Our
People

Dr. Musunuri is a seasoned biotech veteran with about 30+ years of results-driven experience advancing and commercializing a diverse portfolio of products. Prior to co-founding Ocugen in 2013, Dr. Musunuri held leadership roles at numerous companies ranging from “Big Pharma” to novel start-up biotechs. After a long tenure at Pfizer, he founded Nuron Biotech, Inc., which he grew to a commercial company in less than three years, serving as President and CEO. Dr. Musunuri spent nearly fifteen years at Pfizer, where he gained extensive product launch and life-cycle management experience, playing a key role as Global Operations Team Leader for the most successful launch in vaccine history, Prevnar 13^®.

Dr. Musunuri obtained his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Connecticut’s School of Pharmacy and serves on the advisory Board of Fuqua’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Duke University.

Ms. Crespo brings over 20 years’ experience in accounting and financial reporting. She previously served in the finance departments of Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Aralez Pharmaceuticals, and Cubist Pharmaceuticals responsible for financial and technical accounting and SEC reporting, including the implementation of new accounting standards and the accounting and reporting of complex transactions. Prior to that, Ms. Crespo was a senior manager in Ernst & Young’s audit and assurance practice. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Boston College and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Dr. Hopkins has over 25 years’ experience as a physician and clinical researcher, holding senior level positions in numerous biopharmaceutical companies and government organizations including the Food and Drug Administration, Merck Research Labs, DynPort Vaccine Company, Emergent BioSolutions, Aeras, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). During this time, he developed and commercialized multiple vaccine and therapeutic products, Phase 1- 4. Prior to joining Ocugen, he was the Chief Medical Officer at Adaptive Phage Therapeutics where he was in charge of regulatory affairs, clinical development and clinical operations.

Dr. Hopkins obtained his medical, public health and tropical medicine degrees from Tulane Medical School and the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. He completed internal medicine training at Emory University and the University of Maryland and completed infectious disease training at the University of Maryland and the Center for Vaccine Development. He is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases and is a fellow in the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Disease Society of America.

Ms. Gaudioso brings over 10 years’ experience in human resources. She previously served as the director of human resources at Invisible Sentinel, responsible for headcount management, talent acquisition, onboarding, training and development, performance appraisal process and employee engagement. In addition, she was a human resources business partner for BioMerieux. Zara holds a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from Rowan University and SHRM-CP certification.

Michael Shine is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology executive with nearly 35 years of industry experience. Over the course of his career, Mr. Shine has held commercial and operational leadership positions within large pharmaceutical companies, including Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer Vaccines (formerly Wyeth). He also served as Chief Marketing Officer at Thomas Reuters and spent more than eight years in the start-up pharmaceutical space including the successful exit of a company he founded. Mr. Shine led the commercial launch of the global $6 billion Prevnar vaccine franchise while with Pfizer Vaccines (formerly Wyeth). Mr. Shine was responsible for the development of innovative strategies for Prevenar’s inclusion in national immunization programs in key markets, driving sales in excess of $2 billion. Mr. Shine holds a Master of Business Administration from Villanova University, and a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Scranton.

Dr. Upadhyay has over 20 years of experience in discovery research and innovation. He has led manufacturing, process and analytical development, tech-transfer, and end-to-end clinical trial material supply chain to clinical sites. He has worked extensively in drug development—ranging from small molecules to biologics, and advanced cell and gene therapy modalities. Prior to joining Ocugen, he led ophthalmic drug development and delivery research at the University of Colorado Denver in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. There, Dr. Updhyay had been instrumental in designing novel therapeutics, biopolymers scaffold, and developing novel approaches for sustained and targeted drug delivery systems for peptide, proteins, RNA, and DNA to cells and tissues. Dr. Upadhyay led engineering of polymeric micro and nano carriers’ system to encapsulate vaccine antigens to enhance immunogenicity and protective immunity.

Dr. Upadhyay received his PhD in Biotechnology from the National Institute of Immunology and an MSc in Biotechnology from Jawaharlal Nehru University – both in New Delhi, India. He was awarded the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists’ “Innovation in Nanotechnology Award” for developing the novel ocular drug delivery systems. Dr. Updhyay has authored more than 40 scientific publications and holds more than 15 patents.

Tiffany has nearly 20 years’ experience as a communications professional, primarily in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry. Her corporate and brand roles have spanned employee communications, PR, and digital/social media—from large multinational companies to small biotech and start-ups. In her agency roles, she was also responsible for business development and client management. She’s built and rejuvenated many communications programs to align directly with business objectives and demonstrate the value that best practice communications brings to the organization overall.

Tiffany obtained her bachelor’s degree in English from The Catholic University of America and an MBA from Saint Joseph’s University.

Dr. Deshmukh has over 25 years’ experience in manufacturing, late-stage development, and technical operations in the pharmaceutical industry at Ionis, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals/Pfizer, and AstraZeneca. During his career, he has contributed to the development and global commercialization of multiple biologicals and vaccines. He has established commercial processes around the world and was part of the pandemic vaccine team at AstraZeneca—facilitating the delivery of more than 2.5 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines and antibodies from more than 18 global manufacturing sites. Prior to joining Ocugen, he was the Executive Director, Global Technical Operations at AstraZeneca where he was responsible for managing the global technical network for drug product and combination products at all AstraZeneca biological drug product sites.

Dr. Deshmukh obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Arizona, Tucson; M.S. Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky, Lexington; and B.Tech. Chemical Engineering from the IIT-BHU, Varanasi. He is also active in industry organizations, delivered more than 50 conference sessions/presentations, authored more than 20 publications, and has two patents.

Jesse brings over 20 years of experience to Ocugen. He began his tenure at Ocugen as a consultant on computer systems, data management, cyber security, and web development. Now, almost 10 years later, he is the Head of Information Technology and Facilities. With his expertise in IT and a keen eye for detail and precision, Jesse assisted in designing Ocugen’s newest facility in Malvern, PA and has implemented the latest computer-related technologies throughout the building and in employee workstations/workflows. In addition, he built and deployed the Multi-Luminance Mobility Test that is a critical component of the clinical trials for OCU400.

Ms. Castillo has over 20 years of supply chain and logistics experience, having held multiple supply chain leadership roles at a spin-off company of 3M, where she led multiple major acquisitions and integrations for the company. During her tenure at Logistics Planning Services, a privately held transportation and logistics services company, where she served as CEO, the company achieved aggressive growth plans which ultimately resulted in the sale of the business to GlobalTranz, a strategic buyer in the 3PL sector. She stayed on through the transition as Chief Operating Officer and was responsible for all company operations including regional branches in North America and Mexico, delivering $1.6B in revenue before stepping down to pursue new opportunities.

Ms Castillo is committed to the advancement of women and has been named the Vice President of Engagement for AWESOME (Advancing Women’s Excellence in Supply Chain, Operations, Management and Education). She serves on the Boards of The Marvin Companies and the United Way (UWWCE), and serves on the Advisory Board of Fuqua’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Duke University. She received her BS from the University of Minnesota, her Global Executive MBA from Duke Fuqua School of Business and has additional education including a Lean Office Certification from the University of Michigan Engineering Program, six sigma training and Carson School of Management executive training on Mergers and Acquisitions.

Dr. Prabhavathi Fernandes, Ph.D., has more than 35 years of pharmaceutical discovery, development and management experience having held executive leadership positions at pharmaceutical corporations including Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Abbott Laboratories and The Squibb Institute for Medical Research. After leaving Bristol- Myers Squibb, she has founded and led four biotechnology and CRO companies as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of each of these companies, including Cempra, Inc., DarPharma, Ricerca and Small Molecule Therapeutics. Dr. Fernandes is the Chairperson of both the National Biodefense Science Board (NBSB) and the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership, a DNDi/WHO initiative. She has also served as an advisor to the World Health Organization. She currently serves on the Boards of OpGen and Aelin Therapeutics. She has authored over 250 publications and several reviews, book chapters and served as an editor for books. Dr. Fernandes obtained her undergraduate and Master’s degree training in India, worked at the University of Ghent, Belgium in Immunochemistry, received her Ph.D. in Microbiology from Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia.

Dr. Kompella is an Ocugen Co-founder and a member of the board. He is a Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ophthalmology, and Bioengineering at University of Colorado-Anschutz Medical Campus, with research interests in the areas of drug discovery, drug delivery, and nanotechnology for treating a variety of degenerative, neovascular, and inflammatory disorders including retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and cancers. Dr. Kompella is a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the journal Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery. Also, he is an editor for the journals, Pharmaceutical Research and the Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Dr. Kompella is a recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award (University of Nebraska Medical Center), Distinguished Teacher Award (University of Nebraska Medical Center), and Dean’s Mentoring Award (University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus). He is also a recipient of the ARVO Foundation for Eye Research/Pfizer Ophthalmics/Carl Camras Translational Research Award in Ophthalmology. Dr. Kompella obtained his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Ramesh Kumar, Ph.D., is a biotechnology executive with over three decades of management experience in private and public companies. He co-founded Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. in 1998 and transitioned to an Advisory role in early 2019. Dr. Kumar served as the Chief Executive Officer of Onconova from 1998 to January 2019 and served as its President from 1998 to June 2018. He has held positions in R&D and management at Princeton University, Bristol-Myers Squibb, DNX (later Nextran, a subsidiary of Baxter) and Kimeragen (later Valigen), where he served as President of the Genomics and Transgenics Division. Dr. Kumar has authored over 50 publications spanning the areas of molecular oncology, transgenic animals, gene therapy and recombination. His is an inventor on more than 10 US Patents and a co-editor of the book “Molecular Basis of Human Cancer” published in 1993. Dr. Kumar received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Illinois, Chicago and trained at the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Musunuri is a seasoned biotech veteran with more than 25 years of results-driven experience advancing and commercializing a diverse portfolio of products. Prior to co-founding Ocugen in 2013, Dr. Musunuri held leadership roles at numerous companies ranging from “Big Pharma” to novel start-up biotechs. Most recently, he founded Nuron Biotech, Inc., which he grew to a commercial company in less than three years, serving as President and CEO. Dr. Musunuri spent nearly fifteen years at Pfizer, where he gained extensive product launch and life-cycle management experience, playing a key role as Global Operations Team Leader for the most successful launch in vaccine history, Prevnar 13®. Prior to Pfizer, he was a group leader focused on Phase 3 clinical development at Amylin Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Musunuri obtained his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Connecticut’s School of Pharmacy and serves on the Advisory Board of Fuqua’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Duke University.

Dr. Junge (John) Zhang is the Founder, President, and CEO of Biopeptek, a company that specializes in the research and development of peptides. Since its founding in 2010, Dr. Zhang has established a company with over 50 experienced scientists and a state-of-the-art facility that is capable of producing high quality custom peptides for research and therapeutic uses. Through his many collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies and research institutions, Dr. Zhang is passionate about research to improve human health.

Prior to founding Biopeptek, Dr. Zhang was with the Janssen Pharmaceutical division of Johnson & Johnson. During his 9-year tenure at J&J, Dr. Zhang held numerous scientific and management positions and led multiple development projects related to three antibody drugs that received FDA approval. Prior to J&J, Dr. Zhang was a Senior Chemist at Eisai USA.

Dr. Zhang earned a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Drexel University, a M.S. in chemistry from University of Louisiana, and a B.S. in material science from Wuhan University of Technology in China. Dr. Zhang was born and raised in Qingdao China and immigrated to the United States to pursue his graduate education.

Former Chief Executive Officer, Allianz Global Investors Capital

Ms. Whittington was the Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Global Investors Capital from 2001 until her retirement in January 2012. From 2002 to 2011, she was Chief Operating Officer of Allianz Global Investors, the parent company of Allianz Global Investors Capital. Prior to that, she was Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Ms. Whittington started in the investment management industry in 1992, joining Philadelphia-based Miller Anderson & Sherrerd. Previously, she was Executive Vice President and CFO of the University of Pennsylvania, and earlier, Secretary of Finance for the State of Delaware. Ms. Whittington currently serves as a director of Macy’s, Inc. and Phillips 66. She holds an M.S. degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, both in quantitative methods, and a B.A. degree in mathematics from the University of Delaware.

Marna C. Whittington has many years of leadership experience and expertise as a former chief executive officer and senior executive in the investment management industry. She has extensive knowledge and experience in management, and in financial, investment and banking matters. In addition, Dr. Whittington has several years of valuable experience as a public company board member and expertise in finance, risk, accounting, strategy, and governance through her service on board committees.

From 2002 until her retirement in January 2012 she was chief executive officer of Allianz Global Investors Capital, a successor firm of Nicholas Applegate Capital Management. Allianz Global Investors Capital is a diversified global investment firm. Dr. Whittington was chief operating officer of Allianz Global Investors, the parent company of Allianz Global Investors Capital, from 2001 to 2011.

Prior to joining Nicholas Applegate in 2001, Dr. Whittington was managing director and chief operating officer of Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Dr. Whittington started in the investment management industry in 1992, joining Philadelphia-based Miller Anderson & Sherrerd. From 1984 to 1992 she was the executive vice president and CFO of the University of Pennsylvania. Earlier, she had been first, budget director, and later, secretary of finance, for the State of Delaware.

Dr. Boyer is a world-renowned clinician, surgeon and educator. His areas of specialty include the treatment of diseases of the retina and vitreous. He is currently a leading investigator for various national clinical trials on retinal diseases and serves as an advisor for multiple research, educational and charitable institutions. He received a B.S. from the University of Illinois at Champaign, after which he completed a medical degree at the Chicago Medical School. In 1976 he finished his residency at the U.S.C. County Medical Center. Subsequently, he completed a year long retinal surgery fellowship at the Wills Eye Hospital, located in Philadelphia.

Dr. Regillo is Professor of Ophthalmology at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Chief of the Retina Service at Wills Eye Hospital and founder and former director of the Wills Eye Clinical Retina Research Unit in Philadelphia. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and performed his ophthalmology residency and vitreoretinal fellowship at Wills Eye Hospital. He has been the principal investigator of numerous major clinical trials developing new medical and surgical treatments for retinal disorders such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy and has authored more than 200 publications along with over 30 book chapters and nine major books. He is invited to lecture worldwide and serves on the scientific editorial board for several top ophthalmology peer-reviewed journals. As a recognized leader in the field, he is a recipient of many national and international awards, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement, Senior Achievement, Secretariat, and Lifetime Achievement Awards and the American Society of Retinal Specialists Honor and Senior Honor Awards. He was also selected as a Charter Inductee of the Retina Hall of Fame and named to the Ophthalmologist Power List (Top 100 most influential people in the world of ophthalmology).

Dr. Pennesi is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine and Division Chief of the Ophthalmic Genetics Service at the OHSU Casey Eye Institute. Since joining the OHSU faculty, Dr. Pennesi has been a principal investigator on many first-in-human clinical trials including for: LCA Type II and Type 10, Usher Syndrome Type IB and 2A, Stargardt disease, X-linked Retinoschisis, X-Linked retinitis pigmentosa and achromatopsia. Dr. Pennesi pursued combined at MD/PhD at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and residency in Ophthalmology at University of California – San Francisco, followed by an Ophthalmic Genetics Fellowship at Casey Eye Institute.

Dr. Lalwani is the founder of Rocky Mountain Retina Associates, where she specializes in the medical and surgical treatment of retinal diseases. Prior to founding Rocky Mountain Retina, Dr. Lalwani served as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology at the University of Miami’s prestigious Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. Dr. Lalwani completed her fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, and ophthalmology residency at Case Western Reserve, and received her M.D. from Drexel University. Dr. Lalwani is Board Certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. She is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmologists, American Society of Retina Specialists, the Vit-Buckle Society, EnVision Summit and the esteemed Retina Society.

Dr. Chandran founded Somahlution and is currently the Somahlution’s Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors since inception in 2010. Prior to Somahlution he was the Chief Technology Officer at Pfizer Biotherapeutics and prior to that was the COO and CSO of Nucleonics, Inc. Satish started his biotech career at Apollon, Inc., headed the DNA vaccines at Wyeth Vaccines. He is a biotechnology veteran with nearly 30 years of leadership positions. Over the last 30 years, his career in biological research and development has spanned across academia and industry; early start up and mid-stage biotech companies and in large pharmaceutical companies. Satish’s passion and strength are in building and assembling teams and taking novel concepts and therapeutic strategies into products through development, regulatory approval, and commercialization. He is currently on the Board of Directors and serves as scientific advisor and consultant to several biotechnology companies.

Dr. Fajgenbaum is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in Translational Medicine & Human Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania, Director of the Penn Center for Cytokine Storm Treatment & Laboratory, Executive Director of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network, and Associate Director, Patient Impact for the Penn Orphan Disease Center. He is doing groundbreaking work to advance precision medicine for Castleman disease, a condition that he is battling as a physician, researcher, advocate, and patient. Combining omic technologies with machine learning and other bioinformatic tools, Dr. Fajgenbaum has discovered novel predictive biomarkers of treatment response and novel treatment approaches, including one that is saving his life and others. Now, he is spreading this approach to other diseases such as COVID19.

For over 25 years, Dr. Forrest worked as a pharmaceutical industry physician leading the global development of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and biological drugs. As Senior Vice President at Wyeth Vaccines, Dr. Forrest was responsible for all late phase clinical and pharmaceutical science development activities for vaccines in the Wyeth pipeline, including Prevnar 13®; the meningococcal B vaccine (Trumemba®) and an early investigational Staphylococcus aureus vaccine. This role included managing a vaccines’ development organization situated in North Carolina and New York, responsible for all R&D CMC and Manufacturing activities. In addition, Dr. Forrest was responsible for management and oversight of all Vaccines Clinical Research clinical trial and development activities globally with a dedicated vaccines clinical staff. He led the clinical activities supporting the market authorization for RotaShield® (EU), Prevnar® (Global), and FluMist®. Dr. Forrest also served as the Corporate Officer and Member of the Board of Wyeth K.K. during his tenure in Japan. He joined United Biomedical, Inc. in 1993 leading the earliest international clinical development of HIV vaccines, initiating clinical trials in China, Australia, and Thailand. At Chiron Corporation he was the global clinical team leader for a meningococcal C conjugate vaccine (Menjugate®). Dr. Forrest is an investment banker with a Westchester, NY based investment bank (Young America Capital, LLC) where he co-heads Life Sciences Investment Banking. He also owns an independent FINRA-registered investment advisory firm that is regulated by the State of New York (Aeolian Advisors Corp.).

Dr. Pachuk has over twenty-five years R&D leadership experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors with expertise in both drug, device, and vaccine development with significant experience in nucleic-acid based therapeutic platforms including ASO, RNAi and nucleic-acid based vaccines. Her key areas of therapeutic focus are viral diseases including Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Coronavirus, metabolic disease, HCC, and indications associated with Ischemia Reperfusion Injury. She was involved in advancing multiple product candidates into the clinic and market including several first-in-man compounds. She received her Ph.D. in molecular virology from the University of Pennsylvania where she studied the molecular biology of coronaviruses. She also has a dual Regulatory Affairs Certificate from RAPS (Regulatory Affairs Professional Society) in Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Rubin is Professor of Medicine with secondary appointment as Professor of Computer Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. The NIH, NSF, DARPA, the Global Alliance for TB Drug Discovery, and the Gates Foundation have funded his basic biochemical and genetic research in infectious diseases, resulting in more than 100 peer-reviewed papers. He served on national and international scientific review panels including the NIH, NSF, NASA Intelligent Systems Program, DARPA, and The Medical Research Council, South Africa. He was a member of the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity and the Dept. of Defense/National Academy of Sciences Biological Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. Dr. Rubin is the founder of Energize the Chain a non-profit organization and GAVI INFUSE and funded partner that ensures the delivery of vaccines to people in the most remote regions of the world by utilizing power and connectivity in the private sector, such as that available at cell tower sites to power the refrigeration systems that are necessary to keep vaccines at the proper temperature.

Dr. Weiss obtained her PhD in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Harvard University working on paramyxoviruses and did postdoctoral training in retroviruses at University of California, San Francisco with Mike Bishop and Harold Varmus. She moved to the University of Pennsylvania in 1980, where she is currently Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Microbiology and Co-director of the Penn Center for Research on Coronaviruses and Other Emerging Pathogens at the Perelman School of Medicine. She has worked on many aspects of coronavirus replication and pathogenesis over the last forty years, making contributions to understanding the basic biology as well as organ tropism and virulence. She has worked with murine coronavirus (MHV), MERS-CoV and most recently SARS-CoV-2. Her work for the last ten years has focused on coronavirus interaction with the host innate immune response and viral innate antagonists of double-stranded RNA induced antiviral pathways. Her other research interests include activation and antagonism of the antiviral oligoadenylate-ribonuclease L (OAS-RNase L) pathway, flavivirus- primarily Zika- virus-host interactions and pathogenic effects of host endogenous dsRNA.