Expertise powering every program.

Marcelo Bigal, MD, PhD, is the President and CEO of Ventus Therapeutics, and has extensive experience in neurology. He has published over 330 peer-reviewed papers in the field of neurology, as well as five books. He has been recognized by the American Academy of Neurology with the Harold G. Wolff Award for excellence in research in neurology.

Marcelo has over 15 years of pharmaceutical experience spanning R&D, medical affairs, and scientific affairs. Prior to Ventus, he was CMO and CSO at Teva Pharmaceuticals, leading the team that developed fremanezumab (Ajovy) for several forms of migraine, as well as deutetrabenazine (Austedo) for the treatment of Huntington’s disease and Tardive Dyskinesia, as well as other medicines in neurology, psychiatry, pain, and respiratory diseases approved in the US, Canada, and EU.

Prior to his work in the pharmaceutical industry, Marcelo was a faculty member at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Neurology, as well as the Director of Research at New England Center for Headache and Director of Research at Montefiore Headache Center.

Mira Chaurushiya, PhD is a Managing Director at Westlake BioPartners. She was previously a Partner at 5AM Ventures where she invested in and served on the boards of companies such as Enliven Therapeutics (ELVN), Escient Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Incyte), GlycoEra, Magnetic Insight, NodThera, Novome Biotechnologies, Precision Nanosystems (acquired by Danaher), Purigen Biosystems (acquired by BioNano), and TMRW.

She holds a PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of California, San Diego, in conjunction with the Salk Institute, and a BA in Biology from Carleton College.

Julie Grant, MBA is a General Partner at Cannan Partners where she leads investments and company formation efforts in biopharma that tangibly improve patient care. Since joining Canaan in 2013, Julie has incubated, financed and supported investments in multiple new biopharmaceutical companies including Day One Biopharmaceuticals (DAWN), Protagonist (PTGX), Labrys Biologics, and CytomX (CTMX). Prior to joining Canaan, Julie worked at Genentech in roles spanning business development, cross functional management and commercial. Julie serves on The National Cancer Advisory Board, appointed by President Biden in 2023. 

She holds an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, a M.Phil. from Cambridge University in BioScience Enterprise and a BS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University.

Robert Lenz, MD, PhD is a seasoned R&D leader with more than 20 years of neuroscience drug development experience. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President and Head of Research and Development at Neumora Therapeutics. Prior to that, he spent more than a decade at Amgen in key leadership roles including Senior Vice President and Head of Global Development where he led the clinical development of Aimovig, a monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of migraine. Earlier in his career, he held positions of increasing responsibility at Abbott Laboratories, ultimately serving as Divisional Vice President for Neuroscience, Anesthesia and Psychiatry Development. Over the course of his career, Dr. Lenz has overseen the development of multiple medicines through regulatory approval and driven innovation across research and clinical development organizations. 

He earned his MD and PhD, with honors, from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, completed his neurology residency at the University of California, Los Angeles, holds a bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College, and has received multiple awards recognizing his innovation and leadership in the pharmaceutical industry.

Donnie McCarthy, PhD is a Principal at Dawn Biopharma, where he invests in and helps build innovative biotechnology companies. His current portfolio includes Bambusa Therapeutics, Expedition Therapeutics, and Vedana Therapeutics. Prior to Dawn, he held investing and company-building roles at Samsara BioCapital, Global Founders Capital, and Panorama Research.

Donnie earned his PhD in Immunology and Biochemistry and completed postdoctoral training at UCSF’s Cardiovascular Research Institute. Before entering venture capital, he co-founded several biotechnology companies across therapeutic areas.