The Electra Team: A Framework for Impact
Leadership
Kathy Dong, PharmD, MBA
President and Chief Executive Officer
Graham Parry, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Kim-Hien Dao, DO, PhD
Chief Medical Officer
Gary S. Koe, PhD
Senior Vice President, Head of Technical Operations
Steve Moore
Executive Director, Head of Portfolio Management
Elaine Xie, MBA
Executive Director, Head of Corporate Development
Emi Zee
Executive Director, Human Resources
Board of Directors
Nancy Stagliano, PhD
Executive Chair
Kathy Dong, PharmD, MBA
President and
Chief Executive Officer
Beth Seidenberg, MD
Carl Gordon, PhD, CFA
Director
Adam Rosenthal, PhD
Director
Matthew Fust, MBA
Director
Amrit Nagpal
Board Observer
Vijay Lathi
Kathy Dong PharmD, MBA
President and Chief Executive Officer
Kathy serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Electra Therapeutics. She brings broad experience in corporate development, portfolio management, technical operations, and product commercialization.
Previously, she was Chief Operating Officer of Star Therapeutics, where she held strategic and operational responsibilities across the Star portfolio, including building Electra Therapeutics and Vega Therapeutics from discovery stage into the clinic. Prior to joining Star, Kathy served as Vice President of Commercial Development at True North Therapeutics, where she played a key role in assessing opportunities and shaping the value proposition for its portfolio.
Following True North’s acquisition by Bioverativ/Sanofi, she advanced numerous programs through preclinical and clinical development as Head of New Product Planning for the complement franchise. Kathy spent nine years of her career at Gilead Sciences, where she led the launch and market development of numerous products in Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, including SOVALDI and HARVONI, two of the most successful launches in biopharmaceutical history.
She also currently serves as an independent director on the board of Neuron23. Kathy earned her PharmD and MBA at the University of New Mexico and completed a postdoctoral fellowship through Rutgers University.
Kathy Dong PharmD, MBA
President and Chief Executive Officer
Kathy serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Electra Therapeutics. She brings broad experience in corporate development, portfolio management, technical operations, and product commercialization.
Previously, she was Chief Operating Officer of Star Therapeutics, where she held strategic and operational responsibilities across the Star portfolio, including building Electra Therapeutics and Vega Therapeutics from discovery stage into the clinic. Prior to joining Star, Kathy served as Vice President of Commercial Development at True North Therapeutics, where she played a key role in assessing opportunities and shaping the value proposition for its portfolio.
Following True North’s acquisition by Bioverativ/Sanofi, she advanced numerous programs through preclinical and clinical development as Head of New Product Planning for the complement franchise. Kathy spent nine years of her career at Gilead Sciences, where she led the launch and market development of numerous products in Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, including SOVALDI and HARVONI, two of the most successful launches in biopharmaceutical history.
She also currently serves as an independent director on the board of Neuron23. Kathy earned her PharmD and MBA at the University of New Mexico and completed a postdoctoral fellowship through Rutgers University.
Graham Parry PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Kim-Hien Dao DO, PhD
Chief Medical Officer
Kim-Hien serves as Chief Medical Officer of Electra Therapeutics. She is a clinician scientist with more than 15 years of research experience in academia and biotech.
Prior to joining Electra, Kim-Hien was Executive Medical Director at Astex Pharmaceuticals, where she worked on four drug programs for solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Previously, she had an 11-year tenure at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and had a clinical focus in myelodysplastic syndromes, myeloproliferative neoplasms, bone marrow failure syndromes, bone marrow transplant, and clonal hematopoiesis. She also ran a research laboratory that was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute.
She is an actively practicing hematologist in a volunteer capacity.
Kim-Hien received her DO and PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Michigan State University, and trained in hematology-medical oncology at the University of California at San Diego.
Gary S. Koe PhD
Senior Vice President, Head of Technical Operations
Gary serves as Head of Technical Operations at Electra Therapeutics. He brings over 30 years of biopharmaceutical development and large-scale biologics manufacturing experience.
Prior to joining Electra Therapeutics, Gary served as Head of Technical Operations at Aravive, Inc., working on the large-scale manufacture of a novel affinity Fc-sAXL fusion protein. Prior to Aravive, he held positions of increasing responsibility at biopharmaceutical companies, including Genentech, Valentis, Revance, and Versartis. He has led the scale-up, technology transfer, manufacturing, and QC testing of several clinical biologics and more than ten manufacturing facilities (in-house and CDMOs).
Gary earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Davis.
Steve Moore
Executive Director, Head of Portfolio Management
Steve serves as Head of Portfolio Management at Electra Therapeutics. In this role, he collaborates with leadership and team members across numerous functions to advance our research and development programs.
Before joining Electra, Steve was Head of Research and Portfolio Management at Star Therapeutics. There, he built out and led the Translational department, which drove the development and successful INDs of ELA026 and VGA039. Previously, he worked at True North Therapeutics, where he led a toxicology and bioanalytical development for an antibody therapeutic targeting complement C1s that resulted in the successful Phase 3 trial for ENJAYMO (sutimlimab), a molecule that earned FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation and approval for a rare condition called cold agglutinin disease. Prior to True North, Steve was an integral team member at Cytomx Therapeutics in the early days of the company, where he brought the activatable antibody concept from inception to the clinic. Steve started his career in the biological sciences as a scientist in the biodefence field in the UK and US defense laboratories, assessing the impact of biothreat agents and subsequently identifying vaccine candidates.
Steve earned his BS in Medical Microbiology from the University of Newcastle in the UK.
Elaine Xie MBA
Executive Director, Head of Corporate Development
Elaine serves as Head of Corporate Development at Electra Therapeutics. She brings over 10 years of experience in biotech across business development and commercial planning roles.
Previously, Elaine was on the Corporate Development team at Gilead Sciences, where she was involved in multiple major acquisitions, including Gilead’s acquisition of Immunomedics ($21 billion) and MYR GmbH (€1.15 billion). She also led multiple out-licensing transactions to biotech companies. Prior to her business development roles, she worked as a consultant at ZS and led a range of forecasting and commercial analytical projects for multiple biopharmaceutical companies.
Elaine received her MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and BA degrees in Mathematical Methods in Social Sciences (MMSS) and Economics from Northwestern University.
Emi Zee
Executive Director, Human Resources
Emi serves as Head of Human Resources at Electra Therapeutics. She oversees all aspects of HR strategy and operations, including organizational and employee development, benefits, compensation, systems, talent management, and company culture initiatives. Emi brings two decades of experience in human resources management across various industries, including biotechnology, technology, consulting, and retail.
Previously, Emi was Head of Human Resources at Catalyst Biosciences, where she advanced the company’s systems and procedures by developing and executing an HR strategy to streamline all aspects of human resources operations. Further, Emi partnered closely with the Executive Team to advise on critical human resources strategies and initiatives. Emi also served as Director of HR Technology and Operations at Sequoia Consulting Group, where she designed and launched programs that enabled clients to seamlessly integrate their HR systems with the company’s offerings and services.
Emi earned her BA in Communications from the University of California, Davis.
Nancy Stagliano PhD
Executive Chair
Nancy is CEO and Chair of the Board of Neuron23, Inc., a South San Francisco–based precision neurology and immunology therapeutics company. An experienced CEO, Nancy has led True North Therapeutics (acquired by Bioverativ in 2017), iPierian (acquired by BMS in 2014), and CytomX Therapeutics (CTMX). With more than 20 years of experience in the biotechnology industry, Nancy’s career path has always stayed close to the science, beginning with 7+ years at Millennium Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, MA, in the discovery organization.
Nancy is Chair of the Board of Latigo Bio, a Thousand Oaks–based biotech focused on non-opioid pain medicines. Nancy also serves as a director on the not-for-profit board of PanCAN, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. In the past, Nancy has also advised venture capital firms Westlake Village BioPartners and New Leaf Ventures.
Nancy has a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Miami School of Medicine, as well an MS in Biomedical Engineering and a BS in Electrical Engineering, both from Drexel University.
Adam Rosenthal PhD
Director
Adam is the co-founder and former CEO of Electra Therapeutics. He is also the founder and current CEO of Star Therapeutics, the company that spun out Electra. He brings previous operating experience across multiple biotech companies focused on rare diseases, and broad expertise in company building, fundraising, business development, and strategic planning.
Previously, Adam served as Chief Business Officer at True North Therapeutics, where he raised more than $140M in private financings and contributed to the company’s acquisition by Bioverativ for $825M. His experience also includes serving as Vice President, Head of Corporate Development at iPierian, which was acquired by BMS for $725M, and being a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group.
Adam earned BS degrees in Electrical Engineering and Brain and Cognitive Science, and an MEng degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, all at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard.
Beth Seidenberg MD
Director
Beth is a longtime life sciences investor, applying her broad medical expertise to the venture capital world, where she assists entrepreneurs in translating their scientific breakthroughs into new medicines to help patients.
As a founding managing director of Westlake Village BioPartners, general partner at Kleiner Perkins, and numerous other endeavors, Seidenberg has incubated, and invested in, more than 40 biotech ventures since 2005. Among many others, they include ARMO Biosciences, Arresto Biosciences, Arsenal Biosciences, Atara Biotherapeutics, Cell Design Labs, Epizyme, Flexus Biosciences, iPierian, Kyverna Therapeutics, Livongo Health, Neuron23, Progyny, RAPT Therapeutics, Tesaro, Tmunity Therapeutics, and True North Therapeutics.
Beth’s impact has been recognized across the industry. She was awarded the 2022 Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association “Woman of the Year” Award and was recently named by Barron’s as one of the 100 most influential women in US finance. She was also recognized in the 2020 Forbes Midas List as a top tech investor.
In addition to her time in life science investing, Beth has significant senior-level industry experience, with leadership roles at Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Merck Research Laboratories.
Beth holds an MD from the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine and a BS from Barnard College. She conducted her postgraduate training at The National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Carl Gordon PhD, CFA
Director
Carl is a founding member, Managing Partner, and Co-Head of Global Private Equity at OrbiMed Advisors LLC, an investment firm. He currently serves on the boards of directors of several public and private companies.
Carl received a BA in Chemistry from Harvard College and a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he was a Fellow at The Rockefeller University.
Vijay Lathi
Board Observer
Vijay is a Founder and Managing Director of New Leaf Venture Partners, a leading healthcare-focused venture capital firm that over the past 15 years has invested over a billion dollars across 126 companies, developing drugs and technologies to revolutionize the diagnosis, treatment, and delivery of care. Vijay’s investment activity has spanned all areas of healthcare technology, including the development and execution of the firm’s strategy around convergent information technologies. Example investments include ePocrates (sold to Athena Health), LabCyte (sold to Thermo Fischer), CareDx (CDNA), iRhythm (IRTC), Oxford Immunotec (sold to Perkin Elmer), Ilypsa (sold to Amgen), and Relypsa (sold to Gallenica).
Vijay graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, where he received his BS and MS in Chemical Engineering.
Amrit Nagpal
Board Observer
Amrit is a Partner and Managing Director at Redmile Group, LLC, a healthcare-focused investment firm based in San Francisco and New York. Prior to Redmile Group, he worked as an analyst and portfolio manager at Weintraub Capital Management, and before that at Robertson Stephens, a San Francisco–based investment bank.
Amrit holds a BA in Economics from Columbia University and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Matthew Fust MBA
Director
Matthew is a board member and advisor to life sciences companies. He serves on the boards of Nasdaq-listed Atara Biotherapeutics, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Neumora Therapeutics, and Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, and on the boards of several venture-backed companies. He also consults with life sciences companies on corporate finance and strategy topics.
Previously, Matthew served as a Chief Financial Officer for biopharmaceutical companies, including Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and ALZA Corporation, and was a consultant in Andersen Consulting’s healthcare strategy practice.
Matthew holds an undergraduate degree in Accounting from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Investors
