of positions with increasing responsibilities, building the accounting & finance team, and the accounts receivable & billing team. He also assisted with the sale of the company to a private equity firm in 2012. James received his B.S. in Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and holds a CPA license.

Arturo Álvarez-Buylla, PhD

Professor of Neurological Surgery, UC San Francisco

Dr. Arturo Álvarez-Buylla is a Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, where he also serves as the Heather and Melanie Muss Endowed Chair and Principal Investigator in the Brain Tumor Research Center. Dr. Álvarez-Buylla’s research specializes in developmental neuroscience and stem cell neurobiology with special interests in neurogenesis in the adult mammalian brain, the assembly of the brain circuits, origin of brain tumors, and interneuron transplantation. His research identified the neural stem cells in the adult brain, their origin in the embryo, long-range neuronal migration in the postnatal brain and new mechanisms of neuronal translocation. His laboratory also identified the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) as a source of young neurons that after transplantation can migrate and integrate in the postnatal and adult brain. In collaboration with other groups at UCSF, his laboratory has shown that MGE cells can induce new periods of brain plasticity, ameliorate epileptic seizures and increase pain thresholds. An ongoing interest of the Álvarez-Buylla Lab is understanding how adult neural stem cells are regulated, studying how cells derived from these progenitor cells integrate into the adult brain and which populations of MGE-derived neurons can be used therapeutically. Dr. Álvarez-Buylla joined the UCSF faculty in 2000. Prior to that he was head of lab at Rockefeller University. Dr. Álvarez-Buylla obtained his Ph.D. degree at Rockefeller University in 1988 and a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Research at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico City, Mexico) in 1983. Dr. Álvarez-Buylla has received numerous awards including the Robert L. Sinsheimer Award in Molecular Biology, the Jacob Javits Award and the Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research.

David Blum, MD

Senior Medical Advisor

Dr. David Blum is a Senior Medical Advisor to Neurona Therapeutics having previously served as Chief Medical Officer at the Company. David has worked in clinical development positions in the pharmaceutical industry for over 20 years, and has, as medical project leader, secured four NDA or sNDA approvals as well as approvals in EU and Canada. He previously served as senior medical director at GSK, and as Head of Neurology Clinical Research at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals. Prior to working in the pharmaceutical industry, David was in clinical practice as a neurologist at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona for 10 years, where he was director of the epilepsy program. He has authored or co-authored over 50 full-length papers in neurology-related areas. He received his M.D. from the University of California at San Diego and completed neurology residency and neurophysiology fellowship at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Stephen Hauser, MD

Professor of Neurology, UC San Francisco, Director, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences

Stephen L. Hauser, M.D. is the Robert A. Fishman Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. A neuroimmunologist, Dr. Hauser’s research has advanced our understanding of the genetic basis, immune mechanisms, and treatment of multiple sclerosis. Dr. Hauser is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Physicians, and is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (Chair of Committee on Gulf War and Health Outcomes [2009] and Chair of Committee on Long Term Effects of Blast Exposure [2014]). He also serves the Veterans Administration as Chair of the VA Secretary’s Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illnesses. He is an editor of the textbook Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, and has served as editor-in-chief of Annals of Neurology (2008-2014). He is a former President of the American Neurological Association and President of the Medical Staff at UCSF. He also serves on several scientific advisory boards for nonprofit organizations. Dr. Hauser has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Jacob Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from the NIH, the John Dystel Prize and the Charcot Award for Multiple Sclerosis Research. In April 2010 Dr. Hauser was appointed by President Obama to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues charged with advising the President on issues that may emerge from advances in biomedicine and related areas of science and technology. He is a graduate of MIT (Phi Beta Kappa) and Harvard Medical School (Magna Cum Laude). He trained in internal medicine at the New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center, in neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and in immunology at Harvard Medical School and the Institute Pasteur in Paris, France, and was a faculty member at Harvard Medical School before moving to UCSF.

Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD

Professor of Neurology, UC San Francisco

Dr. Arnold Kriegstein is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, and the John Bowes Distinguished Professor in Stem Cell and Tissue Biology and Founding Director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Kriegstein’s research focuses on how neural stem and progenitor cells in the embryonic brain produce neurons and ways to translate this information for cell-based therapies to treat diseases of the nervous system. His lab found that radial glial cells are neuronal stem cells in the developing brain and also identified a second type of precursor cell produced by radial glial cells responsible for generating specific neuronal subtypes. He has been characterizing the progenitor cells within the developing human brain to determine the genetic profiles of specific progenitor populations, and to explore how these cells contribute to the enormous expansion of neuron number that characterizes the human cerebral cortex. Dr. Kriegstein joined the Neurology Department at UCSF in 2004 and has held academic appointments at Stanford University, Yale University, and Columbia University. He received his B.A. from Yale University and his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from New York University in 1977 where his thesis advisor was Dr. Eric Kandel. He subsequently completed Residency training in Neurology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital, and Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. Dr. Kriegstein has received numerous awards including the Stanford University William M. Hume Faculty Scholar and two Javits Awards from the NIH. He was elected to the National Institute of Medicine in 2008.

John Rubenstein, MD, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry, UC San Francisco

Dr. John Rubenstein is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. He also serves as a Nina Ireland Distinguished Professor in Child Psychiatry at the Nina Ireland Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology. His research focuses on the regulatory genes that orchestrate development of the forebrain. In the mammalian embryo, the forebrain is the portion of the neural tube where primitive cells are organized to form the cerebral cortex, the basal ganglia and other components of the adult brain — the structures of the human brain most involved in key functions such as speech, language, cognition and fine motor skills. Dr. Rubenstein’s lab has demonstrated the role of specific genes in regulating neuronal specification, differentiation, migration and axon growth during embryonic development and on into adulthood. His work aims to elucidate mechanisms underlying human neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, epilepsy and mental deficiency. Dr. Rubenstein joined the Psychiatry Department at UCSF in 1991. He received his Ph.D. and M.D. degrees in 1982 and 1986 and completed his medical residency at Stanford University. He obtained his B.S. in Chemistry from Stanford University in 1977. Dr. Rubenstein was elected to the National Institute of Medicine in 2006.