Category: Body Surgery

Robert Bell is the co-founder and CEO of Telo Therapeutics Inc., an oncology therapeutics company developing next-generation targeted protein degraders for solid and Hematological cancers. Dr. Bell earned his PhD in Biomedical Sciences from UCSF and holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Boston College. During his time in graduate school, Rob joined Professor Joseph Costello’s laboratory in the department of Neurosurgery. There, he played a key role in identifying common genetic drivers of Glioblastoma and other central nervous system tumors. Telo Therapeutics, building off Dr. Bell’s graduate research, is currently incubated at MBC Biolabs in San Francisco.

Dr. Glenn Michaelson has more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, specializing in oncology and clinical trials. After receiving his B.A. in Chemistry, as well as an MD from the University of Louisville, he completed a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and a Medical Oncology/Hematology fellowship at the University of Chicago. Prior to Telo Therapeutics, Glenn served in a variety positions from Medical Director to Vice-President while working with numerous established Biopharma companies to include Agouron/Pfizer, Cell Therapeutics, Chiron, Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Genentech, Portola Pharmaceuticals, Plexxicon and CytomX Therapeutics. He has extensive experience in all phases of oncology clinical development and medical affairs with small molecules, RTKI, cytotoxics, and biologics.

Dr. Vassil Elitzin is a leader in the pharmaceutical industry with more than 20 years of experience specializing in the technical, quality and regulatory aspects of Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC). He studied at Stanford University where he obtained his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry. Prior to his work with Telo Therapeutics, Vassil served as the Director of CMC and Chief Scientist at LI-COR Biosciences and Senior Scientific Investigator at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Throughout his career, Dr. Elitzen has contributed to the development and commercialization of over 50 programs, published 11 articles and is a co-inventor on 12 patents.

Dr. Michael Placke is a pharmaceutical drug development executive with over 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, specializing in drug safety and metabolism (DSM), discovery biology, and chemical product development (CPD). He received his Ph.D. in Pathobiology and Toxicology from the University of Connecticut. Prior to Telo Therapeutics, Michael served as the Head of Drug Discovery for Shire Pharmaceuticals, and Senior Vice President at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. During that time, he was responsible for the nonclinical development of more than 45 development stage programs and gained valuable experience advancing drugs from discovery through market registration. Over the course of his career, Dr. Placke has published 33 articles.

Dr. Michael D Taylor is a scientifically trained life-science executive with more than 40 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He has extensive leadership experience in drug discovery and development, business development and licensing, corporate management, fund-raising and shareholder relations. Before joining the Telo Therapeutics team, Dr. Taylor served as the president and CEO of Deciphera, CEO of Ensemble Therapeutics, Senior Vice President for Pfizer’s Global R&D division and Vice-President of Drug Development at Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis. He obtained a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of South Florida, a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Pharmacy, and worked as a Postdoc at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Taylor has published 65 articles, numerous abstracts, and is co-inventor on eight patents.

Dr. Katherine Widdowson is a medicinal chemist with more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, specializing in inhaled, oral and intravenous drug design. She holds a B.S. in Chemistry (honors) from Reed College and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology. Prior to Telo Therapeutics, Katherine worked with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as part of a team of experienced drug discovery scientists which scouted and ran industry-academic collaborations. She led a medicinal chemistry group that developed a portfolio of muscarinic receptor antagonists in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), as well as an anti-bacterial performance unit which successfully advanced four novel mechanism antibacterials into clinical trial. Over the course of her career, Dr. Widdowson has published 39 articles and is the co-inventor on over 40 issued patents.